Operation Sceptre, a national week of action to tackle knife crime has been taking place this week, but work to combat knife offences continues in Derbyshire throughout the year and to underline this Derbyshire Police have launched Operation Wintershield.
The Operation will see joint working with Derby City and Derbyshire County Council through the Community Safety Partnership using intelligence to identify hot spot areas for knife and violent crime using a multi-agency approach to tackle the root causes of the issue.
Wintershield will also be supported by Health, Education, Social Care and charities involved in the reduction of knife crime and serious violence.
Detective Chief Inspector Matt Croome explained:
“Operation Wintershield is a force wide operation and shows our commitment to reducing knife crime and serious violence across the county, especially amongst vulnerable groups such as children and young people.
“We already have strong links with our partners and Operation Wintershield is an acknowledgment of that fact. It allows us to combine best working practices to tackle the root cause of a crime which can have a catastrophic impact on our communities.
“We also know that the key to reducing knife crime is ensuring a flow of information and intelligence from our communities.
“As such I would urge anyone with information about knife crime, people carrying weapons and those who risk becoming involved in serious crime, to make contact with us”
Councillor Matthew Eyre, Cabinet Member for Place and Community Development said:
“Knife crime is an ever present threat to the safety of our residents, especially our young people, and we will continue to work with Derbyshire Police to do everything we can to reduce it.
“With Operations such as Wintershield, alongside our community programmes, we can continue make a real difference in our communities.”
You can speak to Derbyshire Police by using any of the following methods:
- Facebook – send a private message to /DerbyshireConstabulary
- Twitter – direct message the contact centre on @DerPolContact
- Website – complete the online contact form.
- Phone – call on 101.
You can also anonymously contact the independent charity Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111 or by visiting the Crime Stoppers website.
The operation will run until the end of February 2022 and for its duration officers and staff will be sharing the excellent work that is going on to tackle the root cause of these often-devastating crimes.
You can follow the work on social media by following #OpWintershield