SOUTH YORKSHIRE’S MAYOR SUPPORTS SCEPTRE

Published 13 November 2024 at 1:30pm

South Yorkshire’s Mayor, Oliver Coppard, is supporting Sceptre, a national week of police action to tackle knife crime.

The bi-annual week of action, held from 11-17 November, sees South Yorkshire Police stepping up activities to tackle knife crime, working with partners from across the county.

As well as conducting policing operations, the force will take part in increased community engagement, proactive communications, the delivery of educational materials on the dangers of carrying knives, and information on the impact that knife crime has on victims, perpetrators, families, and communities.

South Yorkshire’s Mayor took on Police and Crime Commissioner powers following May’s election, with one of his manifesto commitments prioritising a zero-tolerance approach to knife crime.

Commenting, South Yorkshire’s Mayor, Oliver Coppard said:

“Knife crime is a scourge on our communities, destroying the lives of both victims of knife crime and those who carry knives. 

“Across the country, the rates of knife crime are growing, and they are growing more quickly in South Yorkshire than in other similar places. That’s why as South Yorkshire’s Mayor I have made knife crime a priority and committed to take a zero-tolerance approach. 

“Weeks of action like Sceptre are important, not just for taking knives off the streets in the short term, but also by putting early intervention and education at the heart of that approach. 

“Everyone in South Yorkshire has the right to feel safe and secure, whoever they are, wherever they are. By working with South Yorkshire Police and across our communities, I am determined to make that vision a reality.

Knife crime includes all incidents that involved a knife or a sharp instrument, with the exception of possession of weapon offences and homicides as these are counted separately. In South Yorkshire there has been a downward trend in the numbers of incidents over the last 12 months of recorded figures (according to Office of National Statistics). In the period between July 2023 and June 2024 there were 1,492 incidents involving a knife or sharp instrument. In the previous 12-month period the reported number of incidents were 1,614. This has come down from its peak in 2017/18 of 1,772.

Nationally a lot of work is being done to target the accessibility of deadly and intimidating weapons to reduce how easily they can end up in the wrong hands. The recent ban of ‘zombie-style’ knives and machetes supports policing in stopping their manufacture and overall availability. 

The fight to remove knife crime from our communities has also been further strengthened with the government’s recent announcements about a proposed ban on certain types of swords and the largest ever review into how knives are sold online to identify any gaps in legislation which will prevent these being sold illegally to under-18s.

In reality very few people carry knives but if someone you know is carrying a knife you can report it to the police, speak to a trusted family member or teacher, or you can report it anonymously to Crimestoppers. 

If there are areas where you live or spend time that don’t feel safe you can report this on a website called StreetSafe. The information is passed to your local police force who can then look at what they can do to improve safety in that area.