STATE-of-the-art knife detectors could be deployed in Keighley.

West Yorkshire Police will have five of the machines in operation by the end of the summer.

They will be used at different locations across the region.

The technology – which can detect concealed weapons including guns, as well as knives – replaces older-style knife arches.

They were used at transport hubs such as railway and bus stations, including in Keighley, and at large-scale events.

Officers from Operation Jemlock – a specialist team dedicated to reducing violent crime – will head up the use of the new equipment, which has been funded by the West Yorkshire Violence Reduction Partnership.

Chief Inspector James Kitchen, from Operation Jemlock, says: "Since the launch of the team we have seen sustained falls in overall knife offending, and these new tools available to us will certainly assist in helping to keep knife crime down.

"The new units are quicker to set up and easier to operate than our older knife arches, and they can quickly scan large numbers of people. They are fully portable and more sophisticated at detecting weapons of all kinds, even smaller items such as razor blades."

Since Operation Jemlock was launched in 2019, the team has made more than 11,000 arrests, and over 2,000 weapons have been seized.

In addition to enforcement work, it also stages high-visibility patrols in priority areas to provide reassurance to communities.

Chief Insp Kitchen adds: "Jemlock deployments continue day in and day out, and it is good news that we have now seized more than 2,000 dangerous weapons.

"Every seizure makes communities safer, and much more intensive work to take illegal weapons off the streets and target those carrying them is planned.

"Due to the officers working on the operation, areas patrolled by Jemlock have witnessed significant reductions in knife crime and serious violent offences.

"We operate in close collaboration with the Violence Reduction Partnership, which also helps fund vital projects that undertake positive preventative work with children and young people."

Detective Chief Supt Lee Berry, director of the West Yorkshire Violence Reduction Partnership, says: "Prevention is always better than cure, and our investment in these new detectors will ensure we can quickly identify those carrying weapons and take the appropriate action.

"Since our partnership was initially established five years ago, we have reached over 100,000 children and young people through a portfolio of interventions, projects and programmes."