Sussex Police has welcomed the Minister of State for Crime, Policing and Fire to look at how the force is combating knife crime in hotspot areas.
Chris Philp MP visited Brighton on Wednesday (November 16) alongside Sussex Police Chief Constable Jo Shiner; the force leads for serious violence and knife crime Chief Inspector Simon Yates and Sergeant Liz Reschwamm, and Sussex Police and Crime Commissioner Katy Bourne.
The visit was scheduled during Op Sceptre week – the nationwide intensification on tackling knife crime and highlighting the dangers of carrying a knife.
During his visit the minister engaged with officers to see what the force is doing to combat knife crime, observed a knife sweep with volunteers, took part in a hotspot patrol and visited a knife crime engagement van.
Figures show since 2019 knife crime in hotspot areas has dropped by 50% in the 15 hotspot areas across the county.
Each hotspot covers an area of approximately 150m² where serious violence is most concentrated.
The cost of crime within the hotspot areas has decreased by 19.5% since the 2019 benchmark which saves society more than £1.5 million.
Chief Inspector Simon Yates said:
“It was a brilliant opportunity to host the minister so he could see and hear first hand the proactive work being taken in Sussex to prevent serious violence and knife crime.
“Throughout Op Sceptre week our officers have been engaging with the public to inform them what we are doing to keep our communities safe.
“If there is anyone reading this who has a weapon they would like to dispose of I would urge them to use one of the many amnesty bins we have across the county.”
Find out more about Op Safety — the Sussex Police response to serious violence and knife crime — here.
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