251 knives taken from Teesside streets during Operation Sceptre

Weapons including army knives, zombie knives and axes, have been seized during a national week of action to tackle knife crime and create awareness of the dangers of carrying a bladed weapon.  

In total, 251 knives have been removed from the streets of Teesside where they could have caused serious harm.  Eleven bladed weapons were seized by police during arrests and stop searches, whilst a huge 240 were surrendered to amnesty bins during Operation Sceptre, which ran from Monday 13^th to Sunday 19^th May.

Officers made 361 arrests across the week, 124 stop searches were carried out and seven people were charged with possession of a bladed article.

PC Geoff Coggin, PCSO Eric Barrett and PCSO Geoff Illingworth also delivered talks and engagement sessions to primary and secondary schools across the Cleveland area, where they discussed the dangers and consequences of knife related crime to hundreds of pupils.

Acting Detective Inspector Sarah Beadle, who was leading on Operation Sceptre said: “It’s a great result for these weapons to be taken from our streets, where they could have caused serious harm.

“The patrols of violence hotspots are carried out on a regular basis, to ensure that officers are targeting the right people in the right places to tackle violent crime.

“Throughout the year, we have specially trained officers carrying out youth engagement in schools across Cleveland, to ensure that young people are aware of the dangers and consequences of knife related crime.

“There is much more to be done to tackle the issue, but with the help and support of the public we will do everything we can to prevent young people from carrying knives and weapons.”