BODMIN policing teams were recently joined by Police Dog (PD) Skye, her handler PC Steve Waters, the local authority premises licensing department, and representatives from the Security Industry Authority to carry out a Pubs Against Drugs (PAD) operation in Bodmin town centre.

The purpose of the operation was to safeguard the community, support local licensed premises to reinforce the law and the message that drugs and knives are not tolerated in the community.

As part of the operation, the team visited three licensed premises within the town centre. PD Skye was there to detect the presence of illegal drugs, and she identified multiple people who had been suspected of being in contact with controlled substances, who were each searched by officers. A suspected controlled substance was found in the possession of one person, which was later seized by officers.

Sergeant Lee Holley said: “Members of the public were happy to engage with officers and PD Skye and understood the reasons behind us carrying out the operation. We are pleased to report only one person was found to be possessing a suspected illegal substance. Our teams are committed to working together with partners to raise awareness of the risks of taking or possessing illegal substances.”

Later in the evening, a mobile knife arch was set up in one of the licenced premises the team visited. The knife arch is used to detect different types of weapons and acts as a deterrent. It is similar in appearance to security scanners, and was positioned at the entrance, capturing everyone who walked into the venue. The arch can instantly detect the presence of metal objects by flashing red and confirms a negative scan by flashing green. No knives or weapons were detected during this operation.

Sergeant Holley said: “All of the venue’s customers were happy to pass through the arch to go on and enjoy their evening. People appeared genuinely happy at the lengths we had gone to, to promote a safe environment where the carriage of weapons is not tolerated. Operations like this enable us to have open and honest conversations with the public, and provide us with an opportunity to increase education on the risks of carrying or using drugs and knives. We are pleased that, following this operation, no weapons were detected.”

Phil Turner, owner of Neon nightclub said: “The club was happy to assist with the visit, the knife arch was found to be invaluable and we will be looking to purchase one for future use. Unfortunately drugs are an ongoing problem everywhere, especially in the nighttime economy, but the drugs dog is a great deterrent. The club will continue to operate as safely as possible, it's good to know there is some support available especially in these difficult times.”