COP KNIFE DETECTORS ON TUBES
Fans scanned to stop killings
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POLICE are forcing Tube travellers to have weapon scans at stations in a bid to combat the knife crime epidemic.
Football fans heading home from weekend matches told how they were collared by police and made to walk through a mobile metal detector.
The move comes after London this year reached 100 homicides faster than at any time during the past decade. Sixty-four of those were stabbed.
One group of Arsenal supporters said they were forced to undergo scans as they walked out of Walthamstow Central station in east London on Saturday.
It is just a mile from Vallentin Road which has been dubbed “Britain’s most dangerous street” after 200 serious crimes in the past two years.
One of the fans said: “I saw a couple of police standing on the opposite side of the exit barriers.
“As I went through they asked me to walk through this metal detector.
“I have no problem with it at all. Knife crime is a massive issue in London and anything that helps stop it is worth a try.’’
Another supporter who was scanned said: “It was clever because you didn’t really see what was happening until you were in the machine.
“That would stop people running off or trying to hide things.’’
A third fan said: “I’m backing the police 100%. People are carrying knives to protect themselves from people carrying knives. It’s got disaster written all over it.’’
No-one from British Transport Police was available to discuss the anti-stabbing operation yesterday.