1. LEGAL
Weapons are
seized at court
nKnives and bottles of
alcohol among items
held by security staff
By Ellis Whitehouse
newsdesk@nqnw.co.uk
MONITORED: Bolton Crown Court
NEWS THURSDAY, OCTOBER 15, 201516
KNIVES, cameras and alcohol
have been seized by security
staff at Bolton’s courts this year
— but the number of items that
people have attempted to smug-
gle into court is on the decrease.
Guards have confiscated 11
knives in January to August
this year — a drop when com-
pared to the 28 confiscated in
the whole of 2014.
Staff have also taken 187 bot-
tles of alcohol from people en-
tering the courts, 145 cameras
and 10 audio recorders.
In 2014 court workers confis-
cated 341 alcohol containers, 180
cameras and 18 recorders.
The figures were revealed as
the result of a Freedom of in-
formation request to Her Maj-
esty’s Courts and Tribunals
Service (HMCTS).
A spokesman for the service
said the issue of security with-
in courts was taken “extremely
seriously”.
He said: “The service has a ro-
bust security and safety system
to protect all court users and
the Judiciary.
“Our security system is con-
tinually monitored to ensure
that it is effective and propor-
tionate and mitigates against
the risks faced.”
A total of 2,723 items have
been confiscated so far this
year, averaging at 85 per week.
Last year, the number of items
confiscated from Bolton’s
courts totalled 4,889, averaging
at 94 per week.
theboltonnews.co.ukBN