AS part of a new initiative to reduce crimes involving knives, Thame Valley Police are to carry random airport-type scans in public places, including schools.
Thames Valley Police is launching Operation Blunt tomorrow (Tuesday, November 21) to tackle knife crime and reduce the number of people who routinely carry knives on the streets.
During the National Knife Amnesty (24 May ? 30 June) 4,300 knives were handed in over a period of two months in the Thames Valley. In 2005 there were 287
knife incidents in Oxfordshire.
To search out knives, officers across the Force will be using search arches, similar to the metal detectors used for security at airports. The arches will be used in public places, such as school gates, shopping centres and transport hubs.
Acting Chief Superintendent Paul Tinnion, leading on Operation Blunt, said: ?We will be working jointly with schools and colleges, using the search arches at random locations and times. The detectors will be used both as a deterrent to reinforce the message that if you consider carrying a knife you will get caught. We will also use the search arches at knife crime hotspots to catch and prosecute people who are carrying knives illegally.?
The Damilola Taylor Trust is working with Thames Valley Police on Operation Blunt and has developed leaflets to give to people as they pass through the search arches to explain what the campaign is about and why carrying a knife is dangerous.
Heidi Watson, Chief Executive of the Trust, said: ?If you carry a knife, it could get used against you. This is a very important campaign and we are really pleased to be working with Thames Valley Police to get the message out. We want to build a culture of safety not of self protection.?
Research conducted for the Trust found that four out of five knife crime offenders are aged between 12 and 20 and one third of victims are aged between 10 and 17 years.
Bus shelters and outdoor advertising sites will be featuring safety messages as part of the campaign. The adverts picture a person carrying a knife and the message, ?Think this keeps you safe? It could cost you your life it it?s used against you?. The major advertising campaign is part of a bid to raise awareness of the dangers associated with carrying a knife.
Acting Chief Supt. Tinnion said:?People seem to think carrying a knife keeps them safe when in fact it could get used against them. If you carry a knife you are also running the risk of getting caught, put before a court and you could get up to four years in prison.?
Operation Blunt will run across all five Basic Command Units in the Thames Valley and will be tailored to combat the knife crime problem by each area.
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