Man jailed for carrying knife in his rucksack in Milton Keynes street

A 21-year-old man has been jailed for six months after police stopped and searched him and found a knife in his rucksack.

Jack Tredwell, of North Tenth Street in Central Milton Keynes was charged immediately after the knife was discovered in January.

As well as the knife, officers found he had a quantity of cannabis on him.

Tredwell pleaded guilty to possession of a knife blade/sharp pointed object in a public place and possession of cannabis in a hearing at Milton Keynes’ Magistrates’ Court on January 15.

Yesterday (Tuesday) he returned to the same court to be given his sentence.

The stop and search was part of Operation Deter, launched by Thames Valley Police to clamp down in knife crime in Milton Keynes.

Offenders found with knives are swiftly charged, often remanded in custody and given a stiff sentence within weeks.

PC David Sutton said: “Tredwell was found to be in possession of a dangerous weapon during a stop and search and as a result, using Operation Deter principles he was charged and remanded to court within 24 hours of his arrest on 14 January.

“The resultant custodial sentence shows that we will not tolerate knife possession in the Thames Valley.

“We have successfully removed a dangerous individual and a lethal weapon from our streets, and I hope that this reassures law-abiding members of our community that we will robustly pursue and prosecute those who carry knives.

“Operation Deter is our robust approach to seeking swift charge and remand, and I am please we managed to charge and remand Tredwell straight into custody and put him behind bars where he belongs.”

During the first month of Operation Deter, which was launched in July 2022, 67 knife-enabled crimes were recorded by officers in Milton Keynes – an average of almost two a day.

The special operation followed four murders involving bladed weapons in the city over a period of just 13 weeks at the start of 2022.

Last week, following the success of the operation, an additional pilot scheme was launched in Milton Keynes - in partnership with the Youth Offending Team (YOT) – aimed specifically at targeting young people under 18 who carry knives.