Police op leads to weapon seizures and 19 arrests
A TOTAL of 19 people were arrested and a number of weapons seized as police took part in a national week of action against knife crime.
Dyfed-Powys Police has released its results from Op Sceptre, which ran from April 26 to May 2, during which officers across the force took part in activity to crack down on crime involving blades.
The week was led by the force’s roads policing units (RPU), with a focus on targeting operations in key areas throughout the four divisions.
Neighbourhood policing teams were instrumental in engaging with shopkeepers, creating educational videos for communities on social media, and working with RPU on joint patrols in crime hotspots.
The operation ran across Carmarthenshire, Pembrokeshire, Ceredigion and Powys.
Inspector Andrew Williams said: “There have been some excellent results force-wide from this year’s Op Sceptre, and as a result of the increased proactivity in key areas, a vast amount of other offences were also detected.
“This was thanks to some outstanding work by roads policing units, neighbourhood policing teams, the joint firearms unit and response officers.
“Our approach was to educate our communities on the laws around carrying and selling knives, and the dangers associated with having a blade on your possession.
“This was backed up with operational activity across the force including stop searches, vehicle stop checks and engagement with shop owners and school pupils.”
During the week 20 people were stopped and searched by officers, resulting in seven arrests for affray and possession of offensive weapons, and numerous weapons being seized.
Twelve people were arrested for drugdriving following stop checks on vehicles. Traffic offence reports were issued to 41 drivers, and two people will be dealt with for failing to stop for officers.
“Those who were not will be dealt with accordingly.
Insp Williams added: “We would also like to remind people that while our knife amnesty has now concluded, the best way to dispose of an unwanted blade is to take it to your local recycling centre.”