POLICE have been given extra stop-and-search training and shops have been warned about selling blades to youths as part of the fight against knife crime.

Around 60 shops and supermarkets were tested recently as part of a Thames Valley Police and Trading Standards operation to check whether they would sell a knife to someone under 18.

Details of the spot checks were revealed as the force released the results of its latest 'Operation Sceptre' week of action which took place in March.

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Other activity saw 345 knives handed in across Oxfordshire as part of an amnesty and knife arches installed in schools and train stations.

Speaking to the Oxford Mail, Superintendent Rebecca Mears wouldn't go into specifics about which shops had been targeted for fear of damaging future operations but said the majority had passed.

She added: "They have either passed, which is great because it means they have refused to sell to underage people, or they have not passed.

"What we will then do is work with them, educate them and give them warnings.

"Sometimes they will then be prosecuted by Trading Standards if they have had a warning before."

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The week of action came amidst a rise in knife crime both locally and nationally.

Across the Thames Valley area, the amnesty resulted in 686 knives being handed in - a slight decrease on the 733 surrendered last year.

In Oxford, 54 were collected, while the Cherwell and west area saw 214 handed in and 77 in south Oxfordshire and the Vale of White Horse.

Ms Mears welcomed the results, saying it showed a desire from members of the public to reduce knife crime.

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She said: "It tells us people are engaging with us, that they do want to reduce violent and knife crime.

"If they didn’t, they wouldn’t be handing knives into us.

"We don’t know who has handed them in but the whole point is the knives will not get into the hands of anyone who might be tempted, forced or pressured to arm themselves and go out onto the street."

Ms Mears said the reasons for the current rise in knife-related incidents is due to a number of complex factors.

Working with other agencies, the police have recently been researching the links between adverse childhood experiences and the likelihood of someone becoming involved in violent crime which will inform 'early intervention' strategies in the future.

She also revealed that officers have been given further training in stop-and-search recently, teaching them how and when to use this power and ensure it is proportionate and fair.

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But she wouldn't say whether people could expect to see an increase in searchs on Oxford's streets.

She said: "It has to be intelligence led. And only when that intelligence is reliable and can be trusted. I couldn’t say if Oxford will experience an increase, it will be purely based on the reliable intelligence that we have."