Police buy body scanners for bars to detect knives
PEOPLE visiting pubs and bars in Cardiff will have to be vetted by airport-style body scanners in the search of knives.
A number of licenced premises are already using so-called knife arches and metal detector wands to help keep the city safe.
They were introduced after the fatal stabbing of 21-year-old Asim Kahn on St Mary Street in July.
Now new body scanners will be introduced in some venues in the city as part of a clampdown on knife crime.
As part of Operation Sceptre, a project funded by the Home Office, police in Cardiff have been able to buy eight screening devices.
These are already being used in other major cities like London, Birmingham and Manchester, and will be used in Cardiff as and when requested by venues. These venues will then take responsibility for operating them with support and guidance from the Police Licensing Department.
Police are also running knife crime awareness-raising sessions which are being delivered to around 250 staff at the city’s biggest nightclubs.
Superintendent Wendy Gunney, from South Wales Police, said: “The initiative highlights the commitment of the licenced trade to work with us to keep Cardiff safe.
“We recently took part in a national Op Sceptre week of action which in Cardiff alone resulted in 16 arrests and 47 weapons being found across the city. But the work continues and these eight screening devices will hopefully help maintain a safe environment, reassure the public and deter anyone thinking of carrying a weapon.
“Screening arch operations, which are running nationally, also provide an opportunity for interaction with members of the public and for staff to start having those conversations about knife crime.”
In May, the Home Office allocated £1.2m to the force in a bid to make the region safer.
Money has been used to extend the Operation Sceptre knife crime team in Cardiff and create a new team in Swansea.
There has also been funding for preventative community-based work with young people such as the Street Safe project in Ely, Splott, St Mellons and Butetown.
Supt Gunney said: “We continue with community-based initiatives, such as knife sweeps, knife amnesties and youth club events, and our officers, including the covert Op Sceptre teams, are out on the streets 24/7 making it uncomfortable for anyone who matches the profile of those involved in knife crime.”
Nick Newman, who is chair of the licensees forum in Cardiff, said: “There is not a problem with knives in the nighttime economy of the city, but we would be remiss if we didn’t recognise it as an issue.
“We are fully behind what the police are doing and are really pleased to be working in partnership with them.”
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