Sweep of centre blunts knife fears

Photo: Vincent Brown

ASSISTANCE . . . revellers are happy to be checked. Picture: Vincent Brown

POLICE bosses have declared Oldham town centre a safe place after searches of nearly 1,000 people found no knives.

With knife crime being a major cause for concern after a series of stabbings across the country, officers used airport-style metal- detector arches to conduct a sweep on Friday night.

And out of 979 people checked, no knives or offensive weapons were found.

Two arrests were made, however, with officers spotting one person wanted for assault and another arrested for a public-order offence.

Oldham Council licensing officers joined the police in the operation, whose aim was to provide reassurance and to deter people from carrying knives.

Chief Insp Sarah Jones said: “Although knife crime in Oldham is very rare, we ran this operation to cause those who may be thinking about bringing weapons into the town, to think again.

“It provided a high-profile police presence on the streets and used stop and search powers to check to what extent people are arming themselves with weapons.

“We want people to feel they can come into the town and enjoy themselves in a safe environment.

“Those who were out enjoying themselves in the various pubs and clubs commented on the positive presence the operation had in the town centre and the results have confirmed to us that Oldham continues to be a safe place to live, work and visit.”

The maximum prison sentence for illegally carrying a knife has been raised from two to four years.