A man was arrested for possessing an offensive weapon in a public place at Mitcham and is on trial at Kingston Crown Court.

On 16^th May 2020, at half past 1 in the morning, a man was arrested for possessing an offensive weapon in a public place at Mitcham. A police constable witnessed a number of occupants in a vehicle that grabbed his attention. He described the vehicle as a silver Vauxhall Astra and he was able to see the registration number. He mentioned the reason this grabbed his attention which was Covid was during this time and people were not allowed in numbers of 2, so witnessing what was going on in the vehicle was in breach of Covid rules. He later realised there were 5 people in the car.

The police constable turned on his sirens and followed the vehicle. The car slowed down then sped up and turned off the main road until reaching a dead end. The car eventually pulled up, and the police constable began the search while calling for other units.  He placed the individuals under section 117, meaning he was allowed to handcuff them and search them and told the defendant to empty his pockets while his other units searched the other individuals. They later found out the driver of the car was hiding in a garden. The constable then found an offensive weapon on the defendant.

To conclude, the case is still ongoing.