An amnesty bin has ben placed in Kirkby police station and 12 other locations across the county as part of a nationwide police operation to target knife crime. Operation Sceptre runs until Sunday 19 May and allows people to safely dispose of knives without facing prosecution.
The Operation Sceptre amnesty extends the permanent knife amnesty bins at police stations in Mansfield, Newark, Radford Road and Oxclose Lane police stations. In addition to Kirkby in Ashfield, the temporary extension means that knife amnesty bins are also at police stations in Bulwell, St Ann’s, Broxtowe, Beeston, Byron House, Retford, Worksop and Ollerton.
In addition to the amnesty bins, neighbourhood policing teams will be visiting schools to educate Students about the consequences of carrying knives. They will also be conducting knife sweeps and extra patrols as they seek to take weapons off the streets.
The biannual Operation Sceptre weeks of action takes place every May and November. The last time the operation ran in Nottinghamshire, officers spoke to more than 2,000 school children and college students about the dangers of knives. And 85 knives and other offensive weapons were retrieved.
Police say that knife crime offences in Nottinghamshire in the year ending March 2024 dropped by two per cent compared to the previous year.
“Sceptre offers a great opportunity for us to educate more people about the dangers associated with carrying a knife by shining a light on this important topic”, Chief Inspector Karl Thomas, Nottinghamshire Police’s knife crime lead, said. “That decision to pick up a knife can have catastrophic consequences which could ruin or even end lives, so getting these lessons across at an early stage are vital to helping prevent this from happening.
“Our specialist school early intervention officers regularly attend schools and colleges to deliver sessions on knife crime to young people, and these visits will be stepped up throughout the week of action.
“We’ll also be carrying out a variety of different initiatives and operations throughout the week, including rolling out 13 amnesty bins in total across the community for people to dispose of weapons without fear of reprisal.
“While I understand some people will have some concerns about going into a police station and using an amnesty bin, please rest assured that you won’t get into trouble if you do so – this is not a trick.
“This initiative has directly led to us seizing hundreds of unwanted blades in the past, with this success encouraging us to enhance this offering by setting up permanent amnesty bins inside four of our stations for use all year-round too.”
He added: “Whether it’s through the daily patrols of our dedicated knife crime teams or school visits, we already do so much work, along with our partners, to take weapons off our streets and stop them from getting there in the first place.”
The operation has been welcomed by the new Police and Crime Commissioner for Nottinghamshire, Gary Godd, who was elected this month. “Sceptre is a fantastic way of highlighting the great work that goes on all year-round in Nottinghamshire to stop people carrying knives”, Godden said. “The campaign is crucial in educating those who may be considering taking a weapon out with them and emphasising the fact that carrying a knife does not protect you, it simply increases the level of danger for you and those around you.”
The Kirkby knife amnesty bin can be found in the entrance to Kirkby in Ashfield police station, located in the Ashfield District Council offices on Urban Road, Kirkby.
More information about Operation Sceptre can be found on the Nottinghamshire Police website.
