More than 480 drug seizures, 276 arrests, 363 people reported for summons and 175 vehicle confiscations.
These were just some of the actions taken by Nottinghamshire Police’s knife crime team last year.
During December alone, the team seized 5,881 grams of cannabis with a street value of up to £59,000.
In the last three months of 2020, 246g of cocaine potentially worth tens of thousands of pounds was seized, as well as 26g of heroin worth up to thousands of pounds, and 11g of MDMA, worth up to hundreds.
The estimated combined street value of these drugs recovered between October and December is around £93,000.
Since its 2016 inception, the knife crime team has patrolled more than 35,000 miles across Nottinghamshire and seized 450 weapons.
The team has continued to take an intelligence-led approach to stopping individuals and vehicles suspected of carrying knives and drugs. Its targeted approach has proved very effective in removing weapons and drugs from our streets.
Official figures reveal knife crime in Nottinghamshire reduced by 11% in the year end to June 2020.
Nottinghamshire’s fall in knife crime was in stark contrast to the regional (+7%) and national (-1%) picture.
Sergeant Matthew Daley, of the knife crime team, said: “We treat knife crime and drug offences with the utmost severity and work tirelessly to bring offenders to justice.
“We carry out a number of tactics and work with intelligence to uncover anyone who might be involved in criminality and to remove dangerous weapons off our streets.
“We also have a dedicated knife crime analyst and researcher whose work helps us to identify hotspots and trends. This allows us to be very targeted with our patrols and other initiatives to tackle knife crime.”
Assistant Chief Constable Steve Cooper added: “The knife crime team has had a big impact on tackling and reducing knife and drug-related crime over the last year, with a number of significant arrests and seizures.
“The team is just one element in Nottinghamshire Police’s ongoing efforts to reduce knife crime even further.
“They bolster the great work which is taking place every day across the force’s neighbourhood teams, response teams, CID and other areas of the force in terms of enforcement against knife crime.
“There’s also a lot of hard work going into knife crime education and prevention, such as through our Schools and Early Intervention Officers, as well as many positive initiatives involving our partners, including the Violence Reduction Unit, to make our streets safer by tackling violence, preventing young people from carrying knives and diverting them away from crime.
“The reduction we’ve seen in violent knife crime offences is also testament to the continued support from our communities and community groups, who play a vital role in helping us to tackle the issue.
“It all shows the importance of everyone’s hard work, the wider partnership approach and joint efforts being made and how we all need to work together to combat knife crime in Nottinghamshire and make it clear that carrying knives on our streets will not be tolerated.
“I’d urge anyone with information on knife crime in their local community to call Nottinghamshire Police on 101, or Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111. In an emergency, always dial 999.”
Paddy Tipping, Nottinghamshire’s Police and Crime Commissioner, said: “Disrupting drug and knife crime is a 24/7 operation in Nottinghamshire and these results reflect the hard work and dedication that goes on all-year-round by the Knife Crime Team and the wider policing family to protect our communities.
“A key strength in Nottinghamshire’s approach is partnership working and the emphasis on preventative intervention as well as enforcement.
“Through the work of the violence reduction unit (VRU), we have deepened our understanding of the driving forces behind violent offending which is helping us to stop young people making mistakes that could cost them their lives or the lives of others.
“The VRU has funded a number of intensive programmes to turn vulnerable young people away from violence and gangs, help them recover from trauma and provide the skills and confidence they need to create a better future. Many of these initiatives are already bearing fruit but there is considerable work to do and we will not rest on our laurels.”
