More weapons seized from West Yorkshire's streets as stop and search figures rise
Officers removed more weapons from the streets last night (Thursday), as forces nationwide revealed stop and search figures have soared.
Operation Jemlock, which is West Yorkshire Police's knife crime-tackling initiative, arrested "multiple offenders" after using stop and search powers throughout the evening.
The police team tweeted to say five weapons were seized in search incidents in the Leeds and Kirklees districts, including both knives and firearms.
Various suspects were put into police custody and questioned over possession of bladed articles and firearms.
It comes as figures released today (Friday) revealed rates of stop and search have soared to their highest in nine years.
Section 60 stop-and-search powers allow patrolling officers to search any person in public they suspect may be carrying a weapon or other incriminating evidence.
This figure was up from just 631 from the year before.
The jump was the first rise in nine years, and thought to be driven by the Metropolitan Police, who accounted for 73% (1,836) of all stop-and-searches that year.
During this time, the use of stop-and-search resulted in 140 arrests, 49 of which were related to the possession of weapons.