THE number of people found in possession of a blade in Essex has fallen during the past six months, according to the latest police figures.

James Hore

THE number of people found in possession of a blade in Essex has fallen during the past six months, according to the latest police figures.

Since June the number of people found carrying a bladed weapon dropped from 63 to 44 in November.

The news has been welcome by Essex Police who said it was encouraging to see its efforts to tackle the problem were paying off.

The force was included in the Home Office's Tackling Knives Action Programme and awarded £150,000 in August to continue its fight against knife crime.

Police said a “key tool” in their campaign was the 2SMART programme which is now in its twelfth year with youngsters learning about the dangers of knives at the same time as being educated about alcohol, drugs and bullying.

Inspector Kevin Whipps, said: “Essex is one of the safest counties in the country and does not experience the knife crime problems seen in other areas.

“However, one victim is one too many and we will seize every opportunity to continue to work to eradicate this type of crime from our streets.

“We are encouraged to see the work that we are doing as a force is providing tangible results in the form of a reduction in those found in possession of a blade.

“While a large part of our work is involved in education and prevention with the young, knife crime is committed by people of all ages.”

Essex Police have pledged to reduce knife crime across the county and now has 19 “safety archways” and 80 wands which can detect whether people are carrying a knife.

They have been used in high-profile operations as well as being taken out and demonstrated to the community.

The latest figures for people found in possession of a bladed article were; 63 in June, 76 in July, 63 in August, 50 in September, 56 in October and then 44 in November.