POLICE in Warrington are taking part in a national campaign to take knives off the streets as part of Operation Sceptre with special knife surrender days around the town, starting today (Saturday) in Chapelford and Westbrook.
While Cheshire has one of the lowest rates of knife crime in England Cheshire Police are determined to further reduce the number of knives carried on in the county – and that includes Warrington, with knife surrender days being set up around the community.
Chief Inspector Sarah Heath, who is Cheshire’s knife crime lead, said: “Nationally, knife crime is a growing problem, and the week-long Operation Sceptre campaign is an initiative that the force is always more than happy to support.
“We were severely restricted in terms of the work we could do during last year’s two weeks of action for Operation Sceptre, with them having fallen when the country was in lockdown due to the Covid-19 pandemic.
“Now that we have come out of lockdown, there are more avenues open to us in terms of tackling knife crime across Cheshire over the seven days. However, knife crime is an issue that the force tackles throughout the year, with officers working day and night to protect communities.
“We take knife crime extremely seriously and are proud of the fact that Cheshire has a lower rate of knife crime than most other counties in England.
“When people carry knives, it is only a matter of time before someone suffers life-changing injuries or is killed, and if you carry a knife then you are much more likely to be involved in a knife crime. As all the statistics show, carrying a knife doesn’t make you safer.”
Information can also be passed to police online via https://www.cheshire.police.uk/ro/report.
Anyone who knows someone that carries a knife can report it to Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111 or via https://crimestoppers-uk.org/give-information/forms/give-information-anonymously.
Knives can be surrendered with no questions asked at the following locations.
Saturday 24th April
12:00- 14:00 Sainsburys Chapleford )
14:30-16:30 Asda Westbrook
Monday 26th April
10:00-12:00 Co-op Fearnhead cross
13:30-15:30 Co-op Cotswold Road
Tuesday 27th April
10:00am Co-op Kingsway South
12:30pm Birchwood Mall
Wed 28th April
10:00-12:00 Tesco Extra Winwick Road
13:00-15:00 Sainsburys Church street
Thursday 29th April
10:00-12:00 Lingley Mere Shops
13:00-15:00 co-op Burtonwood
Friday 30th April
09:30-11:30 Davies way car park Lymm
12:30-14:30 Co-op Penketh
