Warrington taxi drivers equipped with life-saving kits in knife crime push
Warrington police have taken a proactive step in the fight against knife crime by supporting the distribution of life-saving RAPAID bandages to local taxi drivers.
The initiative is designed to equip drivers with tools to stem critical blood loss in emergencies, such as knife attacks or severe accidents.
The rollout in Warrington coincided with Operation Sceptre, a nationwide campaign aimed at reducing knife crime through intensified police action and community engagement. Officers, including Chief Inspector Neil Drum, joined Neighbourhood officers to oversee the distribution and engage with drivers during the morning’s activities.
The RAPAID bandages are part of a national effort led by the charity founded by Alex Chivers, a retired firearms officer and military veteran. Since its establishment in 2020, the organisation has distributed over 3,000 kits to taxi drivers across the UK, offering an additional layer of protection in potentially life-threatening situations.
This partnership between police and the RAPAID initiative marks a key development in tackling the effects of knife crime on local communities. The provision of these kits aims to improve immediate response times and potentially save lives in critical moments.
Chief Inspector Neil Drum, of the Warrington Command Team, said: “Knife crime is a key priority and Cheshire Police has an excellent history of partnership working. This distribution of emergency bandages to taxis across Warrington could be the difference in saving someone’s life.
"It was great to meet Charity founder Alex and his RAPAID team during their trip to Warrington to distribute these extremely important bandages to our local taxi drivers that are easy to use and store.
"The implementation of the RAPAID campaign is a welcome addition to a range of initiatives that we already have in place across our town designed to keep everyone who lives, works and visits Warrington safe.”
Charity founder Alex Chivers added: “With a serious haemorrhage it’s a grim fact that you can bleed to death in under five minutes - time literally does save lives and the quicker treatment begins the better your chances of survival.
"I knew that a solution had to be simple enough for the untrained public and easily accessible to find in those vital first moments.
"It made perfect sense to use the same military bandages designed for the battlefield and to have these bandage kits carried on taxis that are in and out of our community day and night.”
