182 knives handed in to Lancashire police during national surrender

These are just some of the knives handed into police in Lancashire during a national surrender that saw countless blades handed in all over the country.
Picture by Lancashire policePicture by Lancashire police
Picture by Lancashire police

More than 180 knives were given to Lancashire police as part of 'Operation Sceptre', a major national campaign aimed at tackling knife crime.

During the week-long surrender, from March 11 to March 15, people could anonymously hand in unwanted knives and blades to surrender bins at their local police station.

Some 182 knives will now be safely disposed.

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Det Ch Supt Neil Ashton, of Lancashire Police, said: “This operation highlights the issue of knife crime and offers the opportunity for people who may be worried about a knife in their possession – or the possession of someone close to them – to hand them over.

"Many potentially dangerous blades have been handed in from members of the public and now cannot be used to hurt anybody.

“We know that over half of offences involving a knife happen in a private space and in most cases the offender was known to the victim, with a partner or family member often the perpetrator.

“We take all reports of offences involving a knife extremely seriously and we will continue to use all the powers at our disposal – such as Section 60 orders, which allows us to use stop and search powers – in areas where we identify there is an issue.

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“We are committed to keeping our communities safe and tackling violent crime is a priority for us. We will continue to work 24/7 and 365 days of the year and to act on intelligence.”

As part of the UK-wide operation, test-purchasing operations were also carried out, with police officers using volunteers to check on businesses selling knives or blades.

Officers and trading standards will now work with the owners of premises which failed to resolve any issues they had with the selling of knives to improve their standards and staff training.

Clive Grunshaw, Lancashire's Police and Crime Commissioner, said: “I'm pleased that this knife surrender has seen many knives handed in to the police, with our communities safer as a result.

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“Knives are deadly weapons and during this surrender we have seen these removed from our streets. Carrying a knife is illegal and the police have been clear that you will be arrested and prosecuted if you are caught with one.

“National drives such as this help to reduce crime and re-offending, which is a key priority in my Police and Crime Plan - they make our communities safer and can help avoid the tragic impact that knife crime has on people's lives.”