POLICE TARGET KNIFE YOUTHS

KNIFE SWEEPS AT PARKS AND TEN ADDRESSES VISITED BY OFFICERS IN WEEK-LONG ACTION

NOTTINGHAMSHIRE Police have visited the homes of young people who might be influenced into carrying knives in the West Bridgford area.

Officers attended 10 addresses in Rushcliffe after intelligence suggested they could be influenced by a life of violent crime.

Neighbourhood Inspector Craig Berry from Nottinghamshire Police said there was not a gang problem in the area but some youngsters had been “misguided”.

In the last month, he recalls two incidents where police have swooped in after two young people were seen with knives in West Bridgford.

He told the

Post: “We have isolated incidents when things happen.

“We have found young people in possession of knives and weapons – two incidents in the last month.

“They were not gang-related. It was just young people that were misguided and had made poor decisions and it has not resulted in violence.

“We recovered the items. These incidents can happen anywhere.”

He said one incident involved a young person carrying a large kitchen knife near his home, which was called in by a concerned third party.

The second incident involved a youngster showing another a lockknife in a public place. Police were called by a bus driver.

Police have been out in force as part

Police have been checking areas of parks in Rushcliffe where they believe knives may have been concealed. of Operation Sceptre, a week-long programme to tackle knife crime in each area of the county.

In Rushcliffe, officers have done knife sweeps on each park, checking places where knives might be concealed. “Young people do store and stash weapons so we have searched public areas,” he said.

“We have not found anything there so far but six months ago we found a large knife on West Park in West Bridgford.

“That might be a one-off occurrence but we wanted to make sure that is not a place where individuals were leaving weapons.” He said that officers had also been in schools talking to children about knife crime and staging “meet and greet events” outside the school gates with parents. His officers have also visited seven young people at home as well as three adults who might be influenced by carrying weapons or carrying out violent incidents.

“It is not a finger-pointing exercise. “It is a chance to let the parents know. It is not just about the police turning up and arresting people. “We are engaging with them.” He also had a message for parents in the area.

“Do they know what their children are doing? And who their friends are? “Are they planning to carry something for someone else? “You do not have to search their bedrooms but are they absolutely confident they are not involved in the wrong groups?”

It is a chance to let the parents know. It is not just about police turning up and arresting people. We are engaging with them

Insp Craig Berry