Pub and club goers to be scanned for knives after spate of fatal stabbings in the Black Country
A 'knife arch' will be used in pubs and nightclubs across Walsall to combat the steep increase in stabbings in the town, it has emerged.
Pub owners reeling from the effect of rising knife crime have teamed up with West Midlands Police to bring in a mobile security scanner at weekends.
The arch, which can detect if someone is carrying a knife or gun, will be introduced next month.
Matthew Lemm, manager of Bar 10 on Walsall’s waterfront, said: “We’re sick of the one per cent ruining it for the 99 per cent, not only for licensees but the general public who want to go to town and let their hair down on a Friday and Saturday night. This is us fighting back.”
He revealed mounting knife crime was affecting their businesses – with takings down at least 30 per cent in the last six months.
Mr Lemm, aged 38, said: “It would be disrespectful to talk about money following the tragedies – as a father of two teenagers myself, I want to see the town be a safer place.
“But there’s no escaping these stabbings have had a knock-on effect on our livelihoods. These tragedies are a platform to do something positive.”
The American-style knife arches, similar to those used at airports and which are commonplace in many American high schools, will be used in Walsall for the first time on Saturday, March 3, although the location will be kept under wraps.
The mobile scanner will be moved round from venue to venue.
Mr Lemm said the death of 19-year-old Reagan Asbury in October after being stabbed in the neck at a boxing match at Walsall Town Hall had shocked the community, and in particular licensees.
The town has also seen the killing last month of student Rezwan Ali, 19, at a house party in Chuckery, and the murder of gym instructor James Brindley, 26, in Aldridge town centre last June, both as the result of stabbings.
Members of Walsall Pubwatch agreed to use the arch.
