Operation Sceptre – National Knife Surrender 11-17 March 2019

Message from Humberside Police:-

Humberside Police along with other forces are again next week supporting Operation Sceptre – a national knife crime campaign which aims to reduce the number of people, especially young people, carrying a weapon.

Superintendent Joanne Roe is once again leading Op Sceptre in Humberside Police: “No one needs to be reminded of the dangers of knife crime after the most recent deaths of teenagers in London and Manchester. We want to do everything we can to remove knifes from the streets of the Humberside Police Force area.

“We are pleased to give our support to this national initiative once again and it give everyone an opportunity to get rid of knives and weapons that could potential cause injury or worse to someone in our area.

“Bins will be at Clough Road and Osborne Street, Hull, Hessle, Bridlington, Goole and Beverley in the East Riding and at Grimsby and Scunthorpe police stations. Anyone can hand over knives safely and anonymously and in turn remove these weapons from our streets.

“In addition to supporting the weapons surrender, our officers will be conducting weapons sweeps, attending local schools as part of the #NoMoreKnives campaign and doing proactive patrols across our area.

“Our message to those who carry a knife or thinking of carrying a knife is that it doesn’t protect you and in fact it makes you more vulnerable and places you in danger of serious harm.

“We want to reassure the public that we do not have an escalating knife problem in our area however it is important that we raise awareness of the dangers of carrying knifes and to prevent anyone else suffering from knife crime.

“We have only last week said goodbye to the Knife Angel in Hull, each knife on the sculpture was handed in in previous surrenders. The message the angel carries reminds us of the dangers of carrying knives – dozens of names of knife crime victims are engraved on the sculpture, a stark reminder to us all of why we want to rid our streets of knives.”

Knives and weapons, including other items made or adapted for the sole purpose of causing injury to someone, can be handed in safely, bins are located at police stations from 11–17 March 2019.

Note to media: Superintendent Joanne Roe will be available for interview on Monday 11 March.  Contact the press office to arrange an interview