“We will not stop our work to keep knife crime out of Derbyshire” – that’s the message teams are sending after a week of action on knife crime.

“We will not stop our work to keep knife crime out of Derbyshire” – that’s the message teams are sending after a week of action on knife crime.

Over the course of Operation Sceptre, which took place between 14-20 November 2022, local teams in each and every area of the county were showcasing the fantastic efforts that go in to prevention and speaking to their communities about concerns, information and also providing advice on the issue.

Derbyshire is a safe place to live, work and visit, but officers’ dedication to their work in prevention is key to this. Supporting Operation Sceptre, which takes place twice a year, is an opportunity to show some of what they do.

Activity over the week included knife sweeps, where communities will have seen officers patrolling and searching parks, woodland and also residential areas for any signs of discarded knives or other potentially harmful objects. The locations were not chosen because of any specific concerns but to show we are taking knife crime seriously across Derbyshire.

Amnesty bins were also used across the county, allowing communities to safely dispose of any unwanted or unused knives, as well as giving people the opportunity to dispose of any items which have become illegal to own privately under relatively new legislation, helping them not to get caught out.

Teams were also out in the community, schools and youth groups speaking to locals, providing inputs and information around the topic, and continuing the all important conversation around knife crime. A new, first of its kind board game has also been launched in secondary schools across the county over the course of the week.

Superintendent Sarah McAughtrie, who is the operational lead for knife crime across Derbyshire, said: “Whilst we know Derbyshire is a safe place to live, work and visit, we will not become complacent.

“This proactive approach and the preventative work we do is absolutely key to keeping knife crime out of the county.

“Each area had lots of activity and officers spoke to many, many people about their work during this week of intensification. It is always great for us to showcase some of the work we do to keep people safe.

“We want to thank everyone who spoke to our officers, allowed them into their schools and youth clubs and also partners who helped to spread the message over the week. Their efforts undoubtably helped us spread the message further and bring about some really important conversations.”