According to the policing minister on Tuesday, police should employ stop and search tactics more frequently to combat knife crime rather than trying to "appease" organizations who argue these tactics are discriminatory.

Chris Philp cautions that stop and search is "not used nearly often enough" by police, despite the fact that he calls it a "vital tool" for getting knives off the streets in a piece for The Telegraph.

It comes after the strategy's deployment turned into a significant political controversy ten years ago, when Theresa May, then the home secretary, limited the authority in response to protesters' allegations that black people were being unfairly singled out by the police. The change caused a sharp decline in the number of stops and searches, which went from a peak of 1.2 million in 2010–11 to 279,728 in 2017–18.

However, Mr Philp says: “The police must use the powers available to them without fear or favour. I want to see them take a robust approach and this starts with increasing the use of stop and search.

“In today’s climate police stop and search is the best foot forward, we know this. What we can’t do is tiptoe around using these powers in an aim to appease. The first priority must always be prevention and public safety.”

A senior Government source added: “We cannot avoid using the powers to appease politically correct campaigners who oppose police action, when police action is needed to protect all communities.”

Before the general election, Mr. Philp's remarks will be interpreted as the latest effort by the government to create a division between the Tories and Labour.

YouGov reports that the public believes that one of the most significant problems confronting the nation is crime. Crime comes in fourth place after health, immigration and asylum, and the economy in the pollster's long-running study that asks the public every week which issue is the most important to the nation. The fact that 23% of those surveyed listed crime as one of the most significant concerns underscores the Tories' belief that they can outperform Labour in this area.

Days after Rishi Sunak warned that a Labour administration would make Britain less safe, Mr. Philp made his remarks.

The Home Secretary, James Cleverly, said last night that as part of a £4 million initiative to address the knife crime issue, knife detection wands that could identify weapons from a distance and body-worn devices to check for knives were being developed.

According to the Office for National Statistics (ONS), there has been a 7.2% increase in knife crime nationwide, with over 50,000 offenses—dear to the previous record high of 51,200—occurring.

At over 14,500 offenses last year, knife crime in London, which makes up over a third of all knife crimes in England and Wales, reached a record high.

Since Mrs. May restricted the use of the strategy in 2013–14 due to concerns that black people were being stopped "disproportionately," or seven times more frequently than white people, the number of police stops and searches has decreased by 46%, to 547,000.

The number of stops and searches by the Metropolitan Police dropped to 137,059 in 2023–2024, the second lowest on record, although having grown from a low of 280,000 in 2017 following the reversal of limitations by successive home secretary.

London Mayor Sadiq Khan has expressed doubts about the strategy and promised to "do all in my power to further cut its use." He said that abusing authority damaged the public's trust in the police.

The Met Commissioner, Sir Mark Rowley, acknowledged last month that its usage has decreased and that this was partially due to officers' lack of "confidence" because to concerns about "complaints, the investigation they get, and whether they feel supported behind it." Nevertheless, Rowley promised to boost its use.

The shadow home secretary, Yvette Cooper, supports stop and search as "an extremely important tool" against knife crime, but she also stated that, in light of community concerns, it must be carried out in a "fair and effective" manner.

Mr Philp writes: “I welcome the Met Commissioner’s commitment to increasing use of stop and search in London where knife crime is sadly particularly prevalent. But I want to see this commitment on a national level. We should leave people in no doubt that carrying a knife is a criminal offence and could lead to up to four years in prison.”

According to the most recent official statistics, black individuals were stopped five times more frequently than white people (27.2 stops for every 1,000 black people compared to 5.6 for every 1,000 white people). However, official statistics also reveal that black males had five times higher medical care costs and a nine times higher likelihood of being murdered.

Officials cited statistics demonstrating that the "success" rates of stop and search operations—the percentage of cases in which narcotics, knives, or pilfered items are discovered—were roughly the same for all ethnic groups, ranging from 25% to 30%, indicating that no one group was being unfairly singled out.

“If you measure disproportionality by reference to the offending population rather than the general population, the disproportionality largely disappears. ⁠Young black men are hugely disproportionately likely to be victims of knife crime,” said a source.

In her capacity as home secretary, Mrs. May implemented the "best use of stop and search scheme," which put strict restrictions on the use of "no-suspicion" searches and obliged police chiefs to disclose the strategy to public security. Stops and searches decreased by two thirds in just two years.

Sajid Javid and Priti Patel, the Tory home secretary who replaced her, loosened the regulations. They reduced the officer level that could authorize "no suspicion" searches and only permitted them in situations where the officer thought there may be violence rather than that there would be. Police now have the automatic authority to stop and search adults found guilty of knife offenses thanks to new powers.

