Knife crime education the focus for Nottinghamshire Police this Op Sceptre week

Knife crime prevention through education will be the main focus of the latest Operation Sceptre, which starts today (Monday) and runs until until Sunday, November 19.

The week of action will provide a snapshot of some of the ways the force and its partners work together to make people aware from a young age about the dangers and consequences of carrying a knife or hanging out with people that do.

Officers regularly go into schools to speak to children about knife crime and to answer any questions they have around this important subject.

These will all be stepped up throughout Operation Sceptre, with officers visiting more schools and colleges than usual across the county in a bid to ensure messages really hit home about the dangers knives and other weapons pose.

To kickstart the week of action, the force and its partners, including Nottingham and Nottinghamshire’s Violence Reduction Partnership (VRP), will be unveiling details today about a new collaborative offering designed to further improve education around knife crime for children across Nottingham.

Nottinghamshire Police’s Youth Outreach team has also teamed up with Nottingham College to organise an invite-only anti-knife crime event for students during the week, while arrangements have been made for young people to visit the Ben Kinsella Trust’s ‘Choices and Consequences’ exhibition.

Police have also supported the launch of a four-week campaign encouraging young people to report information about weapon-enabled crime and other offences anonymously by using Crimestoppers' youth service 'Fearless', which can be accessed via Fearless.org or by calling 0800 555 11.

Taking knives off the streets is another key focus for the police, with several initiatives planned throughout Op Sceptre, including the deployment of metal-detecting knife arches at different locations, and knife sweeps led by each of the force’s neighbourhood policing teams.

Officers will be carrying out visible patrols of hotspot areas during the week, while amnesty bins where people can anonymously dispose of unwanted knives will also be rolled out at different police stations and other locations across Nottinghamshire.

A total of 133 weapons were seized through the force’s different initiatives during the last Op Sceptre in May 2023, with the majority being dropped off by members of the public into 13 knife amnesty bins.

Superintendent Kathryn Craner, Nottinghamshire Police’s knife crime lead, said: “The decision to carry a knife can have devastating consequences, with people sometimes losing their lives or having them ruined as a result, while also causing irreparable pain to their loved ones along the way too.

“The ramifications of this avoidable act can be astronomical, which is precisely why it is so crucial that we try to educate young people about this, so that they make the right decision if they find themselves in a situation where they ever consider picking up or using a weapon.”

Caroline Henry (Con), Nottinghamshire Police and Crime Commissioner, added: “We need people to understand that carrying a knife does not protect you.

"It actually puts you and others at risk and the consequences can be devastating.

“Nottinghamshire Police and partner agencies work incredibly hard every day to prevent knife crime; with educating and engaging the public a vital way of doing that.”