Knife amnesty bins arrive in Scarborough as part of national campaign

North Yorkshire Police are taking part in Operation Sceptre - a national campaign highlighting the dangers of carrying a knife.

Officers from the force’s youth team will be carrying out educational work with young people who may be thinking of, or already carrying knives and encouraging them to make the right decisions.

Knife amnesty bins, where members of the public can take along any unwanted knives and safely dispose of them, will be at Scarborough and Malton police stations.

Detective Superintendent Fran Naughton, of North Yorkshire Police, said: “Fortunately rates of knife crime in North Yorkshire are low but that doesn’t mean there isn’t work for us to do to keep it that way.

"It only takes one knife in the wrong hands to cause utter devastation to a family.

“Operation Sceptre gives us the opportunity to ensure the warnings around the fatal consequences of carrying knives are kept at the forefront of the public’s mind and gives us the opportunity to get even more of these deadly weapons off our streets.

"It also provides us with a platform to send out a clear deterrence message to anyone who carries a knife for self-defence; that it’s a completely false sense of security.

"Producing a knife does not de-escalate a confrontation, it makes a bad situation worse and drastically increases the chance of you yourself being injured by that blade.

"To anyone who is concerned for a friend or family member who they think may be carrying a knife, please speak to them and explain the dangers.

"Tell them the safer and smarter thing to do is to put the knife down, or come and surrender it this week at a bin located at one of our police stations.

"Officers will be pro-actively targeting any knife related offences and we will use our powers where necessary, to prevent injury or worse. So my advice is to put down the knife. By doing so you make yourself and those around you safer.

"Anyone with information on knife crime in their local community can always contact police on 101, or can pass information to Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111. In an emergency, always dial 999."