More than 300 knives taken off Hampshire's streets in a week
Officers made 20 arrests as part of a crackdown on knife crime
Last updated 26th Nov 2024
Police have recovered 338 knives across Hampshire and the Isle of Wight as part of a week-long crackdown on knife crime.
Officers carried out a week of intensive activity to make communities safer between November 11th and 17th as part of their ongoing Operation Sceptre campaign.
In all, 20 knife-related arrests were made during the campaign.
Impact
Hampshire and Isle of Wight's tactical Lead for knife crime, Acting Inspector Christian Lavin, said:
"Efforts have been intensified by officers across the Force during the Op Sceptre week to tackle knife crime in Hampshire and the Isle of Wight, which have made a huge impact.
"We have worked closely with our partners to maximise opportunities to educate, engage, and prevent knife crime.
"It’s vital that we are being supported by our partners in health, social care, housing, education, and independent charities as police cannot do it solely by law enforcement alone.
“These figures can seem worrying, but year on year, we are taking more knives off the streets in our communities, which is making a difference as knife-related crimes reduced by 8.6% compared to the last four years."
Officers visited 47 schools across the districts with the aim to educate young people on the dangers of knife crime and prevent them from being drawn into serious violence.
As part of this, the Force partnered with Yellow Brick Road Projects to carry out educational sessions to raise awareness of the Legacy Project. They invited a motivational speaker called Warren King along with them to talk about their own experiences of knife crime to encourage young people to make the right decisions.
A knife arch was temporarily set up at City College Southampton in the main entrance of the building for students to voluntarily walk through to detect for any items they shouldn’t be carrying.
Knife sweeps were carried out in open spaces across districts to clear them of any discarded or hidden knives. It is also an opportunity to engage with the public and to reassure them. The team in Eastleigh swept the Leigh Road Recreation Ground area with the BID’s Town Rangers and the Southampton team swept the area in St Mary’s, fortunately no weapons were found during these two operations.
A total of eight knife sweeps were carried out through the week in areas such as Eastleigh's Leigh Road Recreation Ground and in Southampton's St Mary's area with two weapons being found.
Permanent knife surrender bins were made available at all front offices last year to provide a safe way for the public to anonymously dispose of any knives or offensive weapons.
As part of this Op Sceptre, the knife surrender bins continue to be available to the public, including mobile surrender bins and collections were made by officers, leading to 319 weapons being handed over.
Acting Inspector Lavin added:
“We will continue to robustly tackle knife crime with a zero-tolerance approach all year round with our partners to make our communities safer from serious violence.
"It’s important to remember that very few people carry knives, but if someone you know is carrying a knife you can report it to the police, speak to a trusted family member or teacher, or you can report it anonymously to Crimestoppers.”