The number of weapons seized from suspects on London’s streets has slumped by a third in less than two years despite surging knife crime amid Met warnings about declining stop and search checks.
Figures from Scotland Yard show that 415 weapons were taken from suspects during stop and searches in February this year.
That compares with a total of 602 weapons seized via stop and search in March 2022 - a drop of 31 per cent in just under two years.
At the same time, stop and searches aimed at finding weapons fell sharply with only 1,688 such checks carried out this February compared to 3,112 in March 2022 - a 46 per cent decline.
The slump in weapon seizures from stop and search comes despite a big rise in knife crime in the capital over the past year and will heighten fears that dangerous offenders are becoming emboldened.
The most recent figures from the Office for National Statistics show a 22 per cent rise in knife crime in the capital over the 12 months to the end of last September with 14,000 such offences recorded by police.
The statistics showed that the total was the second highest annual tally for knife crime in the capital over the past decade and that a surge in knifepoint robberies was one of the causes.
Met Commissioner Sir Mark Rowley has already warned that his officers “lack confidence to take the actions necessary to protect the public” after losing trust in the system for holding them accountable when their actions produce complaints.
Responding to the new figures showing a decline in weapon seizures, Met Assistant Commissioner Matt Twist echoed Sir Mark’s warning, saying that life-saving opportunities to save lives were being missed.
“Every stop not carried out because an officer fears the potential repercussions for themselves or their family is an opportunity missed to take a weapon off the streets, to gather information and intelligence and ultimately, to save lives,” he said.
“Stop and search saves lives. It’s an important power for officers but an accountability system that is slow, unfair and ineffective has damaged their confidence to use it.
“Independent scrutiny of police actions needs to deal effectively with officers unfit to serve and also support officers doing their best to protect communities from the dangerous and prolific.
“The accountability system in place today does not meet that test. That empowers criminals and leaves communities less protected.”
“The recent Home Office accountability review is a step in the right direction but it is vital, for the sake of communities as well as officers, that we continue to push for extensive reform without delay.”
Although Scotland Yard emphasised that the number of weapons searches carried out each month can fluctuate depending on events, Friday’s new Met statistics show that the overall trend for both weapons and drugs stop and searches is down.
The figures, provided in response to a request by the Evening Standard, show that Met officers carried out 27,835 weapons stop and searches between the start of March last year and the end of February this year.
That compares with a total of 30,075 such checks in the previous 12 months - a fall of 7 per cent.The number of weapons taken off suspects as a result of stop and searches during the same period fell to 6,346 from 7,272 a year earlier, a drop of 13 per cent.
Stop and searches for drugs, which Scotland Yard and the Home Office ministers have blamed for fuelling street violence, have also fallen significantly.
A total of 78,433 such checks were carried out by the Met in the 12 months to the end of February, compared with 110,528 during the equivalent period a year earlier.
Searches resulting in a drug being found on a suspect fell to 25,068, compared with 33,657 a year earlier, meaning there were more than 8,500 fewer seizures.
The percentage success rate for both weapons and drug stop and searches has remained virtually unaltered, however, with the latest annual figures showing a 23 per cent hit rate for weapon stop and search and a 32 per cent success rate for drug checks.
That indicates that the falling number of weapons and drugs being taken from suspects on the streets is purely the result of fewer checks being carried out, rather than officers making increasingly flawed assessments about people carrying illegal items.
