POLICE carried out a joint operation with the borough council and the British Transport Police at Redditch Railway Station last Thursday as part of work to detect and prevent people from carrying knives and weapons.
Passengers were asked to walk through the knife arch at the station throughout the day.
The arch, supplied by the North Worcestershire Community Safety Partnership, works in a similar way to airport scanners by detecting metal.
Many stop-searches were conducted, resulting in drugs being seized.
Several people were arrested for drugs and weapons offences.
Police at the station were engaging with passengers as they got on and off the trains and they conducted welfare checks on any children travelling alone.
Insp Richard Field said: “We want to reassure our community we are doing our utmost to catch people carrying knives and that we are also actively tackling organised crime and drug dealing and distribution.
“I would like to send out a clear message that it is simply not acceptable to carry knives, and that doing so could have fatal consequences.
“The operation is just another example of how agencies such as ours are working together to keep people safe and remove these weapons wherever possible.
“Our officers are also working closely with schools in the area to try and deter young people from ever carrying a knife by educating children about the dangers and consequences.
“These are relationships we really value and I would like to thank our partners who are assisting with the activity, which we are carrying out regularly.”
