Metal detectors aid knife search

More than 600 knives have been taken off the streets

Police are to use metal detectors in an ongoing stop-and-search campaign to clamp down on knives in Tyne and Wear.

Teams of officers will use the hand-held devices to search suspects and they warn that anyone caught with a blade will be charged.

During a recent two-week Northumbria Police amnesty more than 600 weapons, mainly knives, were handed in.

In the next phase of the campaign officers will target known offenders and carry out spot-checks.

Some 653 weapons, including flick knives, daggers, hunting knives and machetes, were handed in during the amnesty.

Police launched the crackdown after a spate of stabbings and incidents of disorder throughout Tyne and Wear.

Target areas

Chief Constable Mike Craik, of the Northumbria force, said: "The message is that the amnesty is over, officers are out stopping and searching anyone suspected of carrying a knife.

"Anyone found with a knife in public, without a very good reason, will be arrested, charged and put before the courts.

"The enforcement phase of the campaign is aimed at highlighting the work we carry out throughout the year and we will continue to target areas and offenders."

After the holidays, officers will be going into schools to give talks to pupils on the consequences of carrying knives.

Serious knife crimes have fallen in the area, with 284 from January to June, compared to 351 for the same period in 2007.