Swadlincote Police have acted to reassure residents that violent and knife crime is relatively rare in the area.

Following the conclusion of a trial last week into the death of 17-year-old Benjamin Orton, which has seen another 17-year-old boy convicted of manslaughter, local policing Inspector Mike Sisman is seeking to emphasise the police commitment to keeping South Derbyshire safe.

Insp. Sisman took over the helm from Insp Chris Thornhill in November and is now in charge of policing in the Swadlincote and South Derbyshire area.

He posted an online message which says: "Firstly, and most importantly, I would like to extend my thoughts and sympathies to the family and friends of Benjamin, and to his friend who was seriously injured in this incident.

"I was the response Inspector on the evening of the incident, and I witnessed first-hand the devastating consequences of the incident and saw the tremendous effort of our emergency service colleagues at the scene.

"We have seen some serious incidents during the past few months, and this has understandably caused concern in the community, but I would like to reassure residents that knife and violent crime is still considered to be rare in our area.

Insp. Sisman added: "We are committed to tackling knife crime and will always take appropriate action for those involved in this type of crime, including arrests and where possible prosecution.

"I would echo the sentiments of Detective Inspector Shaw, who led the investigation into Benjamin's death, in that carrying a knife has very real and catastrophic consequences and I would like to make a plea to the community, if you know anyone who is carrying a knife to please contact us, or consider passing information anonymously consider passing information anonymously through Fearless – you won't be asked for any personal details but the information you give could help save lives."

Officers in the South Derbyshire area are taking part in a county wide policing operation to tackle serious violent crime, named Operation Wintershield.

The operation focuses on reducing knife crime and serious violent crime across the county, especially amongst vulnerable groups such as children and young people.

It uses intelligence to identify hot spot areas for knife and violent crime and involves a multi-agency approach to tackle the root causes of the issue, with ongoing work including dedicated patrols and work with partnership agencies to identify and mitigate risk.

Operation Wintershield will run until the end of next February and, for its duration, officers and staff will be sharing the work that is going on to tackle the root cause of these crimes.