Officers from the Evesham Safer Neighbourhood Team have been out this week in relation to Op Sceptre, a week of action to tackle knife crime. The activities focus on prevention, education and engagement to target those either involved in knife crime or those on the periphery of being so.

Superintendent Brian Gibbs said: “I would like to firstly say that levels of knife crime across our force area are relatively low in comparison to other parts of the country. West Mercia remains a very safe place to live, work and visit.

“However, it is important we continue to work hard with our partners to keep these levels low and Sceptre is a great opportunity to highlight the work done every day throughout the year”.

Schools have been visited, giving students an opportunity to ask us questions relating to knife crime, and advice was provided to the students around what to do if they suspect someone to be carrying a knife. The consequences of carrying a knife was also explained to them. The students also had the opportunity to walk through the knife arch (a device used to detect metal objects). No knives detected but plenty of talk about the risk of carrying knives. 

Today, officers visited various parks to search bushes and undergrowth for stored knives and weapons.  A hand saw was located in a tree which was seized by officers.