Nottinghamshire Police shining light on knife crime throughout week of action

Taking blades off the streets and stopping people from picking them up in the first place are key parts of the county’s approach to cracking down on knife crime.

Operation Sceptre runs until Sunday, November 20, Nottinghamshire officers will be carrying out a range of different proactive policing and public engagement work.

Positive action will focus on educating people, especially young people, about the consequences of knife carrying, with officers set to visit different schools and colleges across the county to highlight these dangers.

Initiatives will also include carrying out extra patrols and search warrants, deploying metal-detecting knife arches and doing knife sweeps around hot-spot areas.

Amnesty bins have also been set up inside police stations as part of the offering for the campaign in a bid to encourage people to get rid of unwanted knives without the fear of being prosecuted.

Superintendent Kathryn Craner, Nottinghamshire Police’s knife crime lead, said: “Eradicating knife crime from our communities is a key priority for us.

“It's important people realise the dangers carrying a knife can bring and that doing this will actually put them more at risk of getting seriously injured themselves.

“Taking knives off the streets and educating young people about the consequences of carrying a blade so they make the right choices are crucial to reducing offending and preventing these crimes from happening in the first place.

“The positive action we’ll be carrying out throughout this week of action will focus on these points, although Operation Sceptre will offer just a snapshot of all the proactive work we do all year-round.

One of the police’s key partners in this is the force’s violence reduction unit, which uses innovative early intervention methods to positively engage with young people to educate them about the dangers associated with knife crime before they ever pick up a knife.

Natalie Baker-Swift, head of the VRU, said: “Our message to young people is that carrying a knife simply does not make you safer, and help is out there to lift you out of violence, exploitation, and fear.

“We hope Operation Sceptre continues to boost the partnership work which is vital to supporting these vulnerable young people.”

Caroline Henry, Nottinghamshire police and crime commissioner, made knife crime a priority area as part of her 'Make Notts Safe' plan.

She said: “Every knife crime has a profound impact on victims, families and communities.

“That’s why it is so important that we stand together as a community in Nottinghamshire and say ‘we won’t sit back and let it happen.’

“We have to be united in ensuring our city and county remain a place where carrying a knife is completely unacceptable and called out wherever we see it.

“The police and local partners do an incredible job in tackling knife crime – but by the time the police are called to get involved, it is often too late to stop the harm to the victim and the perpetrator.

“The biggest difference we can all make is educating young people in our society – our sons, daughters, brothers and sisters – to help them make positive choices in their lives that allow a better future for everyone.”