Eight arrested in police clamp down on bladed weapons and violence.

Those who carry bladed weapons and knives were targeted as swarms of officers swooped on addresses across Cleveland yesterday (Tuesday 20th May) as part of Operation Artemis.

Three men and a woman suspected of involvement with knives, bladed weapons and drugs, received an early morning wake-up call as officers executed warrants for their arrests on Duke Street in Hartlepool.

Officers seized over £2,000 of suspected crack cocaine during the raid and a number of weapons were also found in the property including a Samurai sword and a machete.

Two men aged 24 and 46 were arrested on suspicion of conspiracy to supply class A drugs whilst a 28-year-old man and a 45-year-old woman were arrested on suspicion of being concerned in the supply of class A drugs. The 24-year-old man and the 28-year-old man have since been charged with possession with intent to supply class A drugs – cocaine. The 46-year-old man and the 45-year-old woman were released on conditional bail pending further enquiries.

Throughout the day a total of eight people were arrested including a 28-year-old man arrested in Stockton on suspicion of attempted wounding with intent. This was in connection with an incident on Douglas Walk on Saturday 17th May where a 17-year-old boy suffered stab wounds and was taken to hospital. The 28-year-old was released on bail pending further enquiries.

A 43-year-old man was also arrested in Stockton on suspicion of grievous bodily harm with intent as part of the Operation Artemis activity. This relates to an incident on Wednesday 14th May near to Richardson Road in Stockton, where a man suffered slash wounds. The 43-year-old man has since been charged with grievous bodily harm.

Over in Middlesbrough, two teenage boys aged 17 and 19 were arrested on suspicion of attempted murder in connection with the stabbing of a 17-year-old boy on Phoenix Park in Hemlington on Wednesday 30th April. Both were taken to police custody for questioning by detectives from our Homicide and Major Enquiry Team (HMET) and were later charged.

The day of action to tackle knife related crime included officers patrolling hotspot areas for violence throughout the day and into the evening, to target would-be robbers who carry knives. The patrols consisted of both high visibility uniformed patrols and officers in plain clothing.

Officers carried out engagement at primary schools, secondary schools and colleges across Middlesbrough, Stockton, Hartlepool and Redcar, whilst the Early Intervention Team carried out some education work with vulnerable children using virtual reality headsets. The VR headsets immerse the young person in a knife crime scenario where they have to make choices on what to do in that situation.

These sessions open up some thought provoking and in-depth discussions with young people on the ripple effect that crimes involving knives can have on the community.

The Police Cadets also took part in a test purchase operation on Teesside Park. Eight stores were tested and two allowed the sale of sharp implements to young people under 18. The stores were spoken to and asked to take more stringent measures.

Detective Chief Inspector Stuart Hodgson said: “Today’s activity has ensured that those wanted for using knives as a threat in order to steal from or hurt people are located and locked up.

“Knives cause misery and fear in our communities, so today is about doing everything we can to clamp down on people carrying knives. We are doing this with a mix of enforcement, education and engagement.

“We are creating hostile environments for those carrying knives by ensuring that we have officers patrolling in the right places at the right time to catch offenders in the act. We have officers patrolling in plain clothes so that those carrying knives never know who is watching them or who they will target next – it could be one of our officers.

“Early intervention in schools across Cleveland sees our officers delivering assemblies to pupils and discussing the consequences of carrying a knife, and advice on how to stand up to peer pressure. The force has a strong focus on education and outreach, preventing young people from carrying knives and committing knife crime in the first place.

“Neighbourhood Teams also held pop-up engagement stalls to open up conversations with their communities on knife crime in their areas and how we can tackle it together.

“We are intervening early to reduce the opportunity for offenders to commit crimes, whilst protecting members of the public and allowing us to identify and target those who are causing harm.”