Police in weapons crackdown

Seventeen people have been reported to a procurator fiscal in Scotland during a police crackdown on offensive weapons in which 3,000 members of the public were searched. A further 218 people have been reported for offences such as serious assault, possession of drugs and robbery, Strathclyde police said.

The six-hour offensive weapons crackdown, instigated throughout the Strathclyde police region, was part of the Spotlight high profile, low-tolerance community policing initiative. Items seized in random checks include knives, iron bars, baseball bats, hammers, pickaxe handles and a canister containing CS gas.

Since October last year, Strathclyde police have been driving home the message under its Spotlight Initiative that anti-social behaviour or petty law breaking will not be tolerated within Britain's second-largest police force area.