Police Should Increase Use of Stop and Search Powers to Curb Knife Crime: Minister

The police should not tiptoe around using stop and search powers, but increase their use to curb knife crime and ensure public safety, the policing minister has said. Chris Philp has urged officers to take a “robust approach” and take “knives off our streets.” Writing for the Daily Telegraph, Mr. Philp described the use of stop and search as a “vital tool” to tackle the illegal possession of knives in public. According to Home Office figures, since 2019, 100,000 weapons have been removed from UK streets, with 40,000 of those specifically seized through stop and search. The measures led to over 220,000 arrests. The stop and search powers allow police to allay or confirm their suspicions without making an arrest. Officers must have “reasonable grounds” to conduct the search, or—when authorised by a senior officer—a search without reasonable grounds can be conducted....