A KNIFE amnesty returned to Barnsley this week as police stepped up their work to rid blades from the town’s streets.
Operation Sceptre, which began on Tuesday and runs for a week, follows a previous operation in March which resulted in 106 knives being seized.
But since then, two high-profile stabbings have occurred and police this week reiterated their commitment to tackling knife crime after 73-year-old Jill Hibberd was murdered at her home on Roy Kilner Road, Wombwell, in June and a man suffered minor injuries in a stabbing in Barnsley town centre earlier this month.
According to police, there has also been an alarming rise in youngsters carrying blades - something which officers have paid particular attention to in the latest clampdown.
Det Supt Una Jennings, who is the force lead for Operation Sceptre, told the Chronicle: “Knife crime doesn’t simply affect the person stabbed, it ruins the lives of their family and friends and the life of the person carrying out the attack.
“They make a split-second decision out of fear or anger but if we can get our young people to stop feeling the need to carry a knife, we can remove that thought process.
“It’s crucial to engage with our young people to understand exactly why some feel like they have to have a knife on them. There’s a strong correlation between them carrying and them being a victim and it’s something we are taking incredibly seriously.
“In Barnsley, the focus has been on engaging with the community, conducting more stop and searches on people suspected of carrying knives and carry out test purchase operations.”
