It could take up to 10 years to tackle knife crime in the area, a police superintendent has told the Hunts Post.

Police in Cambridgeshire have vowed to address concerns over the increase in people carrying weapons in the county by making it a force priory.

Superintendent Jon Hutchinson told the Hunts Post the force is doing all it can to try and tackle knife crime, but the issue could take up to a decade to solve.

Serious street based violence (SSBV) is a new initiative that has been introduced as a policing priority alongside child abuse, burglary, and domestic abuse.

The force will now be working with schools, parents, councils and the youth offending service to educate children and teenagers about the dangers surrounding knife crime.

Spt Hutchinson said: “What we really want to do is ask for parents and schools to have serious conversations with younger children. There have been some heartbreaking cases in the last year of people losing their lives due to knife crime, and I want people to understand the consequences that it can bring.

“I really want people to know that if they are thinking about carrying a knife or a weapon with them, do not do it. There is support out there for anyone that is worried or doesn’t feel safe. A lot of the time it is just one person carrying a weapon, that makes other people feel that they need to carry one for protection, and it needs to stop.”

A team of officers are now working to tackle SSBV, with additional focus on county lines and drug markets, which Spt Hutchinson says has links to violent crime.

He said: “Although we have made this a priority, I wouldn’t say this is a big issue in the region. In places like Cambridge we follow behind bigger cities when it comes to trends in crime, so for us as a force, we are looking at prevention and education, before it becomes bad.

“We will be tackling the issue in two ways. The first will be the short term approach which will be officers targeting people in the street and working with vulnerable people in the community, and the other side is a longer term approach which is a generational issue, where we will work to educate people. This could take up to 10 years to really resolve, and is going to be a long term effort.”

If you know someone that is carrying a knife report it to 101 or visit www.cambs.police.uk/report. Alternatively, contact Crimestoppers, anonymously, on 0800 555111 or via www.crimestoppers-uk.org.