Police operation to tackle rising knife crime in Staffordshire

Staffordshire Police is calling on partners, parents, schools and the wider community to come together in support of a national operation.

This week, under Operation Sceptre, the force will be rolling out a variety of enforcement and educational activities, with the support of partners, to help reduce the impact of knife crime in the communities of Staffordshire.

Staffordshire Police's neighbourhood policing teams will be visiting schools and colleges to educate young people on the dangers and consequences of carrying knives, setting up proactive knife operations in town centres to detect and deter habitual knife carriers, and organising knife sweeps in crime hotspots to discover any weapons concealed in public areas. The force will also be continuing in its efforts to deter offenders through the use of stop and search.

A targeted social media campaign aimed at those most likely to commit offences with a knife will also be rolled out.

Superintendent Ricky Fields, strategic lead for knife crime at Staffordshire Police, said: "Staffordshire Police continues to see increases in recorded crime involving the possession or use of knives alongside increases in overall violent crime. Knife crime is unfortunately a visible part of communities in Staffordshire and Stoke-on-Trent and not an issue we can tackle on our own.

"We are doing lots to tackle knife crime and we are actively pursuing those who intend to cause harm within Staffordshire's communities. We will do all we can to bring offenders to justice, however enforcement is just one element of the response needed. Knife crime cannot and must not be treated in isolation.

"The threat of knife crime increases when considered with street gangs or drugs activity. Our approach is not to criminalise young people but to safeguard them and protect them. With partners, parents and schools we need to understand why young people choose to carry knives, because we have seen a marked increase in recent years in Staffordshire.

"We must encourage young people, parents, schools and other public bodies to have conversations about knife crime. This week of targeted activity will hopefully help to raise the profile of this important topic and help us to prevent the terrible events that have been seen recently in other areas of the country."

Knife crime has increased in Staffordshire by five per cent, or 32 crimes, over the past rolling 12 months, with personal robbery where a knife is used having increased by 20 per cent.