Operation launched to tackle knife crime in Peterborough

Operation Guardian, led by police but delivered by a number of agencies, is the force’s long-term plan to reduce knife-enabled crime and habitual knife carrying across the city.

Between 1 January 2020 and 31 March 2021, almost half of all recorded crimes involving a knife or sharp instrument in Cambridgeshire were recorded in Peterborough.

Inspector Olly Warsop said: “Police alone are unlikely to be able to ‘arrest our way out’ of some of the issues which drive people, particularly young people, to carry or use knives and we have seen the value in other areas of the UK in how working in partnership with others can have a positive impact.

“This does not mean our officers won’t be investigating and robustly dealing with crime enabled by knives – we of course will continue to do so.

“We have invested a lot of time in understanding who our most prolific offenders and habitual knife carriers are and why they choose to carry a knife. All of this information is being used to inform our work and intervene at every opportunity.”

Key aspects of the police-led work include:

Use of judicial restrictions, including but not limited to Criminal Behaviour Orders (CBOs)

Home visits to known knife carriers, convicted offenders and those being released from prison

Periodic intelligence-led knife arch operations

Intelligence-led patrols in hotspot areas

Increased use of stop-search powers in hotspot areas

Key aspects of the work led by partner agencies include:

Early intervention and referrals for support for those at risk or involved in knife crime

Enhanced education within schools

Develop routes for pupils to report concerns anonymously through schools

Closer working with drug intervention programmes

Insp Warsop added: “We are continuing with all the work already in place within the force, including education and liaison with our dedicated Safer Schools officers who work specifically with young people and secondary schools in Peterborough to educate them about the risks and consequences of knife crime, with the aim of preventing young people from carrying weapons and becoming victims of criminal exploitation.

“As a district we discuss knife crime and other serious crime on a daily basis, looking to prioritise those cases of highest harm and direct our resources in areas which need it most.

“We already have an operation which runs in the city centre of Peterborough and the Lincoln Road area which focuses on locations which have suffered high-harm crime, including knife crime, investing extra resources to try to reduce criminal activity.

“We also hold periodic knife amnesties on a regular basis, with the last one seeing 30 knives handed in. This work also included test purchasing at local businesses to ensure retailers were doing their bit by not selling knives and blades to those under 18. All of this work will continue alongside the new multi-agency plan.

“I would encourage anyone who has information about someone who carries or uses a knife to contact us, or Crimestoppers anonymously.”

Information can be passed to police online at https://bit.ly/3mpZmNR or via the webchat service at https://bit.ly/3vsiYDw.

Crimestoppers, who are an independent charity, can be contacted anonymously by calling 0800 555 111 or by going online at www.crimestoppers-uk.org.

Further information on what the force is doing to tackle knife crime can be found on the force website here https://bit.ly/2ZtMGfM, along with options to report information about someone who carries a knife.