Police To Get Metal Detecting Gloves

By John Steele
Friday, June 1, 2007
London Telegraph

Metal-detecting gloves which allow police officers to detect covertly whether a suspect is carrying a knife or gun are being tested, it was disclosed yesterday.

The gloves fit under ordinary gloves worn by patrol officers and use a metal-detecting device in the palm and wrist, which vibrates to let the wearer know if metal is detected.

Officers conducting stop and searches are trying out the gloves.

According to a report in Police Review magazine the gloves are being tested this summer by police officers in Essex during Operation Effective.

Police perform an average of at least 2,500 stop and searches a day in England and Wales but have no way of knowing if the person they are searching is carrying a weapon which could be used against them.

The aim of the technology is to give officers an “early warning.”

Pc Rory Phillips, an Essex officer who used the gloves, told the magazine they were “an extra layer” between himself and the person he was searching.

“You can tell they have got it [a metal object] without their knowing you have found it. So it gives you a chance to get someone else in and save yourself a dangerous situation.”

Det Chief Insp Keith Dobson, crime manager for the south-west division of Essex, said the covert gloves gave officers a chance to get back-up from colleagues.

“It alerts the police officer to the fact that they may have a knife or metal object and they can request the appropriate back-up so the knife or metal object can be removed safely.”

Operation Effective is running in the south-west division of Essex Police, in conjunction with British Transport Police, and rail staff.

It involves uniformed and covert officers checking passengers at stations and on trains running from central London.