More than 80 knives taken off streets of Northamptonshire during week of action

Carly Odell
By Carly Odell
Published 2nd Jun 2023, 09:41 BST
Updated 2nd Jun 2023, 09:42 BST
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17 people were arrested for knife crime offences

More than 80 knives were taken off the streets of Northamptonshire during a week of action.

Northamptonshire Police joined up with all other UK police forces to take part in the Operation Sceptre initiative aimed at tackling knife crime.

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Officers and staff from across the organisation took part in a variety of activities, which also saw 17 people arrested for knife crime offences, more than 2,000 school children engaged with and 18 retailers subject to test purchase operations.

Members of the Northampton Neighbourhood Policing Team joined partners from West Northamptonshire Council to deliver leaflets to residents about the dangers of knife crime and what they can do if they're concerned about someone who may be carrying a knife.Members of the Northampton Neighbourhood Policing Team joined partners from West Northamptonshire Council to deliver leaflets to residents about the dangers of knife crime and what they can do if they're concerned about someone who may be carrying a knife.
Members of the Northampton Neighbourhood Policing Team joined partners from West Northamptonshire Council to deliver leaflets to residents about the dangers of knife crime and what they can do if they're concerned about someone who may be carrying a knife.

Chief Inspector Nathan Murray was in charge of the week of action, he said: “Operation Sceptre gives us the opportunity to join other police forces to focus on tackling knife crime.

“In total, across the UK, 9,737 knives were removed from our streets and 1,693 people arrested, of which 829 were related to knife crime offences.

“In Northamptonshire we focussed much of our efforts on engaging with young people about the dangers of knife crime and the potential consequences of carrying a weapon.

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“In total we visited 16 schools across the county, helping to deliver sessions to more than 2,000 young people, which was an invaluable opportunity to speak to them about the concerns they have while offering guidance and support.

“We also visited 18 retailers and with the assistance of the Emergency Service Cadets carried out test purchase operations. Sadly, three of the shops sold bladed items to children under the age of 18 and were given strong words of advice reminding them of the checks they are obliged to make to ensure someone buying items knives are over the age of 25.”

In total during the week:

  • 83 knives recovered
  • 17 people were arrested for knife related incidents
  • 20 people were stopped and searched, three people were found to be in possession of cannabis and two people were arrested for possession of a bladed article
  • 58 intelligence reports were submitted
  • 30 engagement events with the public took place
  • 16 school visits
  • 18 retailer visits

Northamptonshire Police has extended the week-long activity to the end of the month.

Anyone who has any information about knife crime, or concerns about someone who may be carrying a weapon can contact police or Crimestoppers anonymously.

More information is available at northants.police.uk/knifecrime.