Over 200 blades recovered during week-long county-wide effort to reduce impact of knife crime

Sceptre (which has been known as “Operation Sceptre” in previous years) ran from Monday 19 May to Sunday 25 May as part of the National Police Chief Council’s (NPCC) week of activity that sees police forces across England and Wales intensify their efforts in tackling and reducing the impact of, knife crime in our local communities.

Knife crime is an issue officers recognise that residents are particularly concerned about, which is why they are determined to keep the county’s streets weapons-free.

These efforts have already yielded positive results, with recent figures showing that possession of weapons offences in Cheshire have fallen by 6.6%, with 727 incidents recorded in the 12 months to April 2025, compared to 778 recorded in the previous year.

The Constabulary remains committed to further reducing the number of knives carried across the county, and during the week efforts in tackling knife crime have been intensified through enforcement and engagement initiatives as the force continues to strive towards creating a county where nobody feels the need to carry a blade.

For this week of action, the first of two for 2025, there was a particular focus on ensuring the county’s retailers were aware of the rules and regulations surrounding the sale of bladed articles, leading to the conducting of several test purchase operations with local young people attempting to buy knives and blades without proper identification proving they were old enough to do so.

A great example of this proactive work came in Northwich and Winsford, with LPU officers and colleagues from trading standards completing 25 test purchase operations across 17 retailers, which included supermarkets, retail chains and smaller independent stores.

Of the 17 they visited, all but one passed the test purchase operation, with officers and trading standards colleagues reminding them of the laws surrounding the sale of bladed articles for potential future incidents.

Staying in the east of the county, officers and PCSOs in Crewe conducted information leaflet and poster drops to community engagement hubs and organisations such as the local Salvation Army, along with delivering safety presentations and demonstrations to schoolchildren and conducting knife sweeps in the county’s parks alongside local councillors.

Whilst in Macclesfield, plainclothes officers were deployed into town centres and hotspot areas on regular occasions across the week to respond to any unfolding incidents and catch offenders unawares. A number of knives along with five razor blades and a syringe were also recovered during an amnesty event.

In the city centre, officers were out and about, engaging with members of the public with the force’s very own Well-Being Dog, Poppy, visiting several youth organisations and Chester’s Storyhouse to meet young people to encourage open conversation with officers and discuss personal safety. Personal safety alarms and #DropTheKnifeSaveALife stress balls were also handed out to visitors by local officers at the Safety Bus in various locations across the city.

Further in the western part of the county, Ellesmere Port's Police Constable Sarah Bailiff conducted 19 one-hour face-to-face knife crime and personal safety inputs with students at West Cheshire College aged 16 - 25 years old. In addition to this, a safety presentation was sent out to all local schools in the area and delivered to nearly 330 students.

In the north, a ‘Pop-up police station’ in Runcorn recovered several knives and blades during their surgery and colleagues from Warrington LPU Youth Engagement spoke to over 360 children about personal safety and the dangers of knife crime and gang culture. During one school visit, officers also confiscated two imitation firearms that have since been made safe and are set to be destroyed.

In Widnes, a total of 92 blades (nearly 50% of all knives recovered by officers across the county) were recovered through knife amnesty and community knife sweep events. Officers also worked with night-time economy venues throughout the week, deploying knife arches outside venues such as nightclubs to ensure everyone enjoying their evenings in Widnes could do so without fear.

All this proactive police work and more resulted in a total of 205 knives and bladed weapons being removed from the Cheshire's streets.

Superintendent Cath Jones, who led the Force's Sceptre week, said:

"Over the course of May's Sceptre week, we saw some great examples of community engagement and partner relationship building that will help us continue to push the message that Cheshire is a hostile environment for anyone who chooses to carry a weapon.

“We have been busy working with our partner organisations, including local councils and charities, third-sector organisations, young people and community groups in conducting a number of activities such as knife sweeps, the delivering of safety demonstrations and the rolling out of knife arches and surrender bins in densely populated areas. 

"Our officers have also been visiting the county's retailers along with colleagues from trading standards to conduct test purchase operations, ensuring that knives are not falling into the wrong hands. It was very reassuring to see that the majority of retailers are aware of the relevant rules in regulations surrounding the purchasing of, what can be, lethal weapons.

"Knife crime is not an issue police can tackle on their own, which is why engagement between your local policing teams, schools, youth organisations, community groups and businesses alike is incredibly important when it comes to pushing for a wider societal change.

"We want everyone to feel that they can come to the police with any issues, not just knife crime, so we can take immediate action and keep them safe."

To report any type of crime involving weapons, call Cheshire Constabulary on 101 or 999 in an emergency.

Anyone who knows someone that carries a knife can report it to Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111 or via https://crimestoppers-uk.org/give-information/forms/give-information-anonymously

Information can also be passed to the force online via Report | Cheshire Constabulary