Over 300 knives collected during operation by Cleveland Police

308 knives and sharp objects were handed in across the Force area during a week-long campaign which aims to raise awareness of knife crime and tackle it.

Operation Sceptre, which took place from Monday 26th April, is an opportunity for officers to raise awareness of knife crime and encourage people to hand in their knives.

Officers have also continued with further seizures, as three knives (pictured below) were seized from a 17-year-old boy in the Ormesby area on Monday (10th May).

The boy was arrested in connection with the incident and has been released under investigation whilst enquiries continue.

Detective Chief Inspector Steve Chatterton said:

“In excess of 300 knives and sharp objects recovered is a great way to help us prevent knife crime and help reduce the risk of incidents taking place. We want to do everything that we can to try to reduce the number of tragedies that happen as a result of people carrying knives.

“By taking part in these campaigns and raising awareness of knife crime and the devastating impact that it can have amongst our communities, we can help to reduce those tragedies.

“In the wrong hands, knives and sharp objects can be extremely dangerous and we work with local schools and partner agencies to educate people, including youngsters, on the dangers of carrying knives and the consequences that can come of committing knife related crime, and even though National Operation has ended., please continue to hand in knives and weapons.”

There are permanent knife bins situated at each of our four main police stations in Middlesbrough, Stockton, Hartlepool and Redcar and Cleveland and anyone can use these bins to surrender knives or sharp objects.

For further information on Operation Sceptre, please follow @ClevelandPolice on Twitter, or ‘like’ Cleveland Police on Facebook. Follow the hashtag #OpSceptre.