Man arrested on first day of knife clampdown in Bedford town centre

Officers spent the day at The Harpur Centre in Bedford and in The Mall in Luton speaking to the community about knife crime.

Harpur Centre manager, Samantha Laycock, added: “We welcome Bedfordshire Police to engage with our local community in Bedford at every opportunity so were happy to host them on the launch day of Operation Sceptre. Our visitors really appreciated receiving crime reduction tips, learning about the latest campaign and meeting the team.”

While in The Mall, officers responded to reports that a man had been seen with a knife following an altercation in Luton town centre. After searching the area, one man was stopped, searched and arrested on suspicion of possession of a bladed article and possession of a controlled drug.

A smaller knife found discarded on a seat inside The Mall and was also seized by officers.

Operation Sceptre, launched yesterday (Monday), is aimed at clamping down on knife crime and encouraging people to think twice before carrying a knife.

Sergeant Ben Dimmock from the force’s Crime Reduction team said: “Monday was a great start to our week of action on knife crime. It was great to speak to so many members of the public about knife crime, as well as raising awareness of what we’re doing to tackle it.

“Carrying a knife is unacceptable, and we’ll continue to work hard to apprehend those who do so.”

To report information about someone carrying a knife, call 101 or report it via the force’s online reporting centre. You can also call independent charity Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111. In an emergency always dial 999.