A minister asserted on Thursday that police will now have the ability to surreptitiously check individuals for knives as they stroll down the streets in London and other cities.
Minister for the Home Office Chris Philp stated that although the “new technology” is “not ready for deployment yet,” it will help strengthen the fight against knife crime.
The MP for Croydon South said that the government anticipates having the devices “enable people to be scanned for knives as they walk down high streets” in “about a year”.
He added: “We’re still developing the technology. So we’re ready to make a proper announcement but I would say it’d be reasonable to do it in a way that was concealed.”
It happens after the Home Secretary, who also unveiled the next measures to outlaw knives resembling zombies, defended the government’s track record of combating crime.
On Thursday, new legislation is expected to be presented in Parliament, with James Cleverly stating that its goal is to “close that loophole” in the prohibition of the weapons.
This is the third crackdown since the Zombie-style knives were first banned in 2016.
Since the epidemic, knife crime in London has increased annually.
Between July 2022 and June 2023, 13,503 occurrences were reported in the city, more than 20% more than the preceding 12-month period.