A national knife amnesty is taking place in Hertfordshire this month.

Hertfordshire Constabulary is taking part in Operation Sceptre, a national knife crime campaign which aims to rid the UK’s streets of knives.

The amnesty will run between Monday July 17 and Sunday July 23, during which members of the public will be able to surrender any unwanted knives to the police anonymously and without fear of prosecution for possession.

Hertfordshire remains one of the safest counties in the country and has low levels of knife crime.

However, these kinds of crimes have been on the increase across the country, particularly in London.

The amnesty also provides an opportunity to educate young people about the dangers of carrying a knife, give crime prevention advice and raise awareness amongst local businesses that selling certain knives to anyone under 18 is illegal.

Any knives in your possession that you do not want or should not have can be surrendered at one of the following police stations: Hatfield, Stevenage or Watford.

During the amnesty you can surrender knives anonymously in the knife bins provided.

Police and Crime Commissioner David Lloyd said: “Operation Sceptre is now being run on a regular basis in many parts of the country and has been very effective in reducing the number of knives being carried. Any knives that we can be taken off of our streets will help to make everyone safer. Fortunately the number of knife-related incidents is low in the county, but as part of our wider crime prevention strategy, this can only contribute to making Hertfordshire even safer.

Deputy Chief Constable Michelle Dunn added: “This amnesty is an opportunity to raise awareness, especially among young people, that carrying a knife is illegal and does not make you safer.

“As part of this knife crime campaign we will be running many operations such as; knife detection arches and test purchases, as well as providing information about the dangers of carrying knives. The message we want to send is that carrying a knife makes you more likely to be injured, become involved in a violent incident or be arrested.”