Thames Valley Police has released the results of its operational activity and the knife amnesty during last week’s Operation Sceptre, the national week of action to tackle knife crime.

A new multi-agency data-sharing system developed by Thames Valley Police and the Violence Reduction Unit has received positive scrutiny by the Information Commissioner’s Office, with a final regulatory report now published.

Last week Matthew met with some of the UK’s biggest retailers at the National Business Crime Service Conference and visited Botley Food Store with The Midcounties Co-operative to mark Respect For Shopworkers week.

New statistics show Thames Valley Police received over 500,000 contacts from the public, attended 81,000 incidents and made 16,000 arrests over a six-month period in 2023.

Based in Blackbird Leys, the Sorrell Road Allotment Project is supported by local allotment users who provide seeds and plants for the plots. It is a sustainable project which has, over the years, made a variety of storage spaces, weather resistant shelters and outdoor furniture from reclaimed or donated wood.

The platform, which has been procured by the Office of the Police and Commissioner, will be made available free of charge to retailers, Business Improvement Districts (BIDs) and Business Crime Reduction Partnerships (BCRPs) across Berkshire, Buckinghamshire, Oxfordshire and Milton Keynes.