385 knives and sharp objects have been surrendered in Cleveland during a weeklong campaign. The na - Friday 22 March 2019

By Hartlepool Alert

385 knives and sharp objects have been surrendered in Cleveland during a weeklong campaign. The national knife surrender began on Monday 11th March, and surrender bins were placed at the main police stations in Middlesbrough, Stockton, Hartlepool and Redcar and Cleveland. Throughout the campaign, officers and Police Community Support Officers (PCSOs) visited local schools to raise awareness of the dangers of knives and sharp objects with the aim of educating young people and deterring them from engaging in knife crime and violence. In the twelve month period up to December 2018, there were 415 knife crime incidents in Cleveland, a reduction of ten per cent on the previous year. Inspector Jon Hagen said Were pleased that the knife surrender has resulted in 385 knives and sharp objects being handed in. Essentially, this stops these items potentially getting into the wrong hands and being used as weapons. The simple fact is that in the wrong hands, knives can be deadly. We will continue our work alongside partner agencies in Cleveland to raise awareness of the dangers of carrying knives and to prevent and reduce the risk of knife crime and serious violence. We will also continue the work within schools to educate the younger generation about these issues and to help them feel empowered to challenge certain behaviours. Police and Crime Commissioner for Cleveland, Barry Coppinger, said Serious violence is a priority on my agenda and I am very pleased to see that this campaign has been successful in recovering knives and sharp objects removing them from the streets of Cleveland. As part of the work I do to help tackle serious violence, I have provided funding for School Liaison and Early Intervention Officers to help deter children from crime and my office has secured 546,000 from the Early Intervention Youth Fund to drive forward targeted outreach projects in our most atrisk communities. I will continue to work alongside partners including Public Health in a bid to drive down crime involving knives. Inspector Jon Hagen (top right) and Tom Cave from charity The Chris Cave Foundation Toms brother, Chris Cave, was stabbed to death in 2003 and his family campaign in his name.

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