Local police join forces to tackle knife crime with a week of intensive action
They will be keeping the public safe and raising awareness around youth violence as part of the national drive, called Op Sceptre.
Local police have joined forces to tackle knife crime with a week of intensive action starting today.
West Midlands Police and Warwickshire Police hope to take criminals and their weapons off their streets, while educating youngsters of the dangers of carrying blades.
Their teams will be keeping the public safe and raising awareness around youth violence as part of the national drive, called Op Sceptre.
Teams of officers will be carrying warrants, making arrests and sweeping open spaces for knives.
They say they’ll be paying visits to criminals known to use knives, and carrying out test purchases to identify shops selling blades to youngsters.
They are also piloting the use of Serious Violence Reduction Orders, which can be given to people convicted of a knife crime. It means they can stop and search that person without further cause to ensure they do not have a weapon.
A new podcast series will be launched during the week, to widen conversations about how to tackle knife crime – called #LetsTalkAboutKnifeCrime.
West Midlands Police is starting the series by hosting a discussion between three families whose lives have been devastated by knife related violence and they are now working to encourage other young people to help make the region #knifefree.
Supt Gareth Morris, who leads the response to knife crime in the West Midlands, said: “We’re tackling knife crime using a range of methods, from arrests to education, and Op Sceptre is all about letting the public know what we’re doing.
“Knife crime has a huge impact on communities. We want to educate and inform the public about the dangers of carrying a knife, and dispel misconceptions about knife crime, for example, ‘everyone is carrying a knife’ or that ‘carrying a knife is good for protection’.
“Whatever the reason for carrying a knife it has serious consequences. The use in the heat of the moment may result in serious injury or death and a prison sentence.
“While we’ll be making arrests and carrying out searches to get deadly weapons out of circulation, we know that we can’t do this alone.
“It’s vital that parents and teachers to talk to young people about knife crime so that we can all work together to tackle the root causes of youth violence and make the West Midlands a safer place.”
All week, West Midlands Police will be sharing updates about their activity on social media using the #OpSceptre hashtag.