Town steps up fight against knife crime

3:20pm Saturday 6th September 2008

BOLTON is to get its own airport-style security arch as part of a crackdown on knife crime in the town.

The arch, along with a number of hand-held metal detectors, will be used to scan night-time revellers on selected weekends.

The tactics have been deployed in Bolton twice since the death of Paul Gilligan, who was stabbed at the former Pepper Alley pub in July.

Officers in Bolton borrowed metal detectors from British Transport Police to carry out the checks.

But, following a cash injection from the Home Office, Bolton will get its own dedicated knife arch and metal detectors.

The town has been identified as one of the hotspot areas for knife crime in Greater Manchester.

Greater Manchester Police’s lead officer on knife crime, Chief Superintendent Steven Hartley said: “One thing I need to stress is that Bolton does not have a disproportionate problem. It has a big town centre and, because of that, it often shows up on the statistics.

“I know that the police in Bolton are very keen to make sure that knife crime does not get a foothold in the town.”