Extra police stop and search powers extended after Bloxwich violence
Police in Walsall have extended their stop and search powers after a man was stabbed yesterday.
Section 60 powers have been in place in Bloxwich as a result of fighting and disorder on Friday and Saturday afternoon.
On Saturday afternoon a 55-year-old man was taken to hospital after "shots fired and disorder involving knives" on Dawson Street.
Police connected the incident to two groups fighting on the same street on Friday afternoon.
Initially in place for 24 hours from Saturday afternoon, at 3pm on Sunday Walsall Police tweeted to announce they had successfully applied for another Section 60 order.
The police tweeted: "We’ve extended our use of Section 60 powers in Bloxwich for a further 24 hours.
"The temporary additional powers allow us to stop and search people in the areas shown in the map until 3.30pm tomorrow, Monday."
"We can also disperse anyone from the area we believe may cause harm or distress to others.
"Our priority is to keep you safe. We’re using these powers to prevent violence involving weapons."
Yesterday, a West Midlands Police spokesman said: "We were called to the area after reports of shots fired and a disorder involving knives. The 55-year-old man was located on Dawson Street and remains in hospital.
"As a result, a section 60 order has been put in place which gives us extra powers to stop and search people.
"It is believed that today’s disorder may be connected with others that began in Dawson Street on Friday.
"We were called to Dawson Street at around 4.45pm yesterday (Friday) following reports of people fighting in the street. This spilled out across other areas of Blakenall and Bloxwich throughout the evening."
West Midlands Police is appealing for any information that could help their investigation and would urge people to call on 101 quoting log number 2435 of 27/5.
