POLICE in Redditch have been asking people to walk through a knife arch.

The Safer Neighbourhood Teams in the town have been in various locations talking to people about the dangers of knife crime.

It is part of a number of high profile campaigns aimed to tackle the growing concerns around knife crime and organised crime.

It comes as new figures show the number of criminals caught with knives or dangerous weapons is at its highest level in a decade.

In the past police have stressed that they are doing all they can to stop stop knife crime in the town.

Speaking previously Inspector Lewis Lincoln-Gordon said: "We want to reassure residents in our communities who've raised concerns about people carrying knives, that we are doing our utmost to catch individuals and to seize offensive weapons.

"Initiatives like the knife arch that was used in Redditch are being rolled out as part of our Protect campaign to tackle serious organised crime, disrupt criminal activity and protect our local communities alongside the aims of Operation Sceptre."

He continued: "I would like to send out a clear message that it is not acceptable to carry knives, and that doing so could have fatal consequences. We will continue to work closely with our partners to carry out work to deter people from carrying knives."