83 arrested and 37 knives seized in huge crackdown by South Yorkshire Police – More than 80 people were arrested and 37 knives seized in a crackdown on knife crime.
South Yorkshire has a serious knife crime problem, and recent figures show that 1,000 people required hospital attention after stabbings in South Yorkshire in the last decade.
As part of nationwide Operation Sceptre, police dispatched dedicated teams who conducted warrants, swept for weapons, conducted stop and searches, and engaged schools and communities.
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Superintendent Ian Proffitt, who led the week of action, said: “By working together across the week our officers and staff have arrested 83 people, of which 27 were directly linked to knife crimes. We have conducted 22 weapon sweeps and seized nearly 40 knives.
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“We carried out 41 test purchase operations, where we test whether retailers sell knives to under 18-year-olds. I am pleased to say the majority of them passed, of those that failed, they have received warnings or the premises have put in measures to make sure this doesn’t happen again. We will be testing them again in the future.”
The operation also targeted awareness, and police held discussions at schools and conducted 38 meetings within communities.
“It is really important to get the facts out about knife crime and educate young people on the dangers.,” added Supt Proffitt.
“Our officers carried out 19 school presentations engaging with over 3,000 young people, and held 38 community meetings.”
Police played prepared videos in presentations.
Supt Proffitt said: “This year we wanted to share the stories of people that are affected by knife crime not always directly but in some way. We had a video with a consultant from the A&E at Sheffield Northern General hospital, who explained the trauma they see when a knife crime victim is brought into hospital.
“We shared the audio of a mother and how she felt when she learnt her son has been stabbed, and we had a video of a Senior Investigator Officer who explained the horrific scenes they attend involving knives.”
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Post source: In The Know
