21 arrests made and 640 blades handed in during Greater Manchester Police's Operation Sceptre crackdown on knife crime

Last week Greater Manchester Police (GMP) took part in the national week of action to help tackle knife crime.

Throughout the week, the force co-ordinated activity targeting knife crime and raising awareness of the dangers.

Around 21 arrests were carried out for knife crime related offences, and a further 226 arrests made for other offences. A total of 270 weapons sweeps were carried out where police look for hidden and discarded knives.

In an innovative move officers were also accompanied by metal detectorists who volunteered their time with GMP and were deployed alongside police to aid in the detection of weapons.

The detectorists assistance led to the successful detection and seizure of a number of weapons including knives, a hammer, an imitation firearm and drug paraphernalia.

Over the course of the week, 640 knives were also recovered from the Forever Amnesty bins, which are permanently located in police forces across Greater Manchester and where people can surrender knives with no questions asked.

The week of action also focused on the impact of accessibility of knives and how police forces and retailers can work together to disrupt the importation and supply of knives. Approximately 177 retailer visits were carried out to ensure sellers were compliant with the regulations for selling knives.

Education and community engagement events also form a key part of GMP’s strategy for reducing knife crime and throughout the week officers worked alongside dedicated School Engagement Officers and other partners in the Greater Manchester Violence Reduction Unit to spread awareness of the dangers of knife crime to schools, youth groups and the winder community.

A total of 92 community engagement events and 74 school engagement events were hosted to educate young people and the wider public with the aim of preventing serious violence and knife crime for the long-term.

Superintendent Caroline Hemingway, GMP force lead for knife crime, said: “Operation Sceptre is an opportunity for police and partners to highlight the work that goes on all year round to tackle knife crime.

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“This goes beyond enforcement activity which, whilst an important tactic, does not always get to the root causes of serious violence or the reasons why some people carry knives.

“To that end, we also work closely with School Engagement Officers, the Greater Manchester Violence Reduction Unit - and volunteers (including most recently metal detectorists who have chosen to work with GMP) to educate young people and the wider public and spread awareness of the dangers of knife crime. Ultimately, this is about preventing offences from ever taking place and breaking the cycle of violence.

“As police officers we see first hand the devastation brought about by knife crime and will continue working tirelessly to prevent other lives from being taken.

“Operation Sceptre highlights in particular the importance of working together to tackle serious violence. Our most important partner in this fight however, if the public. We need parents, teachers and peers to speak out against knife crime and if you have information about a crime, you must report it to police so we can act on it.”

Kate Green, Deputy Mayor for policing, crime, criminal justice and fire, said: “Operation Sceptre intensifies the work already going on to tackle knife crime across Greater Manchester including raising awareness of the dangers of knife crime, educating young people and taking knives off our streets.

“I want to thank Greater Manchester Police, our partners, communities and volunteers for their determination to keep our communities and young people safe.  

“I continue to urge those that know someone who might be carrying a knife, or carrying a knife themselves, to use one of the Forever Amnesty bins located across Greater Manchester, or take a look at the #SpeakingOutCouldSaveALife campaign for help and support - #SpeakingOutCouldSaveALife - Greater Manchester Violence Reduction Unit (gmvru.co.uk).”