Police have arrested a man on suspicion of carrying a knife after metal-detecting arches were used in a Nottinghamshire town to crack down on knife and drug-related crime.
Officers transported a mobile knife arch around key locations in Mansfield town centre and Layton Burroughs on Friday (May 17) to identify people with knives.
Fifteen people were stopped and searched during Operation Scorpion, which included a passive drugs dog, weapons searches and CCTV being used to monitor suspicious behaviour.
Nottinghamshire Police have confirmed one man, Matthew Bradley, 23, of Nottingham Road in Mansfield, was arrested and charged with possession of a bladed article and possession with intent to supply cannabis. He was due to appear at Nottingham Magistrates' Court today (May 18).
The force says other offences were detected throughout the day which led to one person being summonsed to court, one being given a police caution and two people agreeing to voluntarily come to a police station for further investigations.
Inspector Nick Butler, the neighbourhood policing inspector for Mansfield, said: “These operations have been very well-received by the local community and we received lots of really positive feedback throughout the operation.
“It was a chance for the community to pledge its support for a knife-free Mansfield, which is all about local people joining us to make a stand and show that we don’t want knives on our streets.
“Mansfield has not seen a significant increase in weapon-enabled or knife crime but, unfortunately, these types of incidents do still occur.
“We take every report of violence seriously and we will be robust in our efforts to prevent these types of offences from occurring.”
Detective Chief Inspector Kevin Broadhead added: "Every knife incident has potentially serious or life-changing consequences, which is why Nottinghamshire Police treats it extremely seriously.
Knife crime
"In 2016, we set up our own dedicated Knife Crime Team – the only one outside of the Metropolitan Police – which has a high rate of success with intelligence-led enforcement.
"Our targeted approach continues to see more knives taken off the streets and more offenders brought to justice.
"In addition, we have invested in Schools and Early Intervention Officers to work with schoolchildren across the county, as part of our efforts to prevent knife crime happening in the first place.
“We also work closely with our local partners to help tackle what is a societal issue."
Following five knife-related incidents in Nottingham at the start of May, Nottinghamshire Police's chief constable Craig Guildford hinted new technology could be used to detect people with knives in the city centre.
