Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, pursuant to the Answer of 10 December 2015 to Question 18874, what assessment he has made of the reasons for the increase in the number of knives confiscated in Crown courts between 2012-13 and 2014-15.

My Department takes the issue of security within courts extremely seriously and has robust security and safety systems in place to protect all court users and judiciary. These systems include mandatory bag searches, modern detection equipment, X-ray machines and surveillance cameras, as well as court security officers with the legal powers to seize items where required. Security procedures, including the detection technology used, are continuously reviewed to ensure that security is as effective as possible.

The increase in the number of knives taken from people as they enter Crown Courts between 2012/13 and 2014/15 may be due to the implementation of more robust training for Court Security Officers; improved rates of recording for the taking of such items and improved searching of people entering Crown Courts.