Indeed, over the past 10 days local police have been tasked to deal with two serious crimes involving knives.
Last Monday night (July 7) a 36-year-old woman was injured in an alleged stabbing incident at a house in Linford Green, Rathcoole.
Two men aged in their early 20's have since been charged with conspiracy to murder and perverting the course of justice.
In a separate incident on Thursday (July 10) a man armed with a knife threatened two members of staff at a service station on the Shore Road, Whitehouse and demanded money from the till.
The robber, described as being between 18 and 20 years old, 5ft 8ins tall and of slim build, made off with a bag of cash, some of which he dropped when confronted by a member of the public outside the store.
The robbery took place at around 8.30pm and police have appealed for witnesses to come forward.
Reflecting on the latest knife crime statistics, Mr Burns described the figures as "very disturbing."
"Some see a knife as a status symbol or something that can protect them, but this is obviously not the case. The number of knife attacks which result in serious injuries and fatalities tell us that knives are not a tool of protection, but a deadly weapon.
"The community has a role to play in the prevention of this crime. The message needs to be reinforced at home and in schools that carrying a knife does not make a person safer - it puts them in more danger.
"We also need to see greater co-operation between Westminster and the Assembly. It is obvious that the only way we can tackle this is through a united front involving the community, local politicians and lawmakers at a national level," he commented.
Latest police statistics for the whole of Northern Ireland show that in the last financial year a total of 1,062 crimes were recorded where a knife was involved - an average of more than 20 per week.