The dangers of knife crime have been highlighted to hundreds of students across the county as part of Kent Police’s participation in a national week of action.
A total of 45 knives and bladed items have also been seized by officers as part of the week known as Sceptre, which ran from 11 November to 17 November 2024. Knife arches were installed and weapons sweeps carried out in Kent’s parks and public places; police dogs were deployed and targeted visits were made by officers to known and suspected offenders.
Throughout the week, officers also took part in dedicated events in the community: educating and informing young people on the facts around knife crime, the dangers of carrying knives and helping to shape the attitudes of those at risk of offending. Officers met with students from 35 schools across the county, with knife crime roadshow visits to schools in Swale and Folkestone; knife crime talks and workshops in Canterbury, Maidstone and Medway and themed school assemblies held in the Dover and Tonbridge districts.
Sessions on knife crime were held at youth services in Tunbridge Wells and officers spoke to young people during high visibility patrols in the town. Knife retailers in Kent were also approached, with officers attending businesses in Dover, Maidstone, Medway, Sevenoaks and Swale to discuss the measures in place to verify the age of people buying knives, and to safeguard young people from irresponsible sales.Retail outlets were encouraged to sign up to the knife pledge, vowing to store and display knives safely and securely, whilst operating a strict ‘Challenge 25’ age verification policy.
Inspector James Ross said:
‘Tackling knife crime in Kent is about so much more than seizing knives and making arrests. It’s also about understanding the reasons behind carrying a knife, and how we can influence this – equipping people with the facts and empowering them to make better choices.
‘Sceptre Week has thrown a spotlight on knife crime, but to reach a long-term solution and prevent it from happening, we need to change attitudes towards knives. We need to help those at risk to understand that carrying a knife is not something that makes you safer, or better protected – in fact, carrying a knife means you are more likely to be harmed.
‘This is why we’ve been working with schools, businesses and organisations to engage with young people as part of our approach: identifying current and potential knife carriers, safeguarding and supporting communities and, of course, stopping the sale and supply of knives solely intended to harm, along with their supply to young people.’
Sceptre Week highlights:
- On 11 November 2024, officers in Dover were alerted to a teenage boy reportedly seen near a residential property with a knife. The boy was spoken to in the property about legislation on possessing knives in private as well as in public and the knife was seized.
- On 13 November, officers attended Bluewater shopping centre along with PD Hudson, where a knife arch was installed and seven members of the public were stopped and searched. Three community resolutions were given out for drugs related offences.
- On 14 November officers attended Tonbridge railway station together with PD Dougal and carried out 25 stop and searches. A bladed article and cannabis were seized from a 22 year old man, who is due interview with an investigation ongoing. Five people were found in possession of drugs, with two people due to attend interview and three community resolutions were issued.
- On 15 November, officers detained a man seen to be behaving suspiciously in the Vincents Road area of Dartford and a search led to the recovery of a knife along with a quantity of cannabis and cash. The man was arrested on suspicion of possession of a bladed article and possession with intent to supply a class B drug, and has been bailed while enquiries continue.
- In Dartford on 18 November, a proactive search was carried out at a property in the West Hill area of the town. An assortment of weapons were recovered and a man was arrested on suspicion of possession of an offensive weapon.
- On 19 November, Darren Stevens, of West Hill, was charged with possession of a stun gun, possession of a baton, possession of a friction asp and possession of a sword. Mr Stevens, 50, was bailed to appear before Sevenoaks Magistrates’ Court on 30 January 2025.