Blades seized as police carry out week long operation to reduce knife crime in Cambridgeshire

Operation Sceptre is a national initiative which aims to reduce the number of people carrying knives.

Throughout the week, which ran from 9 to 15 November, Cambridgeshire’s activity included:

Officers searching parks, school perimeters and green spaces in St Neots and Wisbech for weapons.

Virtual presentations to schools and colleges across the county as part of an ongoing education programme

Partnership work with Border Force to monitor and intercept knives and other offensive weapons bought online and being brought into the county. Officers visited 14 addresses where Border Force had intercepted the sale of a weapon to explain why the purchase had been blocked and ensure they understood that the purchase of these items are prohibited

Nine people were arrested for knife related incidents and three knives seized

Six knives were handed in to our police stations

Officers held a live online question and answer session on Facebook which attracted more than 350 people

In Cambridgeshire, offences involving knives or sharp instruments rose 58 per cent from 908 incidents in 2018 to 1,436 incidents in 2019. Between January and October this year there have been 1,178 offences.

On average, officers are arresting three people a week in Cambridgeshire for knife related offences (168 in 2018, 199 in 2019 and 168 between Jan-Oct 2020).

Superintendent Robin Sissons said: “Knife crime is one of the force priorities and our officers are committed to investing time and effort into tackling it to ensure our communities are safer and people are protected from serious harm.

“Our work to tackle knife crime and serious violence is not limited to this week of action and will continue throughout the year, acting on intelligence to arrest violent criminals and take weapons off the streets.”