Operation (Op) Divan is a collaboration with Workforce Trust and was set up by the North Yorkshire Police (NYP) as an early prevention program after several children and young people (CYP) were found with knives and other weapons in local schools.

This is part of a larger problem in policing, reducing the number of CYP carrying weapons and raising awareness of the consequences of doing so.

Police receive information about young people who may be involved in knife crime and, if they meet certain criteria; are under the age of 18, not previously been convicted of weapon possession or recieved Op Divan before, they are allocated a NYP officer who will deliver an Op Divan meeting within 72 hours. In the meeting, officers outline the process of Op Divan to the young person and their parents, issue an official notice, explain the risks and consequences of carrying a knife or other weapon and signpost further support where appropriate. If the young person has additional needs, referrals to other agencies are also made.

The intervention focuses on early prevention amd works to help prevent the criminalisation of young people, keep them safe and promote culture change around attitudes to carrying a knife. Op Divan is designed to educate young people and raise awareness of the consequences of carrying a knife and reduce the number of young people carrying a weapon.

The operation involves:

• Voluntary face-to-face meetings between CYP and Operation (Op) Divan staff
• Official Notice is given for educational purposes (not legally binding)

This evaluation aims to comprehensively assess the effectiveness of Op Divan in reducing knife carrying among CYP, as well as evaluating the economic implications of the intervention. The evalution report outlines that in-depth interviews conducted with NYP officers and operational staff, indicate that they felt Op Divan was successful for the majority of participants; 89.3% did not come to police attention again.

The evaluation is designed to provide critical insights into the operation’s impact and cost-effectiveness, informing future decisions regarding its implementation and potential scale-up across other territorial police forces.

You can read the Evaluation of Operation Divan document online here