Suella Braverman has urged police to use their right to stop and search more frequently in order to “prevent violence and save more lives”.
Braverman wrote a letter to all 43 forces in England and Wales in which she emphasised the need to halt the “dangerous culture” of carrying weapons.
She also urged authorities to release bodycam video as soon as possible to avoid having police put on “trial by social media”.
How does stop and search work?
If police in England and Wales have “reasonable grounds” to believe someone is in possession of a weapon, drugs, stolen goods, or whatever else that could be used to commit a crime, they are allowed to stop and search that person or their vehicle.
People who are stopped and searched are usually asked for their ethnicity.
How many people are stopped and searched in the UK?
According to government statistics, there were 697,405 stop and searches in England and Wales between April 2020 and March 2021 (excluding vehicle searches).
There were 12.4 searches for every 1,000 people compared with 24.8 per 1,000 people in the year ending March 2010.
Nearly half of all stop and searches take place in the Metropolitan Police force area. London had the highest rate of stop and searches – 38.1 per 1,000 people – of any police force region.
The statistics excludes vehicle searches because no ethnicity data is gathered during these searches.
Why are some people against stop and search?
Critics claim that stop and search unfairly targets racial and ethnic minorities. They say that stop and search disproportionately targets members of ethnic minorities, especially black men, and may cause victims to feel guilty.
The statistics showed black people are seven times more likely than white people to be stopped and searched.
Compared with 52.6 stop and searches for every 1,000 black people, there were 7.5 stop and searches for every 1,000 white people between 2020 and 2021.
The Home Office previously commented that black men were were more likely to be stopped and searched by the police, but they were also "disproportionately affected" by knife crime.
In comments that seem to be in response to anticipated criticism, Braverman said: “Carrying weapons is a scourge on our society and anyone doing so is risking their own lives as well as the lives of those around them. This dangerous culture must be brought to a stop.
“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.”
