New stop and search powers welcomed as police fight back against knife crime
The West Midlands top police officer has welcomed tougher powers allowing police to stop and search known weapons offenders which are to be trialled in the region alongside plans to put officers in schools.
New Serious Violence Reduction Orders are being introduced in the West Midlands as efforts are stepped up to curb rising knife crime.
It comes as Chief Constable Sir David Thompson said an increase in West Midlands Police officer numbers over the next two years would give the force “a great deal more resources” to tackle priority crime areas.
Courts will be able to make an SVRO when someone is convicted of an offence involving a knife or offensive weapon. Police officers will have the power to stop and search a person, as long as they are 18 or over, subject to an order to look for knives or offensive weapons.
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Sir David said: “We welcome this Home Office pilot on Serious Violence Reduction Orders as part of a wider public health approach for reducing violence in the West Midlands.
“The orders will enable us to target those already convicted of certain knife offences, giving us the automatic right to search those who pose the greatest risk.
Behaviour
“It is crucial that these orders are policed fairly and effectively and that scrutiny is in place to ensure that happens.
“We also recognise search should be only one tool in changing the behaviour of those subject to the orders.”
Sir David also vowed to sit down with the region’s new police and crime commissioner (PCC) after May’s election to discuss the controversial police estates programme, which has seen dozens of stations close in recent years.
West Midlands Police is to get 1,200 new officers by 2023 under a Government recruitment drive, having lost 2,200 officers due to cuts since 2010.
Sir David told the Express & Star he was “very positive” about the potential impact of the extra officers.
“It puts us in a good place where we can plug a few areas where we have got quite tight. It will help us improve some of our response to calls, and to prioritise important areas for investigation, such as domestic abuse, rape and violence. I think we are going to be able to put more neighbourhood officers on the streets, and particularly in schools. These are things we have not been able to do for a long while.
“There’s also a big investment around gangs and violence and organised crime.”
West Midlands Police and Crime Commissioner David Jamieson has also welcomed the move. Speaking at his final strategic board meeting, he warned of a “tidal wave of violence” sparked by rising unemployment in the wake of the Covid pandemic.
“Stabbings could escalate, gun crime could soar, drug gangs could flourish and the foundations of our society rocked,” he said.
