Football club supporting fight against knife crime

Football fans and budding players will be seeing a number of poignant messages thanks to a club’s support for a national knife crime campaign. 

As part of Operation Sceptre, officers and the Derby County Community Trust have teamed up on prevention work, delivering a range of sessions to youngsters on their sports programmes, as well as helping to raise awareness through the digital billboards and screens throughout Pride Park Stadium.

The Derby County Community Trust is the charitable arm of Derby County Football Club, and the team work very closely with officers from Derbyshire Constabulary on a number of inputs and sessions on various topics.

The trust aims to improve lives through physical activity and sport. The team deliver a range of programmes, which focus on supporting young people through promoting teamwork, leadership and resilience.

Sergeant Ben Frearson, from Derbyshire Constabulary, has worked closely with the trust and said: “It’s valuable to have their support, especially around such campaigns as Operation Sceptre.

“Whilst we know it is only a small minority of people in Derbyshire who believe it is acceptable to carry knives, a key part of keeping knife crime out of the county is prevention.

“This often involves proactive work, raising awareness and educating people on the dangers and consequences.

“Being able to do this alongside the trust, who are quite active in the community and local schools, is fantastic. Going into their sessions and being integrated into their love of sport is invaluable when it comes to engaging with the young people who value it so much.

“It helps us build that trust and ultimately helps them take on board what we need to get across.

“As well as this, the screens they are kindly using to display our messaging will be seen by the many people who watched the game against Torquay on Tuesday night, as well as those who pass by the front of the stadium.

“We want to thank the trust for their support. It makes all the difference for this kind of prevention work.”

Gavin Lewis, Inclusion Development Manager at the Derby County Community Trust, said: “Our popular Kicks sessions form a large part of our offer for young people, delivering physical activity sessions and workshops in the hearts of communities where the need is greatest.

“Sessions are designed to ensure young people are engaged in positive sessions which better their self-esteem, confidence and teamwork.

“Working with partners such as the Derbyshire Constabulary allows us increase the trust that participants have within figures of authority, and make more positive choices.

“We deliver over 40 programmes working with participants from age three to 100, across various settings, from schools to community centres and parks to leisure venues, so it is great we can help spread the message around such an important topic.

To find out more about the trust’s programmes, visit the Derby County Community Trust website.

Throughout Operation Sceptre, communities across the county will also see officers taking part in a range of prevention and engagement activities; ‘knife sweeps’ being one of those activities. 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 intelligence we have received, 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
 
#OpSceptre #KnivesShatterLives #DropTheKnife
 
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.