A campaign to raise awareness of knife crime has launched across Greater Manchester following recent high profile stabbings across the UK.
‘Open your eyes to knives’ is a new Greater Manchester Police campaign showing the areas that knives have been hidden after use in public areas, with the aim of raising awareness of the dangers of knives and bladed articles hidden in our communities.
The campaign follows a rise in publicity surrounding knife crime in recent weeks. 17-year-old Yousef Ghaleb Makki was stabbed to death in Hale Barns, Greater Manchester, last week. In the same week another 17-year-old, Jodie Chesney, was killed in London. The two cases have brought the issue of knife crime to the national news, with many people stating that more needs to be done to get knives off the streets of England.
Back in January, 42-year-old mother Alison Hunt was found stabbed to death in Swinton, Salford. The incident again highlighted the severity of knife crime and that it is a real problem in all parts of the UK.
Visitors to GMP’s social media platforms will be asked to spot the knife hidden in a number of images released during the week across Facebook, Twitter and Instagram, encouraging conversation around what is often a difficult subject to address.
See if you can spot where the knife is hidden in the images below, then view the next image for the answer.
The images are a great way of showing how well hidden knives can be in public areas, as well as opening the public’s eyes with the hope that more knives will be reported and handed in to the police.
Supporting Operation Scepter, a national week of action running from March 11–17, the campaign will run alongside GMP’s operations over the coming weeks and months to tackle knife crime, incorporating a range of policing tactics including hotspot targeting and stop and search methods.
Greater Manchester Police’s Assistant Chief Constable Rob Potts said: ““It’s a sad fact that people are not only carrying knives, but are now also hiding weapons in and around public places and that can be very worrying for members of the public.
“The more knives that are on the streets only leads to one outcome – more people getting hurt – and we are determined to act to stop these implements getting into the wrong hands.
“To ensure police and partner resources are targeted in the communities where they are needed most, we are asking the public to be aware and report any knife sightings to us reduce the circulation of weapons in our communities.”
If you have concerns about someone you know or care about carrying or hiding a knife, or if you are aware that knives are being concealed in your community call the Police on 101 or talk to us via LiveChat on the GMP website
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