Suella Braverman urges forces to ‘ramp up’ the use of stop-and-search powers
6702 Mins Read
The home secretary has told police leaders to “ramp up” the use of stop-and-search powers to prevent more knife attacks and “save more lives”.
In a message to all 43 forces in England and Wales, Suella Braverman said the “dangerous culture” of carrying weapons must end.
She also called on forces to publish bodycam footage quickly to stop police facing “trial by social media”.
Opponents of stop-and-search say it unfairly targets ethnic minorities.
In England and Wales, police can stop and search an individual or vehicle if they have “reasonable grounds” to suspect the person is carrying a weapon, drugs, stolen property or something that could be used to commit a crime.
Critics say the practice disproportionately targets those from ethnic minorities – particularly black men – and can leave people feeling victimised.
But the government says it is a “common sense policing tactic” and the Met Police has described it as a “hugely important power” for protecting the public.
The government said new data shows more than 100,000 weapons have been removed from Britain’s streets since 2019 through a range of tactics – almost half of which were seized in stop-and-searches, which have lead to more than 220,000 arrests.
In a press release to forces, Ms Braverman said: “My first priority is to keep the public safe, and people who insist on carrying a weapon must know that there will be consequences.
“The police have my full support to ramp up the use of stop-and-search, wherever necessary, to prevent violence and save more lives.”
