Devon and Cornwall Police educate students on dangers of carrying a knife
The force have brought their knife arch to City College Plymouth
Last updated 20th Nov 2023
Devon and Cornwall Police have been raising awareness around the dangers of knife carrying today.
The force have brought their knife arch to City College Plymouth, to educate young people to prevent knife crime.
The activity formed part of Operation Sceptre, a national initiative to tackle knife crime, which ran from Monday 13 November to Sunday 19 November 2023.
During the week of action, their focus included:
- Online knife retailers and responsible selling
- Raising awareness to parents and care givers to ensure they are aware of what packages are being sent to young people at home
- Educating young people about the angers of knife carrying
In addition to the use of the knife arch and school visits, activity for the week across Devon and Cornwall included test purchases of knives with local retailers, targeting known knife carriers and providing knife surrender bins at various locations across the two counties.
Detective Inspector Kevin Morley says that the knife arch at City College Plymouth won't be a permanent feature: "One of the students did say 'is this going to be on the door to get into the College?' and that's not the case at all.
"It's the same type of thing that you would see at an airport, or any form of place where you've got to go through some form of detection and search.
"This one allows us to pack it away and take it to different places around the force, so it's been used in Exeter on Friday, it's been used in Torquay on Saturday. I understand that on Saturday 1,000 people went through it and each of those people there's been a conversation about knife carrying in the cities they live in."
Assistant Chief Constable Steve Parker said: "Tackling knife carrying is a key priority for Devon and Cornwall Police.
"The knife arch, operations such as Sceptre, and high visibility patrols in Devon and Cornwall are some of the ways we are preventing and reducing knife crime and educating young people about the dangers of carrying a knife.
"Knife crime destroys entire families and communities and tackling it remains an absolute priority for Devon and Cornwall Police. We will do all we can to remove knives from our streets and pursue those who chose to carry them and commit offences."