Source: United Kingdom London Metropolitan Police
Headline: Met Police takes part in a week of action targetting knife crime
The Metropolitan Police Service (MPS) will be taking part in the latest national phase of Operation Sceptre this week, as part of the ongoing fight against knife crime.
Officers across London will be employing a variety of tactics, including weapon sweeps and intelligence-led policing operations to confiscate knives and target repeat knife crime offenders.
The MPS is working with officers from the British Transport Police (BTP) and the City of London Police to support this activity, running from Monday, 12 February to Friday, 16 February,
During the most recent week of Operation Sceptre activity within London, which took place between January 15 to January 21, officers recovered 282 weapons, including 186 knives.
Commander David Musker for Territorial Policing, who is overseeing the Operation Sceptre activity, said: “Regular, focused activity such as this is essential in helping remove weapons from the streets of London, and makes a major contribution to the fight against knife crime.”
Superintendent Susan Peters from BTP said: “We are supporting the national week of action across the country through community engagement and operations at transport hubs.
“A main focus for us will be talking to people at stations and on trains, particularly young people, as statistics show that people aged 16 to 25 are more likely to be carrying knives.
“We want people travelling on the railway network to feel safe and reassured by the action BTP officers are taking alongside our colleagues in other forces and partner agencies.”
Inspector Richard Galvin from the City of London Police said: “The City of London Police is committed to working alongside our colleagues as part of the Operation Sceptre Taskforce. As part of this pan-London approach to tackling knife crime, we are determined to deal with this problem wherever it may be found in the capital.
“Officers from across London will be working together, on intelligence-led operations with one aim – to root out knife crime.”
We would urge anyone who is concerned for someone involved in knife crime, to visit our website at www.met.police.uk/StopKnifeCrime.
Knife bins can also be found throughout London as part of the Met’s effort to take knives off the streets. A map showing the location of knife bins across London is available on our website at http://www.met.police.uk/StopKnifeCrime.