More than 100 knives are detected at court
Tuesday 15th September 2009, 11:30AM BST.
Security officer Andy Falla in front of the archway scanner, one of the devices which have been used to detect items such as knives being carried by people entering the court building. (Picture by Peter Frankland, 0839539)
SECURITY officers at the Royal Court have taken 102 knives from people in the four months since safety measures were put in place, it has been revealed.
More than 200 items have been detected in total and a court spokesman said that justified the implementation of checks in April.
Hammers, screwdrivers, scissors and darts were just some of the items discovered by security staff.
Bailiff Sir Geoffrey Rowland highlighted the statistics when he addressed the Chief Pleas sitting.
He said security at the court had been a concern ever since Guernsey Police carried out a review of safety measures. Sir Geoffrey added that the results showed the new system was working.
Director of administration Alastair Ford said the banned items were all detected either by the archway metal detector in use at the entrance, which is supplemented by the use of hand-held metal detectors, or by searching bags being brought into the building.
‘Where a prohibited item is detected, it is then stored securely by the court security officer and returned to the individual concerned when they leave the building,’ he said.
‘The only occasion when an item would not be returned would be if it was deemed to be an offensive weapon, in which case the matter would be referred to the Guernsey Police. We have not had to make any such referrals to date.’
Mr Ford said that given the number of items involved, the recommendations of the review and the introduction of the security checks had been fully justified.
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Seems quite remarkable to me that not one of the 102 knives were considered to be offensive weapons.
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Further to my previous post. These 102 knives were deemed too dangerous to be brought into court but quite safe enough to be handed back to the owners who no doubt were walking the streets of St. Peter Port.
An explanation would be very welcome.
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Well you’re not allowed to take any bladed instrument onto a plane, regardless of it’s legality. Surely this is a similar principle.
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Lots of things could come under the category “knife”.
My neighbour is a carpet fitter. As such, a Stanley Knife is a tool of his trade and he usually has 2 or 3 on his person in different pockets. If he enters the Courthouse for any reason, thenthese have to be handed over and he can collect them back again when he leaves.
I know of Pipe Smokers who have a little knife on the instrument used to pick out the old tobacco. Again, this couldn’t be allowed.
Also nail clippers tend to have a little blade/knife on them so these too are not allowed in the Court, yet perfectly legal to have on the streets.
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I think that this was another security risk which was completely over the top. Of course no one wants dangerous knives on the street but reading the penultimate paragraph of the article above:
‘The only occasion when an item would not be returned would be if it was deemed to be an offensive weapon, in which case the matter would be referred to the Guernsey Police. We have not had to make any such referrals to date.’
just goes to show that to date no dangerous weapons have been found. As others have said – these were handed back after the owners left the court building so they were free to walk around with them.
There are hundreds if not thousands of everyday household things that could be used as weapons if the perpetrator so wished – the key is appropriate risk assessment and i am very concerned that we are just blindly following the UK legislation on all of this. Next we will have bouncers/security guards on all shop doors as in London, searching our bags etc. Complete madness in my view.
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What sort of people do we have living on this island that feels bringing a knife or hammer into court is exceptable?
I think knife crime is something that is very close to home, with young James Dean passing due to knife crime. I think that if someone turns upto court with a weapon, they should be taken into custody at that very moment.
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This is one of those articles that the States put out to justify the means on the reason they are doing something completely unwarranted. Before this Chief Of Police came onto the scene, there was never any inclination to go into security measures as they have done now. You have to ask on what justification was there a need for this security? The headline of over a 100 knives detected at court, sounds better than a 100 metal objects detected and a couple of cans of beer. As someone previously stated, no offensive weapons have been found, so why the glamorization on the heading. Was it to sell the story? or justification on States spending? We are teaching our children to be responsible people and to be able to justify their actions in our society, so that there should be no need to carry weapons. This heading put in the wrong context to some young people, justifies the right to carry a weapon, as 100 people have done it, why can’t they?
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>> What sort of people do we have living on this island that feels bringing a knife or hammer into court is exceptable?
I don’t know, perhaps a builder or an electrician or a plumber? If they were coming into the court building to do some work but didn’t absolutely need their hammer or knife they might leave it at the door rather than argue the odds – perhaps they were visiting someone who worked in the court building on their way to work and were carrying their tools to or from work? Who knows, the article doesn’t give any specifics.
>> I think knife crime is something that is very close to home, with young James Dean passing due to knife crime.
There are a great many people who die a violent death where there is no knife involved. Sometimes another weapon such as a brick or bottle is used, often none at all are used.
>> I think that if someone turns upto court with a weapon, they should be taken into custody at that very moment.
Vee, you are missing the point. No one was found to be in possession of a weapon. The vast majority of knives and hammers are not designed to be used as weapons. The Offensive Weapons Act quite rightly states that only knives which are designed to be weapons are weapons – unless the person possessing it uses, or threatens to use, or intends to use it as weapon – but this goes for any object that could be used as a weapon (be it a knife or a walking stick or a ball point pen).
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Oh ok Jeremy thanks for putting me in my place!
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