Humberside Police takes part in helping to take weapons off streets
The force has taken part in two national operations through the past three weeks
Humberside Police have taken part in two national operations to help take weapons off the streets through the past three weeks.
Operation Aztec ran from between 12 – 29 May and Operation Sceptre ran between 16 – 22 May. Both operations are designed to educate people about the risks of carrying weapons and to encourage people to surrender their knives and weapons.
Operation Aztec concentrated on the surrender of firearms and during the operation a total of 12 firearms were surrendered. These firearms consisted of seven shotguns, four air-rifles and a .22 rifle.
During Operation Sceptre 188 knives were handed in to surrender bins across the Force. In addition to this five people were arrested having been found in possession of an offensive weapon.
Leading the operations for Humberside police was Superintendent Lee Edwards, he said, “I am really pleased that 188 knives or offensive weapons have been taken off the streets of our Force area. It means that these cannot now find their way into the hands of someone who might use it to cause harm to another person.
“This operation was not just about getting people to surrender their knives and weapons though.
“I am pleased to report that 23 community and school events took place which gave officers and PCSOs an opportunity to talk directly to their communities and young people about the dangers of knife crime.
“Almost 400 retailers were also visited to talk about the new legislation around the possession of weapons.* Again this gave our neighbourhood officers a really good opportunity to talk to their local retailers about how to stay within the law and make our communities safer for everyone.
“Throughout the operations we have been conducting targeted patrolling in areas where we know to have local issues and conducted weapons sweeps and using our knife arch in public areas.
“I want to thank the public for their support and for the officers and staff who have worked hard during the operations. I hope they see this as a really positive and direct way in which they can help keep their own communities safe.”
Humberside Police says the Criminal Justice Act 1988 is the legislation which deals with the law around offensive weapons. It is illegal to have possession of a bladed article in a public place without reasonable excuse, and from July 2021, the Home Office announced changes to the legislation which means it is also an offence to possess certain items, even in private.
This includes zombie knives, shuriken or death stars, and knuckledusters, and means people can no longer keep them at home. A new legal definition of flick knives, banned since 1959, has also been brought in, resulting in more of these bladed weapons being outlawed.
Anyone possessing one of the above offensive weapons can be sentenced to up to 6 months’ imprisonment or a fine or both.