Priti Patel: Tougher police powers will bring down knife crime and stop needless loss of life

The Home Secretary told the Express & Star that increasing stop and search powers available to the police will have a major impact on reducing violence in the region.

The West Midlands has the second highest rate of knife crime in the country behind London, with 3,143 offences in the year to September 2020, according to the latest Home Office figures.

West Midlands Police is one of four forces to pilot Serious Violence Reduction Orders (SVROs), which give officers powers to target convicted knife and offensive weapons offenders.

Speaking at the launch of Jay Singh-Sohal’s campaign to become West Midlands Police and Crime Commissioner (PCC), Mrs Patel said: “The police tell me stop and search is a vital tool to tackle knife crime.

“Mothers of children who have been stabbed on our streets tell me that stop and search is a vital tool to tackle knife crime.

“And that is why we will increase the powers available to the police and let them stop known knife carriers. These are measures which will help to bring down knife crime in the West Midlands and stop the needless loss of life.”

SVROs enable officers to search anyone who has previously been convicted of a weapons offence, even if they are not suspected of any crime.

They have been introduced as part of the Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts Bill, which has passed its second reading in Parliament despite opposition from Labour.

Mrs Patel also urged Labour PCC David Jamieson to “reflect on his own record” after knife crime more than doubled since he took office in 2014.

“He is the Police and Crime Commissioner and its right that people in the West Midlands will take his record to the ballot box in May,” she said.

“I would point out that since we started our campaign to recruit 20,000 more offices 854 have been recruited by West Midlands Police.

“And this government has given the police the biggest funding increase in a decade.”

Mr Jamieson, who is retiring at this year’s election, said Mrs Patel had voted for cuts to his force’s budget which had seen officer numbers fall by 2,000 in the last 10 years.

“The truth is the Tories have been soft on crime and the causes of crime,” he said. “That’s why knife crime has risen across the country and locally.”

Mr Singh-Sohal has pledged a “new approach” to tackling knife crime, by having more officers on the streets and keeping police stations open.

He said: "I welcome the Home Secretary giving the West Midlands new powers and court orders to tackle this crisis – and if elected PCC, I will work closely with her to ensure we get violent crime down."

The Bill will also see the introduction of life sentences for killer drivers, and give the courts powers to halt the automatic early release of offenders who pose a danger to the public.

Labour opposed it largely over a section which gives police more powers to crack down on unlawful protests.

No Labour MPs voted in favour of the bill, while 194 opposed it.

Birmingham MP Liam Byrne, Labour's candidate for West Midlands Mayor, and his Second City colleague Steve McCabe, did note vote either way.