Police to test handheld knife scanners that remotely detect weapons in clothing

“We could target physical stops and searches at people who are very likely to carry knives,” he told the Telegraph. “This could have a revolutionary impact in the fight against knife crime.

“This is not personal data. It's just a matter of checking whether they have a knife or not.

“This could significantly increase the accuracy rate and therefore make it less intrusive and could take hundreds, if not thousands, of knives off the street.

“Yesterday [Monday] I was with families of stabbing murder victims. There was strong support in this room for knife scanning. If this had been available, they might still have their loved ones alive today.

Discriminate against black people

Knife crime nationally increased by 7.2 per cent to almost 50,000 offences, close to the previous record of 51,200, according to the Office for National Statistics. In London, which accounts for more than a third of all knife crime in England and Wales, it hit a record high of more than 14,500 offenses in 2023.

Police stops and searches have fallen by 46 percent, to 547,000, since 2013-14, when then-Home Secretary Theresa May restricted her powers amid fears that law enforcement would discriminate towards blacks, who were arrested seven times more than whites.

Although stop and searches have increased from a low of 280,000 in 2017 after successive home ministers overturned restrictions, they have continued to fall in the Metropolitan Police to reach 137,059 in 2023/24, the second lowest ever recorded.

The portable device – the size of a large mobile phone with a scanner and digital screen – which was presented to the Interior Ministry in May, was developed by US company Lassen Peak, which is advised by Graham McNulty, former head of the national police. The Council is leading the fight against knife crime.

The company claims to use terahertz frequency imaging radar to detect hidden weapons such as knives or guns and “other unknown objects.” It's the same technology used in airport body scanners at security gates, but the company said it has been distilled into a single microchip. All suspicious objects are displayed on the device screen.

Mr Philp said there was still work to be done on the technology, but it was “getting there”.

He added: “We work with four or five companies. I hope the technology can be ready for tested deployment by the end of this year.