Dear Resident

Sceptre, the national police initiative to tackle knife crime is taking place this week between Monday 13th May and Sunday 19th May, as part of the national campaign to reduce the number of knives on our streets. The force will be working with local partners across Hertfordshire, to ensure businesses are not selling certain knives to anyone under 18, and a range of activities will be carried out over the course of the week to detect and deter knife-related crime, including knife sweeps of local public spaces and hotspot areas.

A knife amnesty will be in place for the week and the usual knife surrender bins situated at Hatfield, Stevenage and Watford stations.

Sergeant Karen Mellor, who is leading on the operational activity for Sceptre, said: “Knife crime remains low in the county, but the weeks of action are part of our continuing strategy to tackle violent crime. They are a great opportunity to reduce the number of knives in circulation and raise awareness of issues around carrying knives, in particular that possessing a knife in public is illegal and could result in arrest."