Engagement and sweeps conducted during national knife crime week of action

Officers across Derbyshire have conducted a number of ‘knife sweeps’ as part of a national week of action showcasing the important preventative work on knife crime.

Operation Sceptre takes place twice a year and is a week-long opportunity for police and partners to put a spotlight on the preventative work being done year-round to keep knife crime out of Derbyshire.

During knife sweeps, officers will search for discarded weapons at different locations throughout Derbyshire, from parks and woods to built up streets.

Knife sweeps are conducted throughout the year and serve different purposes, but residents can be reassured that during this week – Op Sceptre week - this activity is not as a result of specific information or issues, and anyone who sees officers out and about should feel free to talk to them and ask them questions about the activity ongoing around #OpSceptre.

Derbyshire is a safe place to live and visit, with ongoing preventative work being successful. However, continuing this proactive approach and supporting campaigns like this with such activity is imperative to keeping it this way.

PC Jamie Spilsbury, from the Chaddesden, Spondon, Derwent and Oakwood Safer Neighbourhood Team, led one of these sweeps at Chaddesden Park on Thursday (17 November 2022).

Explaining the process, he said: “This is all about being proactive and ensuring anything potentially dangerous doesn’t get into the wrong hands in the first place, so we want to reassure the public about this activity when they’ve seen us out and about.

“It’s all about engaging with the public regarding knife crime, looking for any discarded knives in and around the park area.

“Typical places we’ll be looking will be in and around trees, whether anything’s stored inside any natural holes inside the trees.

“It’s not just knives that we’re looking for either. It could be any sort of offensive weapon or anything that could be used to injure anybody, anything that’s designed to be sharp.

“Anything we find, whether it’s a weapon or whether it’s something seemingly innocuous which has the potential to be dangerous, we will take away anyway so nobody else gets hold of it.

“We can also look out for any disused waste, such as cans, which might highlight antisocial behaviour to us and we can then work with partner agencies to clear this out and help keep the park a safe and nice place to visit.” 

If you are concerned about knife crime in your area or have information about someone who is carrying a knife contact us using the following non-emergency methods:
• Facebook – send us a private message to /DerbyshireConstabulary
• Twitter – direct message our contact centre on @DerPolContact
• Website – complete the online contact form Contact us | Derbyshire Constabulary
• Phone – call us on 101.
You can also anonymously contact the independent charity Crimestoppers, on 0800 555 111 or by visiting www.crimestoppers-uk.org
Always ring 999 in an emergency.

 

#OpSceptre #DropTheKnife #KnivesShatterLives