Hundreds of students were searched for deadly weapons as they entered their school last week, in a bid to cut the worrying levels of knife crime among young people.
Teenagers at Capital City Academy, in Doyle Gardens, Willesden, were frisked by police officers and made to walk through airport-style metal detectors, after a request by the school's principle Philip O'Hear.
He said: "Under the current climate we felt that knife crime issues should openly be addressed.
"Often young people feel that they need to carry weapons to protect themselves from others similarly armed. "
More than 200 youngsters were searched as they made their way to registration and although no weapons were found, Mr O'Hear said it was a useful exercise to reassure students and reduce the fear of knife crime.
He said: "I hope that this sends out the message that young people do not need weapons, as knife carrying is not as prevalent as it is sometimes perceived."
"The deployment of search arches is part of our long-term strategy to prevent our students from becoming involved in knife crime. We have also been doing a lot of educational awareness work, with victims of crime coming to the school to talk about their experiences."
The principle was quick to stress that there is no specific knife problem at Capital City but counld not deny the fact that a worrying 16 teenagers have been killed on London's streets this year.
As a direct response, the Met have launched Operation Blunt 2, which aims to reduce the number of deaths and weapons available to young people.
Sergeant Mark Hurren, from Harlesden Safer Neighbourhoods Team, helped carry out the searches at the school. He said, "Capital City Academy has been at the forefront of the efforts to reduce violence amongst young people and maintain a safe learning environment for our children.
"Mr O'Hear is a key signatory of the Brent school's 'Zero Tolerance Knife Protocol' and the deployment of knife arches is just one of the tactics being used by Brent Police to tackle youth violence."
