A teenager who pulled on a balaclava in front of undercover police was subsequently searched and found to be in possession of a lock knife.
Four plain-clothed officers stopped and searched the 17-year-old after they spotted him acting suspiciously in Lister Gate, in Nottingham city centre.
They found a lock knife on him and four bags of cannabis. The teenager tried to run off but was quickly caught and subsequently detained.
The arrest took place shortly after 1pm on Monday (29 November). He has since been bailed pending a charging decision by the Crown Prosecution Service.
Sergeant Paul Whitehead, of the City Centre neighbourhood policing team, said: “Prior to his arrest, the 17-year-old was seen acting suspicious, looking around him continually and over his shoulder to see if anyone was watching him before pulling on a balaclava, which covered his head and face except for his eyes.
“On identifying themselves as police, the male attempted to run away but was quickly restrained and the lock knife and four bags of cannabis found in his man-bag.
“We hope this reassures people that even when they cannot see police officers, it does not mean we are not there patrolling areas in order to keep people safe.”
The arrest came a day after another teenager was arrested in Nottingham for possessing a knife. Two officers chased a 14-year-old in Hamilton Road, Carrington, after he saw a police car and ran.
The officers from the Operation Compass team managed to detain him and found the knife in his waist band.
Inspector Arnie Ahmed, also from the City Centre beat team, said: “Thankfully knife crime is reducing significantly in Nottinghamshire as a result of the dedicated work we do with partners to tackle the issue throughout the year.
“That said, incidents such as these have the potential to be serious and can be distressing for the community, so we will continue to be proactive in finding and removing dangerous weapons from our streets.
“I would urge anyone who is concerned about someone they believe to carry a knife to contact the police so we can act quickly to take weapons off the streets – and the people who use them to cause harm – in our neighbourhoods.”
