Met Police Screening Arches at Lewisham station Image: Muhammad Abdulrahman

The Met Police has deployed screening arches at Lewisham station to detect any passenger carrying weapons.

A group of law enforcement officers was asking people to queue in order to move through the metal detectors.

A passenger reads the Met police leaflet explains the procedures. Image: Muhammad Abdulrahman

The arch gates are alarmed so that passengers’ bags are physically checked by officers once the detector alarms are set off.

However, no arrests have been made.

Officers have  distributed leaflets explaining  why the arches are being deployed.

The brochure says:

To reduce serious violence it is essential we have the support of our communities.

We understand that being asked to walk through the arch may cause you inconvenience, but we ask for your patience and support in assisting us to make London safer.

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According to Office for National Statistics, the past three years have seen a rise in the number of offences involving knives and  sharp instruments.

Recorded figures in this category showed an overall increase of 21% in 2017 from 2016 across the  country as a whole.