Avon and Somerset Police are making concerted efforts to combat knife crime this week, as they participate in 'Operation Sceptre,' a nationwide initiative against knife crime.

In Street, neighbourhood team officers conducted Operation Sceptre patrols in several parks, looking for knives or bladed articles that may have been left behind. PCSOs Tim Richards and Leann Chinnock conducted thorough checks at Woods Batch Park, and luckily, no such items were found.

PCSO Elaine Cave made her presence felt at Strode College in Street as part of the Knife Crime awareness week. The students received education and increased awareness about the dangers of knife crime.

The police are also encouraging the public to surrender any weapons through one of their 17 weapon surrender bins, positioned at police stations and within communities. Since 2016, over 4,000 knives and weapons have been turned in via these bins.

Avon and Somerset Police's lead for knife crime, Chief Inspector Mike Vass said: "We know that knife crime is an issue that many people in our communities worry about. A recent survey by our Police and Crime Commissioner for example showed that 40 per cent of those questioned had concerns about knife crime in their local area. Operation Sceptre is an opportunity to highlight the work we are doing all year round to tackle knife crime and keep our communities safer.

"Although the reality is that the majority of the knife crime incidents we see are where people are known to each other. Unfortunately, a small number of people feel that carrying a knife is a way of keeping themselves safe. Sadly, this puts them at greater risk of harm, or causing harm to others and while we know that only one in 100 young people actually do carry a knife, we're committed to educating all young people about the dangers of knives.

"Our work to tackle knife crime does rely on the support of our communities. We need you to please continue to share information about any concerns, or people carrying weapons in your local area.

"Any information from members of the public is used to build a picture of what's happening which helps us to shape our response. We want to keep communities safer and reduce the number of knives on the streets and the number of families who have to experience the awful consequences of knife crime."

You can contact the police with any concerns you have on 101 or 999, or online. Or you can anonymously report through CrimeStoppers Independent UK charity taking crime information anonymously | Crimestoppers (crimestoppers-uk.org) and the young person's version Fearless at Give information about crime 100% anonymously | Fearless | Crimestoppers (crimestoppers-uk.org)