The Government has announced it is granting West Midlands Police enhanced stop and search powers as part of continued action to tackle knife crime.
The announcement was made yesterday by Home Secretary Sajid Javid who is making it simpler for police to use section 60 of the Criminal Justice and Public Order Act. This empowers officers to stop and search anyone in a designated area without needing reasonable grounds for suspicion if serious violence is anticipated.
The changes are also being applied to six other police forces which collectively account for over 60% of total national knife crime and will result in at least 3,000 more officers being able to authorise section 60. The changes will run for up to a year, including a review after 6 months.
The Home Secretary has lifted 2 conditions in the voluntary Best Use of Stop and Search Scheme by:
- reducing the level of authorisation required for a Section 60 from senior officer to inspector
- lowering the degree of certainty required by the authorising officer so they must reasonably believe an incident involving serious violence ‘may’, rather than ‘will’, occur
Home Secretary Sajid Javid said:“The police are on the front line in the battle against serious violence and it’s vital we give them the right tools to do their jobs.
“Stop and search is a hugely effective power when it comes to disrupting crime, taking weapons off our streets and keeping us safe.
“That’s why we are making it simpler for police in areas particularly affected by serious violence to use Section 60 and increasing the number of officers who can authorise the power.”
Chief Superintendent Danny Long said: “West Midlands Police is one of seven forces included in the Home Office pilot for changes to current section 60 search deployment.
“The new Home Office guidance has proposed to reduce the level of authorisation required for a Section 60 search from senior officer to inspector. It also lowers the degree of certainty required by an authorising officer to carry out a s60 search so they must reasonably believe an incident involving serious violence ‘may’, rather than ‘will’, occur.
“While we welcome and note the proposed changes suggested by the Home Office, we want to reassure the public and our partners that we will not be changing our position on s60 searches without first consulting with our communities and scrutiny groups who we have worked closely with on the introduction of s60 searches and stop and search in general over the last few years.
“We will continue to work with the public to understand the impact of the tactic and ensure appropriate management and scrutiny of the WMP use of s60 is in place.”
For more information on stop and search visit the West Midlands Police website at www.west-midlands.police.uk/your-options/stop-and-search
