Sheffield police comb public spaces for weapons and stop-and-search powers to tackle knife crime

It is such a complex problem with a myriad of causes, often linked to poverty and criminal exploitation, that will never be fixed overnight.

While judges at Sheffield Crown Court regularly bring people responsible for carrying blades and knife-enabled violence to justice, and in some cases take them off the city’s streets, more still is needed to help people feel safe in their communities.

But what form should that take? When The Star visits Sheffield neighbourhoods in the wake of a stabbing, we ask residents what would help to reassure them, and make them feel safer, and are often told that they would like to see more police patrols, or really, any kind of consistent presence from South Yorkshire Police (SYP).

And as you may have already noticed, police officers have been out in force across Sheffield this week.

OPERATION SCEPTRE

It is part of an intensive week of police action targeting knife crime in the city started on Monday, May 16, as part of nationwide initiative, Operation Sceptre, through which police forces across the country not only seek to tackle the issue but also aim to create awareness of it and to educate people about the inherent dangers of carrying a knife.

Detective Superintendent Dave Cowley works in the South Yorkshire Violence Reduction Unit and is also SYP’s force lead for homicide prevention, serious violent crime and knife crime.

He says officers across both Sheffield and the rest of the county will be ‘taking part in targeted activity and operations to disrupt criminal activity and knife crime’ throughout this week.

Det Supt Cowley added: “We’ll also be raising awareness of knife crime and the devastating effect it can have on families and the wider community. We can’t stress enough how devastating the effects of knife crime can be. So many people can be affected by it, particularly serious woundings and homicide. There’s the victim themself; the grieving family who will never be the same again. Then there’s the family of the suspect themselves and the wider community. All affected by one person’s decision to carry a knife.”

Det Supt Cowley is also keen to state that knife crime is a priority for the force all year round, and one which sees officers employ a range of tactics in a bid to keep communities safe.

LAND SEARCHES IN TINSLEY GREEN

I shadowed a team of officers from the Sheffield South East Neighbourhood Policing Team (SSENPT) on Tuesday (May 17), the hottest day of the year so far, as they combed Tinsley Green searching for weapons that have been stashed in bushes and shrubbery lining the perimeter of the park.

“It’s more common than you think,” says Sergeant Chris Lukins, adding: “People leave weapons and drugs – and fireworks in September and October – instead of being caught by the police.”

He adds that the SSENPT have targeted Tinsley Green specifically as part of their Operation Sceptre activities in the wake of two stabbings that have taken place in and around the park in recent weeks, one of which left a 16-year-old boy needing hospital treatment and resulted in three boys aged between 13 and 15-years-old being arrested.

The team scour the area for knives, using police sticks, and steel toe capped boots, to move leaves and see if they can shake any contraband free.

Sgt Lukins notices a strip of material tied to a branch of a tree, and thoroughly searches the tree and nearby bushes, hoping to find someone’s stash.

He explains that people who choose to hide weapons in public spaces will often choose a tree or bush that is particularly distinctive, or will sometimes leave markers, to help themselves, and others, to subsequently go back and locate what they have attempted to conceal.

The team’s search eventually turns out to be fruitless, but Sgt Lukins explains that when officers do find weapons, they will then attempt to link them to recent reports of crime in the area.

EDUCATING SCHOOL CHILDREN ABOUT KNIFE CRIME

He adds that as part of the educational element of Operation Sceptre, community officers are set to visit a primary school in the area, as well as Oasis Academy.

When asked if primary age children need to be educated about knife crime, Sgt Lukins added: “I think it’s important to start it early, and keeping it going through secondary school.”

Speaking later on, Det Supt Cowley adds that when it comes to educating school children about the dangers of knife crime it is important not to ‘sugar-coat’ their message to youngsters.

He also believes that more awareness is needed around the possible consequences of using a knife.

“I don’t think there’s any such thing as a minor knife wound. All knife wounds can be potentially life-threatening and I think there have been numerous cases where somebody has thought they were only going to cause a relatively minor injury or cuts somebody and actually it’s led to a homicide. So you can’t underestimate the impact a knife injury can have on somebody,” said Det Supt Cowley.

THE USE OF KNIFE ARCHES AND STOP-AND-SEARCH POWERS

After completing the search in Tinsley Green, the team travels over to Woodhouse where they deploy one of the force’s two knife arches, initially setting it up on Market Street, a couple of hundred yards down from The George pub, before moving it to the entrance of the underpass just beyond the Woodhouse Memorial Garden.

In addition to uniformed officers, there are also a number of strategically located, plain-clothed officers who are on the look-out for anyone going out of their way to avoid it.

Such behaviour can result in officers using stop-and-search powers under Section 1 of the Police and Criminal Evidence Act (PACE).

This section of PACE, which has at times proved controversial, permits officers to search a person or vehicle where they have reasonable grounds to suspect that they will find prohibited items, including offensive weapons such as knives, stolen articles, equipment related to the commission of certain offences and fireworks.

Police Constable (PC) Joseph Gourdin explains that the plain-clothed officers will initially approach the person who has avoided the knife arch, and will attempt to engage with them about their reasoning. If they continue to raise suspicion, officers may then choose to exercise their stop-and-search powers.

He adds it is not uncommon for people to stash weapons around the corner from a knife arch, and officers have previously found an abandoned machete this way.

“Sometimes you’ll hear a clatter because someone’s dropped a knife that they’re trying to get rid off,” continued PC Gourdin.

While the team did not arrest or search anyone during my time with them on Tuesday morning, a knife arch deployed in the city centre, between Sheffield Railway Station and Sheffield Interchange, on Monday, May 16 resulted in eight stop-searches. No arrests arose from the searches, however.

Anyone wishing to report a crime should call SYP on 101.