Court staff seize over 14,000 weapons in last two years

A Freedom of Information (FOI) request by the Press Association revealed 14,094 knives were seized by court security staff between April 2012 and May 2014.

The Ministry of Justice (MoJ) revealed that these weapons included 6,402 knives with blades longer than three inches and another 7,692 'legally held' blades less than three inches long. Under current laws, owners of confiscated knives with blades less than three inches can apply to have them returned.

A spokeswoman for Her Majesty's Courts and Tribunal Service (HMCTS) said: "HMCTS takes the issue of security within courts extremely seriously and has a robust security and safety system to protect all court users and the judiciary. This system includes mandatory bag searches, metal detectors and surveillance cameras, as well as court security officers who have legislative powers to protect all those in the court building."

She continued: "The powers of the court security officers include the ability to restrain and remove people from the building should there be a need. It is an offence to be in possession of a knife with a blade of more than three inches. If an individual is caught trying to enter any court building with such a knife or gun, the police will be called and appropriate action will be taken."

Moreover, 49 'genuine' firearms and a further 113 replica guns were confiscated from people entering court buildings by court staff.

The HMCTS spokeswoman added that any seized firearms would be handed over to police.