Op Sceptre: Police urge friends and family of those carrying knives in Warwickshire to come forward before tragedy strikes

Reporting a young person carrying a knife before they get themselves or others hurt is the kindest thing you can do for them, a leading figure in the fight against knife crime for Warwickshire Police has said.

Inspector Ben Hembry has made early intervention a priority as police across the country embark on Op Sceptre, a weeklong operation that aims to reduce knife crime and raise awareness of the dangers of carrying a knife.

The operation began on Monday, 13 May and is set to conclude on Sunday, 19 May.

Inspector Hembry said: “Thankfully, knife crime in Warwickshire sits well below the national average.

“But one person carrying a knife is one too many, so we work with our partners through the year to keep knives out of the hands of young people.

“Op Sceptre gives us a chance to bring this work to the forefront, spreading the message across our communities.”

The week of action has seen the return of knife surrender bins in at the police stations in Nuneaton, Rugby, Leamington, and Stratford.

Anyone can surrender a knife anonymously, no questions asked.

As part of the week, officers will also be conducting targeted operations and community engagement events to target those carry knives but also to highlight the risks of being involved in knife crime.

Drawing on a new scheme called Op Talkative, Inspector Hembry called for the friends and relatives of those who are carrying knives to come forward and report concerns.

He said: “Our key message this May is that if you know a young person who is carrying a knife, or you suspect them of it, the kindest thing you can do is to get in touch with us.

“As part of Op Talkative, we have been asking people, ‘if you knew your friend was carrying a knife and they used it injure or kill somebody, could you live with yourself?’

“And that’s what it comes down to – we want people to stand up and help us to protect the people they care about from making disastrous decisions.

“Out of the small number of young people who carry knives in Warwickshire, we know that many will be doing so out of fear.

“Carrying a knife only makes someone more likely to be stabbed. It also means that what might have been a low-level confrontation is escalated to deadly violence in a fraction of a second because both people have pulled knives. 

“So the message is that if you care about someone, the best thing you can do is report them.

“If we catch people carrying knives in the street – or using them – they can expect serious consequences.

“But what we want to make clear is that if we can intervene early on there are all sorts of things we can do to get young people out of this lifestyle and to help them have a future.”

Keep following Warwickshire Police on social media for updates on Operation Sceptre.

To learn more about Operation Talkative, and for more information on reporting concerns, visit Operation Talkative | Warwickshire Police