Over 1300 knives recovered in Lancashire following crackdown operation

1,390 knives have been recovered throughout Lancashire after police took part in Operation Sceptre, a national week-long knife crime crackdown.

Op Sceptre works to target those who choose to carry dangerous weapons, raises awareness of the consequences, and engages with retailers who sell bladed articles.

Operational activity throughout the week included 28 weapon sweeps in public areas, test purchasing at 29 retailers, eight search warrants and a total of 206 stop and searches. Local colleges, community groups and police cadets assisted police and got involved with some of the initiatives throughout the week.

Officers emptied Lancashire’s 17 surrender bins located around the county and recovered 1,312 weapons from inside them. Weapons included machetes, cleavers and a variety of knives.

Proactive engagement work included school and youth club visits with children of all ages accompanied by Byron Highton from The JJ Effect CIC, community meetings and a social media question and answer session.

Chief Inspector Dave Oldfield, from Lancashire’s Violence Reduction Network, said: “Every year, we really focus on protecting our communities within Lancashire and the results of this operation show just that.

“Our activity combines both enforcement and prevention tactics, which allows us to engage with so many different people within our county. By working together with communities, we can continue to reduce violence, prevent future victims and bring offenders to justice.

“We strive to make Lancashire a safer place for everyone and will continue our hard work to do so.”

Andrew Snowden, Lancashire’s Police and Crime Commissioner said: "These are great results and every single one of these dangerous weapons removed from our streets makes the county safer. I will always ensure the Constabulary has the resources needed to proactively tackle knife crime and put offenders behind bars.

"The carrying of knives is not acceptable and those who do should know that officers will stop them. Through getting tough on offenders whilst also educating people around the dangers, we will make Lancashire safer, whilst ensuring offenders, and their weapons, are removed from our streets.”