Avon and Somerset Police join week-long knife crime operation
Operation Sceptre runs all week, and has been called a 'crucial week of action'
Avon and Somerset Police is joining forces up and down the country on a 'crucial week of action' - as they get involved with Operation Sceptre.
It runs all week (May 13th-19th) in their mission to combat knife crime up and down the West Country.
The operation runs twice a year, and sees all 43 police forces coming together across England and Wales to tackle serious violence through enforcement, engagement and prevention work.
Across the country, knife crime is on the up - and here in the Avon and Somerset policing area, assaults involving a knife increased by 13 per cent in the final quarter of 2023, with a total of 373 incidents recorded.
During Operation Sceptre, officers will be doing a number of things, including hosting education sessions, as well as targeted searches, community engagement, high-vis patrols, intelligence-led action and promoting weapon surrender bins.
'Lives needlessly and senselessly cut short by knife crime'
Chief Inspector Mike Vass, Avon and Somerset Police’s Force Lead for Knife Crime said: “In recent months and years, we have seen a number of lives needlessly and senselessly cut short by knife crime, devastating families and communities. We are committed to safeguarding the public by actively enforcing laws to deter knife carrying, disrupting criminal activities, and holding perpetrators accountable. We are taking action against retailers who fail to comply with the law.
“Our work to reduce serious violence is centred around community feedback, particularly from young voices. We know that some children and young people are purchasing and carrying knives in the belief that it will make them safer, when in fact, the opposite is true.
“You are more likely to come to harm if you are carrying a knife, and being found in possession of one could lead to years in prison.”
'A partnership effort'
Ch Insp. Vass added: “Tackling knife crime and serious violence is a partnership effort. We are working closely with agencies across the education, health, and social care sectors which together form the Violence Reduction Partnership, to address the driving factors around knife carrying and to provide support and intervention for those who are most at risk of becoming involved in serious violence.”
Avon and Somerset Police have also committed to expanding their knife surrender bin initiative.
Two new units were recently installed in the St. Pauls and Stapleton Road areas of Bristol, bringing the total number to 19 force wide.
The bins offer communities a safe means to dispose of weapons and break free from associated risks and consequences. So far, our knife surrender campaign has received over 5000 knives and bladed articles.
A partnership was also introduced in 2023 alongside NHS South West and HeartSafe to install a number of bleed control kits across the whole of Avon and Somerset.
Around 150 kits are now in place, with a further installation taking place in Castle Park, Bristol on Tuesday 21 May.
If you are worried that someone you know may be carrying a knife, you can speak to them by calling 101 or using the online reporting form on the Avon and Somerset Police website.
If you believe there to be an immediate threat of danger, always call 999 immediately.
Read more: Avon and Somerset Police share details of operations to tackle knife crime