Week of knife crime campaigning begins across Warwickshire
It's part of the national Operation Sceptre
Today (May 19) marks the start of Operation Sceptre, a twice-yearly nationwide week of events aimed at tackling knife crime and steering young people onto better trajectories.
Across the week, neighbourhood officers with Warwickshire Police have got a number of planned events, ranging from the installation of knife surrender bins to going to schools with VR headsets to deliver powerful presentations on the dangers of carrying a knife.
Officers will also be out across the county engaging with our communities to talk about prevention – while also conducting knife sweeps and targeted patrols.
They're also promoting Operation Talkative – a force scheme where people from all our communities are encouraged to come forward and tell us if they know of someone carrying a weapon.
Through the operation, we look at ways we can intervene early, to prevent tragedy and to direct young people to more positive outcomes.
In an emergency, the message is to always call 999.