Police in Berkshire and Hampshire reveal knife stats
It follows their operation sceptre crackdown
Police in Berkshire and Hampshire have revealed the results of their knife crime awareness week known as operation sceptre.
Thames Valley
Throughout the week, officers conducted nearly 1,200 high visibility patrols in known hotspots for violence, using the Hotspots Policing App on their mobile phones – the only force in the country using such technology to put officers in the right places at the right times.
Over 110 test purchase operations were run in partnership with local community youth groups and Trading Standards, testing retailers ensure age-verification before selling knives. Twenty seven retailers failed and received penalties.
Officers made visits to those known to carry knives or be involved in violence to give advice and remind that any offending will lead to arrest, while also offering support if someone feels they need help.
Known offenders were targeted, appropriately using powers such as Stop & Search. Forty arrests were made and 12 knives were seized as a result.
Officers, PCSOs and staff participated in 70 education sessions, visiting schools and running engagement events to raise awareness of the dangers of knives and exploitation.
The knife amnesty bins, which are permanently installed across the Thames Valley, resulted in 337 knives being handed in for safe disposal. Broken down as follows:
Berkshire: 107
Oxfordshire: 62
Buckinghamshire: 136
Superintendent Lewis Prescott-Mayling, Strategic Lead for Serious Violence Reduction, Thames Valley Police, said:
“Once again we have seen some good results from our intensification of activity during the week, as well as some great partnership work focused on earlier intervention and prevention.
“Our policing approach is to target places and people.
“We put our resources into those areas where we know violence occurs, with high visibility policing to act as a deterrent. And for hot people – those who we know are involved in knife crime or other associated offences such as drugs supply – we use all of our powers to apply pressure, disrupt them and where necessary arrest and put them before the courts.
“The knife amnesty bins are always available to anyone – no details are taken, no questions are asked. If you have a weapon, now is the time to get rid of it. Don’t put yourself at risk of prosecution and most importantly, don’t put yourself or others at risk of harm.”
Hampshire
553 knives have been surrendered by the public across Hampshire and the Isle of Wight, as part of a national police operation to tackle knife crime, this figure is four times the number handed in, compared to the last week of intensification in May, all in the aid of Op Sceptre.
Op Sceptre ran last week between 13th and 19th November, with the total number of recovered and seized weapons and knives reaching 637, bolstered by direct police activity such as stop and search and pre-planned knife crime operations, including partnership activity such as knife sweeps and knife arches.
actical lead for knife crime, Inspector Sarah Nicholson spoke about the week: “Op Sceptre week of action is where as a Force we focus the majority of our resources towards intensifying our activities on tackling knife crime and removing weapons off our streets.
“Hampshire and the Isle of Wight upholds a zero-tolerance approach towards offensive weapons and knife crime, and this week enables us to showcase the wider work we do in preventing and protecting our communities through education and early intervention.
“Policing alone will not solve the issue of knife crime. Policing deals with the symptoms and there is always a place for enforcement, we will continue to focus our commitment and priorities on doing what we can, alongside the work our violence reduction partners do in combating serious violence in our towns and cities.”