A KNIFE amnesty will return to Barnsley in September as police step up their work to get rid of blades from the town’s streets.
Operation Sceptre, which was a week-long campaign against knife crime in March, resulted in 106 blades being recovered by officers either through them being seized during raids or owners giving them up.
Since then, a fatal stabbing occurred at a house on Roy Kilner Road, Wombwell, in June in which Jill Hibberd, 73, died.
But according to police, there has also been an alarming rise in youngsters carrying blades - something which officers aim to tackle in next month’s operation - which ties in with a school scheme which is being led by Dr Alan Billings, the South Yorkshire Police and Crime Commissioner.
About 15,000 young people were spoken to during the previous operation, while figures show 39 people were stopped and searched, more than 200 were scanned by a knife detector near Barnsley Interchange and retail test purchases were carried out.
Det Supt Una Jennings, who leads Operation Sceptre in South Yorkshire, said: “Those who choose to arm themselves with a knife, whether it’s carried in the belief it’s for protection or status, or if it’s used to commit a crime, are those who are responsible for damaging our communities and are a blight on society.
“We’re all committed and all have the same goal we will ensure we continue to adopt all methods and measures available to drive knife-related criminality down.
“The results we have seen across the county have been very encouraging as our communities, as well as partner organisations, are fully behind us. We will not tolerate knife crime.”
Dr Billings’s scheme You’re Only Young Once (YOYO) has been involving Barnsley schools whose pupils have been learning about the impact knife crime has had.
“I know the police are doing everything they can, but it does raise the wider question of what is happening and what can be done,” Dr Billings said.
“This epidemic of knife incidents is not unique no-one really understands why it has been happening,” he said. “If we don’t understand why something is happening, we are likely to be more concerned, not less.
“We need to ensure that our young people understand the risks they run by carrying blades. The truth is that carrying a knife offers no protection and anyone who does is more likely to become a victim themselves.”
