Derbyshire Police criticised for response to chefs knife hidden in a park
The blade was found in a white Nike sock last Thursday in Inkersall
A mum is criticising Derbyshire Police for their response to her report of a hidden chefs knife in a park in Inkersall.
Last Thursday, Jackie Cooke's son found the blade in a white Nike sock. Jackie rang the police, before being told to discard of it because there was no blood on the item.
She said she is appalled they've not taken it in:
"I just thought they would have come and fetched the knife, and just send local community officers down to that area where the kids are congregating in an evening, and just have a word about knife crime and the dangers of it."
Jackie said the phone call with police was disappoitning:
"She just basically said because there was no crime being committed as far as they were aware, I should just dispose of it.
"There's no doubt it's been hidden and concealed in that sock for a reason, for someone to go back to... It wasn't just a little butter knife, it was a really sharp chefs knife."
Derbyshire Police says checks have been carried out, and there is no information to suggest it was connected to a crime.
A spokesperson said;
"We are very grateful to a member of the public for alerting us that a knife had been found in a local park. We received a call just after 2.50pm on Thursday 17 August explaining that the knife had been found and it had been taken back to the callers’ home address.
“All our call handlers are specially trained to assess any contact which is made to us, where they look at threat, harm, risk and vulnerability. They review every incident and consider the best course of action based on the information they receive.
“Checks have been carried out around incidents in the local area which may have been connected, and as there is no information to suggest it was connected to a crime, the woman was advised to dispose of the knife safely.
“Officers on our local Safer Neighbourhood policing team have also been made aware of this report and will be carrying out regular high visibility patrols in the area."