Operation Sceptre, the national police campaign to tackle knife
crime, took place from Monday 14 November to Sunday 20 November
2022, has seen over 7,000 knives removed from our streets.
All 43 police forces in England and Wales, including the British
Transport Police, took part in the seven-day crack down on knife
crime which saw 2,184 people arrested, of which 736 were related
to knife crime offences.
A variety of other tactics were used by forces; including weapons
sweeps, knife arches in public places and events and ‘honesty’
bins to remove knives off the streets. Officers seized 651
knives, an decrease of 26% since the last Operation Sceptre week
in May 2022, and 6,380 were either surrendered or seized during
sweeps.
As part of Operation Sceptre, the police worked closely with HM
Prison Service, in a co-ordinated effort to tackle violence in
prisons, with an intelligence led operation, targeting those
carrying weapons and disrupting the supply of knives/bladed
articles available to use. Across six prisons, 60 cells and 100
inmates were searched in a targeted approach. Within the prisons,
22 weapons were found. Among these improvised weapons were razor
blades affixed to toothbrushes and other homemade
handles.
National Police Chiefs’ Council lead for knife crime,
Deputy Assistant Commissioner Graham McNulty, said:
“Operation Sceptre is about cracking down on knife crime which
has a devastating impact on our communities. The sheer number of
arrests and seizures made across England and Wales last week
sends a clear message that we will not tolerate knife crime in
any form.
“We have continued our close partnership with the Prison Service,
where we have targeted those carrying weapons within prisons.
This approach could add a considerable time to their sentence and
prevents dangerous offenders getting back onto the streets.
“Op Sceptre highlights the commitment of the police working with
the public and partners to prevent young people becoming involved
in serious violence. Last week saw forces continued engagement
with schools and communities by police forces across the UK.
“Young people must understand that carrying a knife is never the
answer, nor does it offer the protection they think it does. It
only puts them at greater risk.”
Weapons seized during the week, included machetes, swords and
hunting knives and other forms of criminality such as supplying
drugs were also identified. Police also continued to work closely
with Border Force to stop illegal knives entering the country and
reaching our streets.
Youth engagement forms a significant part of the week, helping
young people to move away from violence and involvement in gang
activity. The week also focused on education and engagement with
members of the public and retailers who sell knives. In total,
1,486 schools were engaged with, 1,524 retailers visited, as well
as 900 local community events, talking about the dangers of knife
crime to young people.
The Sceptre week saw many different areas of policing come
together to join forces, ranging from response officers, to
underwater search teams and neighborhood policing teams. The
collaboration of different teams and forces has driven forward
the effort to tackle knife crime.
Minister for Crime, Policing and Fire said:
“I thank the police officers and volunteers up and down the
country for their intensive efforts last week, as part of
Operation Sceptre, to rid our streets of dangerous weapons.
"Every knife seized is a potential life saved. While knife crime
is down across the country, we cannot be complacent and continue
to act to prevent more devastation.
“We're giving our police the resources they need to tackle
serious violence, recruiting 20,000 additional police officers by
March 2023 and bringing forward greater powers so they can stop
and search known knife offenders.”