Mr. Philp notes that precautions have also been taken to guarantee that the public is shielded from "unnecessary searches and from disproportionate use among certain groups."

There has never been a more pressing need for a zero-tolerance policy on knife crime. I acknowledge that I am among those shocked by the horrifying event that occurred in Hainault on April 30. My sympathies are with Daniel Anjorin's family, who are currently dealing with the terrible fallout from this atrocity.

I would want to express my sincere gratitude to the cops who valiantly risked their lives to save other victims that day by intervening. Some people suffered severe personal losses as a result of this, and I hope the two injured cops heal quickly. Every day, police risk their lives to safeguard the public, and for that, we should be grateful.

I went on a raid with the Met on Tuesday to witness the police's aggressive efforts to combat knife crime, which they are waging this week. The police are working harder than ever, and I promise to provide them with the resources they require.

We are moving forward. Although hospital admissions for young people with serious knife injuries have decreased by 25% since 2019, and our streets are safer than they were in 2010, there is undoubtedly still work to be done.

The police must act fearlessly and impartially while utilizing their authority. Increasing the usage of stop and search is the first step towards the strong strategy I want to see them take. Even though it's an essential tool for removing blades from our streets, it's not utilized nearly frequently enough.

Knives carried in public often lead to violent episodes that evolve into felonies. The greatest method to enforce the law that it is unlawful to carry a knife in public without a valid cause is through stop and search procedures.

Since 2019, more than 138,000 firearms have been taken off British streets using a variety of strategies, with over half being confiscated during stop and search operations. Since 2019, stop and search operations have resulted in over 300,000 arrests.

I applaud the Met Commissioner's pledge to employ more stop and search powers in London, a city where knife crime is regrettably very common. However, I hope that this pledge is made at the federal level. It should be very clear to everyone that carrying a knife is illegal and carries a maximum four-year jail sentence.

When there are good reasons to believe someone is carrying contraband like narcotics or blades, the police are already authorized to stop and search the person. We took things a step further last year when we introduced Serious Violence Reduction Orders, which are currently being tested in four force regions.

Adults found guilty of knife and offensive weapon offenses have the automatic right to stop and search by the police under these orders. In order to facilitate police use of "Section 60" searches—which permit officers to stop and search individuals without a warrant—we have also eliminated non-statutory limitations. Only rare situations allow for the enforcement of Section 60 authorization, such as when law enforcement has information suggesting a potential weapons-related event in a given region.

Naturally, in order to make sure that these powers are utilized responsibly, precautions must be taken. The public is shielded against undue usage by some groups and from needless searches by means of safeguards in place.

In an effort to build community confidence with the police, I would want to reassure everyone that the stop and search procedures have been revised with new protections. We have made it legally mandatory for the police to notify the local community when they are authorized to conduct a stop and search under section 60. In order to facilitate the dialogue between law enforcement and the communities they serve, we have also conducted consultations on a new Community Scrutiny Framework, which we plan to release in the upcoming months.

This is only one strategy in the battle against knife crime, and we all know that enforcement and prevention go hand in hand. We have provided funding for 20 programs known as Violence Reduction Units in the regions of England and Wales that have had the highest rates of severe violence since 2019. Together with more visible police patrols, these have reached almost 271,000 individuals in just their fourth year, and since 2019, they have likely avoided 3,220 hospital admissions for violent injuries. These units provide early intervention and prevention programs for young people who may be at risk of being involved in knife crime, bringing together local organizations and police forces to address the underlying causes of violent violence in that community.

The UK has among of the strictest rules limiting deadly weapons in the world, and this administration has consistently taken steps to reduce severe violence. We always evaluate the laws pertaining to all weapons, and earlier this year we banned zombie-style knives and machetes in response to new evidence. The prohibition will go into force this summer. This comes after the prohibitions on cyclone knives in 2019 and zombie knives in 2016. In the Criminal Justice Bill, we are also tightening the law by introducing additional limitations on knives.

We won't stop there, either. Our strategy for combating severe violence is ever-changing. With the goal of ultimately deploying one or more of these to police to identify knives from a distance, we announced this week that we will be investing an additional £3.5 million on knife detection technology. To support the Met's efforts to combat knife crime, which is on the rise in the capital, we have also provided funding for the renovation and repurposing of four vans into brand-new mobile live facial recognition (LFR) units. This is a component of larger financing intended to address extreme violence by means of hotspot policing. These units' efficacy has been amply shown. 15 people were arrested in December 2023 in Croydon as a result of live face recognition systems being deployed. The offenses included rape, robbery, fraud, serious bodily harm, and possession of class A substances.

We are aware that the best course of action in the current context is for police to stop and search. We are unable to carefully exercise these abilities in an effort to placate. Public safety and prevention must always come first.

Minister of Policing is Chris Philp