Police have said the dispersal orders such as those used in Bolton this year get results, but must be “used proportionately".

Greater Manchester Police (GMP) has launched the second phase of a campaign against knife crime.

The message, put forward by the region's mayor Andy Burnham and others at the launch this week, was that “carrying a knife can destroy a life, but speaking out can save a life".

Also involved in the campaign was Superintendent Caroline Hemingway, from GMP's knife crime lead.

She said the dispersal orders, such as those which have been issued in Bolton this year, get results.

One order was put in place in Great Lever in June after fears violence would break out.

She said: “They are linked to violent crime.

“They have got to be used correctly and proportionately.

“They are a way of reducing serious violence.

“Another way is to step up patrols in that need it most, we have seen an increase in officers out on the street, in areas such as Manchester city centre, Bolton and Wigan.”

But she said there also needed to be a “public health” element to preventing knife crime, including working with school teachers and educating people about the “dangers of carrying a knife.”

Mr Burnham also spoke about knife crime, and said things were very different for young people today compared to when he was growing up.

He said: “Life is changing, it is a different reality compared to the one that people my age grew up with.

“Social media has ratcheted up pressure on kids.

“They are going home and there is no letting the dust settle.”

He said some were carrying a knife out of fear of others with a knife and it was important to “break the arms race".

He urged people to speak out if they knew someone with a knife and also praised recent improvements in GMP.

He said: “Our police service is a very different to the one we had even a year ago.

“They are making more arrests, answering 999 and 101 calls, there has been an increase in stop and search powers, but there has been a reduction in complaints about stop and search.”

Police are also operating community pilots which bring in different bodies to get people away from knife crime.

Bolton has had one of these in operation for eight months.