Dangerous Weapons Seized And Multiple Arrests Made In National Knife Crime Crackdown

Friday May 26, 2023

Dangerous weapons including zombie knives have been seized and over 50 arrests made in a week of action to reduce knife crime in West Yorkshire.  

Officers from across West Yorkshire Police joined the force’s dedicated Operation Jemlock knife and violent crime reduction unit in taking part in a whole range of enforcement and crime prevention work for May’s national Operation Sceptre.  

The week was part of an ongoing push to continue reducing knife crime across West Yorkshire in which overall knife offending has been falling.

Figures show that knife offences for 2022/23 financial year were four per cent lower overall than in 2021-2022, and eight per cent down in cases involving under 25’s. 

This means there were 102 less victims of overall knife crime and 73 fewer victims under the age of 25.

During the latest activity, officers seized in excess of 45 knives and made 56 arrests for offending including knife possession.

One recovered weapon included a zombie knife in Leeds ( pictured ) which was located by officers responding to a robbery report.  A man seen running away from the bin where the weapon was found was arrested at the scene.

Neighbourhood policing and specialist Jemlock officers were also highly active in schools to try and raise awareness among young people of the dangers of carrying knives.

In total they visited 38 including  in Leeds, Kirklees, Calderdale, Bradford and Wakefield 

Officers in Bradford also held a  knife amnesty in Centenary Square to coincide with the visit of the Knife Angel sculpture to Bradford.   Thirty knives were recovered there, with more also being handed in during a mobile amnesty in the Leeds West area .

Finally, police and partners also visited 28 retailers across the week to make sure they were complying with legislation and not selling knives to under 18’s.

Chief Inspector James Kitchen of Operation Jemlock, said: “ A huge amount of work has been ongoing by West Yorkshire Police and the West Yorkshire Violence and Reduction Unit to reduce knife crime in West Yorkshire and we are seeing that reflected in our figures for knife crime.
“High profile individual offences do very understandably cause public concern, but the overall trends show knife crime is coming down and the national Operation Sceptre weeks continue to be a great opportunity for us to focus a spotlight on this issue.
“Proactive patrols, arrest operations and other activity has seen officers make over 50 arrests and carry out sweeps of public areas for discarded and hidden blades, with some dangerous weapons recovered.
“NPT colleagues have also visited 38 schools to educating young people about the potentially lethal dangers of carrying knives.   
“Getting this message home to young people is absolutely crucial in the short and long term to help us prevent some of the tragic examples of youth related knife offending we have witnessed over the past 12 months.
“We continue to work very closely with the West Yorkshire Violence Reduction Unit ( VRU) on a whole range of education projects across West Yorkshire to potentially stop more people from taking knives onto the streets.”

West Yorkshire’s Deputy Mayor for Policing and Crime, Alison Lowe OBE said:
 “It is encouraging to see more potentially deadly weapons removed from our streets.
 “The fact that a Zombie Knife was seized, really highlights the pressing need for stronger legislation, and I would urge communities to get involved in the ongoing national public consultation on this very issue.
 “Through our continued partnership and support of the Mayor’s Violence Reduction Unit, we are making some important strides to ensuring we have a safer, fairer West Yorkshire for all.”
 

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