206 knives have been taken off the streets of Hampshire and the Isle of Wight during a national week of action to tackle knife crime.

Operation Sceptre resulted in 29 arrests in the County; 10 of these arrests had knives seized directly.

The seven-day operation ran between Monday, 15th and Sunday, 21st (November). Officers have been using every tactic available including weapons sweeps, using knife arches in public places and supporting night-time economy, and used surrender bins to remove knives off the streets.

During the week, Hampshire and the Isle of Wight were successful in:

Recovering 176 knives that had been surrendered in knife bins across the Force

Carrying out 97 stop searches; 11 of which recovered a knife

57 weapon sweeps of parks and open spaces – no weapons found

Engaging directly with 126 schools to support education and prevention

50 retailers corresponded with 14 on site test purchases – two failed by selling knives to Under 18s.

Some of the weapons seized during the week, included machetes, swords and hunting knives. Through the engagement and enforcement tactics available, other forms of criminality such as supplying drugs were also identified.

Schools and local communities had events put on to talk about the dangers of knife crime. Youth engagement forms a significant part of the week, helping young people move away from violence and involvement in gang activity.