Crime, Dorset, Film & Theatre | Posted on November 26th, 2024 | return to news
Knives surrendered in Dorset during national campaign
As part of Sceptre, which ran from 11 to 17 November, knives were either surrendered or seized and presentations made to schools.
A total of 35 zombie knives are now out of circulation in Dorset following a recent knife amnesty scheme. In addition, 10 knives were either surrendered in knife bins or seized as part of Sceptre, a national campaign led by the National Police Chiefs’ Council (NPCC) to raise awareness of the dangers of knife carrying and knife crime.
Sceptre ran from Monday 11 to Sunday 17 November and involved all 43 forces taking part in intensified efforts to crack down on knife-enabled crime and violence.
The themes of this phase of Sceptre were around knife crime education, raising awareness around the consequences and dangers of carrying a knife and looking to dispel common misconceptions, particularly amongst young people.
Presentations were delivered to schools across the county focusing on preventative education and locations of knife surrender bins in Dorset where knives could be deposited anonymously. Knife arches were also deployed for officers holding community engagement events in the BCP area.
Nineteen school engagement events were delivered to 3,156 pupils across the county; two knife-arch engagement events took place which engaged with 200 people and gave advice; there were three arrests in which one knife was recovered and five weapon sweeps in which one knife was recovered.
Chief Inspector Darren Harris, of BCP Neighbourhood Policing Team (NPT), said: “Dorset remains one of the safest places in the country to live, but we will continue with our proactive work to prevent and detect knife crime across the county.
“While enforcement remains an important part of tackling knife crime, a key priority of the Force is prevention. Some young people carry a knife because they think it will make them safer, but carrying a knife can in fact make them more vulnerable.
“We have been proactively addressing misconceptions such as these in providing education and engagement opportunities to local schools and discussing these common misconceptions around knife crime with the public at our knife-arch events.
“We will continue to work with our partners and the community to remove knives from the streets and encourage people to report any concerns they have about anyone carrying a knife in their community.”
Dorset Police and Crime Commissioner David Sidwick said: “These results demonstrate our commitment to tackling knife crime in Dorset. While our county is a safe one with low rates of knife crime, tackling this offence alongside our partners is a key priority for myself and Dorset Police.
“In particular, I am delighted to see the number of school pupils across the county who received the knife crime education during this week. These presentations have been made more powerful than ever, thanks to videos on the impact of knife crime produced by my office, and I thank members of the Safer Schools and Communities Team and specialist firearms officers for their hard work towards delivering these key messages to thousands of young people in Dorset.
“I’ve seen the devastation knife crime causes, and I want it to stop. That’s why I am dedicated to ensuring Dorset’s work to tackle knife crime alongside our partners and the community remains relentless.”
Retailers can visit www.nbcc.police.uk/knifeguidance for guidance on selling knives.
Please share post:
LATEST NEWS:
CHARITY OF THE YEAR
Subscribe to the online magazine news letter
