Over 330 knives removed from Derbyshire streets during knife-crime crackdown

Operation Sceptre brought together all 43 police forces across England and Wales in a week of intensified action, with forces coordinating activity on knife crime from the root cause right through to enforcement.

A variety of activity took place across Derbyshire throughout the week, including weapons sweeps, visits to schools and local communities, events and knife surrender bins to remove knives off the streets.

Officers also visited nearly 150 retailers, and nearly 30 people were visited as part of the proactive work with those thought to be at risk of carrying a knife.

Over the course of the week, 17 people were also arrested as officers conducted search warrants and acted on information from communities.

Helping young people to move away from violence and involvement in gang activity formed a significant part of the week. The focus was on education, including with members of the public and retailers who sell knives. Nearly 60 school visits took place, and locals took part in nearly 50 community or educational events.

More than 20 test purchases took place, to check that those selling knives were following the fules. Retailers that failed were given warnings, with action being taken by Trading Standards where necessary.

Superintendent Sarah McAughtrie, the force lead for Knife Crime and Serious Violence, said: “It is great to see the dedicated efforts of our officers paying off, not just this past week, but all year round.

“Communities should be reassured by the fact that during this week of action hundreds of potential weapons have been taken off the streets and destroyed, and now have no chance of getting into the wrong hands.

“As well as this, I’m really pleased to see our officers engaging with different groups within our communities in order to educate and inform people inform people, as this is a really important aspect of our prevention work.

“By visiting schools, talking to the community and with retailers we have been able to strike up some really important conversations with people and direct them to the support or additional knowledge where needed.”