Wiltshire Police taking action against knife crime during national week of focus
Operation Sceptre is a week long, intensified period of police action aimed at tackling knife crime
Wiltshire Police has told Greatest Hits Radio about how it's focussing on tackling knife crime during a week of action.
During the latest round of Operation Sceptre, Force's up and down the nation are clamping down on knife crime, highlighting the potential harm carrying a knife can cause.
In Wiltshire, investigators have been carrying out weapon sweeps in public areas, in a bid to uncover hidden knives and get them off our streets.
Sergeant Gemma Rutter explained the benefit conducting such tasks brings the Force.
She said: "If we were to find a knife, it does offer a lot of opportunity for us to try and locate a suspect.
"It also helps us build intelligence on what's going on within a specific area, who's going into that area and why are they acting in that way?"
Sgt Rutter said that it's always "good news" when nothing is found, although finding something can lead to a breakthrough in a case.
She told us a recent sweep in Bradford-on-Avon had seen a weapon discovered, although that wasn't in a main public area.
Boosting community confidence
With such events seeing a hive of police activity, Sgt Rutter told it shows the dedication of officers to their local areas.
"I think it shows the community that we care, that we are paying attention. I think it's always quite reassuring for the public to see us in the parks and check in these spaces," she said.
She added that it's also an opportunity for the public to get to know their local officers and to raise their own concerns that they may not feel right in calling in.
Sgt Rutter revealed that during a sweep of a park in Trowbridge, that people passing through the space had spoken to officers, telling them that safety in that area had improved in recent months.
She said: "It is an excellent opportunity for us to get boots on the ground and find out what is going on and there's no better way than to speak to the public."
The "brilliant tool" helping get knives off streets
Another method Police have been using to get knives off the streets is Amnesty bins.
These surrender points are stationed at various points across the county, including at Wiltshire FA Headquarters in Devizes.
The bins allow people to hand in bladed weapons without the fear of prosecution.
Sgt Rutter described the bins as an "brilliant tools" in allowing people to given up a weapon.
She said: "You can do it one of two ways. You can hand those knives into the surrender points, or you can risk carrying them on you and either getting hurt yourself by carrying the knife, or you get arrested."