Knife amnesty to take place in Hartlepool to get deadly weapons off our streets

The amnesty, named Operation Sceptre, was launched by the Metropolitan Police in 2015 and this year begins on Monday, running until Sunday, October 23.

Officers will be actively encouraging people in the town to surrender their knives or sharp objects without fear of prosecution.

Those with knives and sharp objects to surrender can put them in the knife bins available at the four main police stations in Hartlepool, Middlesbrough, Kirkleatham or Stockton between 8am and 8pm.

Chief Inspector of Cleveland Police Emily Harrison said: “The aim of this campaign is to reduce the opportunity of violent crime taking place and to reduce the number of bladed or offensive weapons on our streets.

“In the wrong hands weapons such as knives and sharp objects can be deadly.

“The knife bins are an excellent way to encourage people to surrender knives and sharp objects safely and anonymously and we have had much success with using them in the past.”

Previous knife amnesties have been hailed by authorities for helping to reduce the threat of knife culture in the town.

Although police chiefs say there is not a huge knife problem in the town, they hope to reduce the number of weapons on the streets and cut the number of incidents involving weapons.

Coshes, knuckle-dusters and other similar weapons can also be surrendered during the amnesty.

The maximum penalty for an adult carrying a knife is four years in prison and an unlimited fine.

Those convicted of carrying a knife more than once will get a prison sentence according to Government guidelines.

Police and Crime Commissioner for the Cleveland area, Barry Coppinger, added: “Removing knives from our streets helps to keep our communities and the environments in which they live, safer.

“I’ve always supported this campaign and feel strongly that people should be taking this opportunity to surrender any knives or sharp objects that they may be in possession of.”

There are a number of items which are illegal to carry in the UK, including gravity, stealth and zombie knives.

Once items are surrendered to police they will be safely disposed of by officers says the force.

Anyone who has any information about knife crime should contact police on 101 or call Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111.