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Police use knife arches to fight summer street crime
Operation Blunt Two to ‘detect and deter’ use of weapons
METAL detectors are to be set up in the West End during the school holidays in a bid to crack down on the anticipated seasonal crime wave.
Screening arches and wands, which have previously raised the ire of lobby groups for criminalising young people, will be used to “detect and deter” people from bringing weapons into the area, under the Metropolitan Police’s drive to combat knife crime, Operation Blunt Two.
In addition, numbers of police on the street will swell, with an extra 200 officers on patrol on Friday and Saturday nights over the next seven weeks to “provide reassurance and advice”.
The move comes just two months after Steven Bigby, 22, was stabbed to death in broad daylight outside McDonald’s in Oxford Street. As expected, it has divided opinion among residents, who described it as both “sensible” and “heavy”.
Colin Bennett, chairman of the Leicester Square Association, said: “It does seem a bit heavy. We haven’t really had knife problems in the area before. It doesn’t particuarly make me feel any safer, and it is a horrible price to pay but if it makes people feel safer then I guess it works.
“Police seem to do a good job in the West End and perhaps this shouldn’t be their main priority. It’s a sad state of affairs that it’s come to this.”
On the Mayfair side of Oxford Street, the move has been more popular.
Ron Whelan, from the Mayfair Action Group, said: “Personally I think it’s pro active. I think it is not ideal but I do not oppose it. ¶
“I also think people need reassurance and this is a sensible way of doing it. More police on the street must be welcome – it makes a change from the usual patrol cars. This is something I feel quite strongly about.”
Detective Chief Superintendent Sue Hill, from Westminster police said: “Westminster continues to be one of the safest places to visit in the world with millions of people expected to travel into the West End over the coming weeks. We want them to go away with good memories of their visit to the borough without criminals spoiling their fun.”
She added: “Anyone thinking of travelling to the West End to commit crime should think again.
“In addition to the extra uniformed officers and community support officers, there will be undercover police deployed in the area to target offenders.”
A similar operation last summer to tackle the seasonal spike in street crime resulted in almost 200 arrests for a range of offences including drugs, weapons, assaults, pickpocketing and robbery.
Operation Blunt Two was launched two weeks ago. |
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