REVEALED: Booze, knives and drugs seized from people at Inverness Justice Centre
Almost 400 items including booze, knives and drugs have been seized from people at Inverness Justice Centre.
The figures span a period of just over a year for the facility which houses Inverness Sheriff Court.
A total of 203 items were seized from people at the site last year, while more than 180 were seized in 2023 up to April.
Alcohol was the most common item taken from people with 43 seizures in 2022, and 41 in the first few months of this year.
However, there have already been more seizures of drugs (25, up from 13) and syringes/needles (22, up from 12) in the 2023 period compared to the whole of last year.
The statistics from the Scottish Courts and Tribunal Service (SCTS) emerged following a Freedom of Information request by The Inverness Courier.
Other items seized included knives, bladed/pointed articles, tools and a category of miscellaneous items which SCTS stated did not fall into the other categories.
A SCTS spokeswoman said: "The SCTS takes the safety of all court users very seriously.
"We work closely with partners, including the police, to take all reasonable precautions against weapons being introduced into court buildings. Any item which is considered to be a potential risk to public safety could be confiscated on entering a court building.
"The discovery of any weapon or potential weapon by staff is immediately reported to the police. Police officers are deployed in courts across Scotland and carry out a number of duties. The objective of police deployment within courts is to provide public reassurance, maintain public order and prevent intimidation.
"The Inverness Justice Centre (IJC) opened on March 30, 2020 to enable Inverness Sheriff and Justice of the Peace Court to operate as a hub court during the coronavirus outbreak. The full opening of the IJC was deferred at that time.
"It should be noted that Inverness Sheriff Court, prior to moving to IJC, during 2020/21, did not have permanent security in place. Prior to the IJC becoming operational, the sheriff court building was covered by the ‘mobile security team’.
"Please note that for public health reasons in response to the Covid-19 pandemic, our court premises were closed for a short time in 2020/21 with urgent priority business being maintained."
No items were seized from people at Inverness Justice Centre in 2020 or 2021.
