Fifteen people stopped and searched by police in Mansfield as part of crackdown on knife and drug crime

The operations resulted in one man, Matthew Bradley, 23, of Nottingham Road, Mansfield, being arrested and later charged with possession of a bladed article and possession with intent to supply cannabis. He was remanded in custody to appear at Nottingham Magistrates’ Court this morning.

A number of other offences were also detected among other members of the public, resulting in one person being summonsed to court, one receiving a police caution and two agreeing to voluntarily attend a police station for further investigation.

Weapons recovered during the operation included a four-inch locking knife, as officers used a mobile metal-detecting knife arch (pictured) at a number of key locations to identify those in possession of knives.

Weapons searches were also carried out, where a drugs dog was used to identify suspects and CCTV was used to monitor any suspicious activity in both areas as part of the operations.

Inspector Nick Butler, Mansfield District Commander, said: "Mansfield has not seen a significant increase in weapon-enabled or knife crime but unfortunately these types of incidents do still occur.

"We take every report of violence seriously and we will be robust in our efforts to prevent these types of offences from occurring.

"Nottinghamshire Police and its partners work hard to steer people away from carrying knives, through engagement and education.

"However, when people choose to carry weapons we use a range of tactics, including stop and search, to seize these weapons and prosecute those who carry them.

"Yesterday's positive action is part of our ongoing routine work and again demonstrates our commitment to tackling knife and drug crime, removing weapons from our streets and bringing offenders to justice.

"I hope this type of dedicated proactive activity is reassuring to our local communities."

Detective Chief Inspector Kevin Broadhead added: "Every knife incident has potentially serious or life-changing consequences which is why Nottinghamshire Police treats it extremely seriously.

"In 2016 we set up our own dedicated Knife Crime Team - the only one outside of the Metropolitan Police - and which has a high rate of success with intelligence-led enforcement.

"Our targeted approach continues to see more knives taken off the streets and more offenders brought to justice.

"In addition we have invested in schools and early intervention officers to work with schoolchildren across the county as part of our efforts to prevent knife crime happening in the first place and we work closely with our local partners to help tackle what is a societal issue.

"Knife crime levels have risen across the country including Nottinghamshire, albeit at a slightly slower rate than the national average.

"There is already a great deal of work going on in Nottinghamshire to tackle knife crime.

"In March this year we held a highly successful knife amnesty that removed 635 weapons from circulation in just one week and we use a range of other tactics throughout the year, from test purchase operations and weapons sweeps in public places, to ensure we are doing everything we can to tackle the issue."

Andy Abrahams, Executive Mayor of Mansfield, said: "We are pleased to support the local police operation targeting knife crime and helping to keep Mansfield a safe and welcoming destination.?

"Visitors and residents should be assured that the police are responding to a national issue at a local level and this operation is about keeping knives away from the streets of Mansfield.

"We’ll continue to work with the police and provide CCTV coverage to help make Mansfield a safe place to live, work and visit".