Police force backs national knife amnesty

Cleveland Police is backing a national knife amnesty campaign which is running this week.

The force is backing a national awareness campaign under the name Operation Sceptre which begins today and ends on Friday.

Members of the public are asked to surrender knives during amnesties without the fear of prosecution.

More recently, officers and Police Community Support Officers (PCSOs) have been visiting schools in the force area to raise awareness of the dangers of knives and sharp objects to young people.

They will also be visiting traders that supply knives to highlight their responsibilities when selling them to ensure that they don’t get into the wrong hands.

In 2017, police in Cleveland received over 460 knife crime related reports.

Of those 460 knife crimes, 294 crimes were for assault, 131 crimes were robberies and three were attempted murders.

Chief inspector Jason Dickson said: “Operation Sceptre has always been a successful campaign in Cleveland.

"The aim of the operation is to reduce the risk of violent crime taking place as knives and sharp objects can be extremely dangerous or deadly if they are in the wrong hands.

“As a force our focus is to take a proactive approach to the campaign and we have been visiting local schools and businesses to speak to raise awareness of the dangers and consequences of knife crime.

"This aims to deter young people from crime and warns local traders to be responsible when selling knives.

“It is important that we continue to work with partners to prevent crime and to raise awareness of the dangers of it to keep Cleveland safe and I am positive that this campaign will be another success.”

Police and Crime Commissioner for Cleveland, Barry Coppinger, added: “The national knife crime campaign is a great opportunity for the Force to raise awareness of the dangers of knives and sharp implements and how harmful and deadly they can be to our local communities.

“I’ve always supported this campaign and I firmly believe that Cleveland will be much safer as a result.”

People looking for more information about knife crime can contact Cleveland Police on 101 or call Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111.