Mr. Speaker,MS-3: Expanding Police Powers Through Stop and Search
Issue: Over the past few years communities across the United Kingdom have suffered as a result of an ongoing knife crime epidemic. The number of individuals illegally possessing an offensive weapon is growing at an alarming rate, and the number of innocent people being threatened and harmed by knives continues to grow. In response to this crisis, the Home Office launched a pilot program in 2018 that removed regulatory burdens associated with the use of Section 60 of the Criminal Justice and Public Order Act for the seven police forces most affected by knife crime. This pilot expanded the number of officers who were able to use search and stop powers under Section 60, expanded the time frame under which a Section 60 order could be in place, and reduced the legal threshold of certainty required to initiate a Section 60 search. The pilot was shown to be overwhelmingly successful, with nearly 8,000 arrests being made last year as a result of a stop and search.
Intervention and Implementation: Effected immediately, the Home Office will be expanding the pilot scheme to all 43 police forces across England and Wales. This will result in the lifting of all conditions in the current voluntary Best Use of Stop and Search Scheme over the use of Section 60. In practical terms, this will mean that:
- The level of authorization for which type of officer can deploy and extend Section 60 will be reduced from only senior officers to now include inspectors and superintendents.
- The degree of certainty required by the authorizing officer will be reduced so that a Section 60 can be authorized when an officer reasonably believes that an incident involving serious violence, “may” occur, as opposed to the existing standard that one, “will” occur.
This relaxing of the use of Section 60 will mean that some 8,000 additional police officers across England and Wales will now be able to authorize a Section 60 stop and search, that the regulatory standard to do so will be reduced, and that the time in which a Section 60 can be in force will be expanded. As a result, the Home Office is empowering many more officers to utilize this critical crime-reduction strategy to ensure that police forces across the country are more equipped to combat crime.
- The initial period of time that a Section 60 can be in force will be extended from the current 15 hours to 24 hours, and the overall period of time that a Section 60 can be in place will be extended from 39 hours to 48 hours.
Police forces will be legally obligated to record every use of stop and search, and to effectively monitor its fair and proportional use. The statutory obligations surrounding Section 60’s fair use will not be altered. In addition, the ongoing consultation by the College of Policing on the development of new guidelines relating to the use of Section 60 and its impact on community engagement will go forward. The results of this consultation will be presented to Parliament, and any ensuing recommendations made by the College of Policing will be reviewed and considered by the Home Secretary.
Cost: There is no additional cost associated with the rollout of this pilot expansion.
As always, I believe the action I have taken via Ministerial Statement 3 is relatively straightforward and specific, so I will do my best to keep my remarks brief and allow the House the time they need to consider the MS and ask any relevant questions they may have.
Last year, the Government approved a pilot program where the rules and regulations related to the use of Section 60 stop and searches were altered for the 7 police forces most adversely effected by knife crime. Today, I am announcing that the Home Office will be expanding this trial program to the whole of the country. This means that each of the 43 police forces across England and Wales will have access to a swath of new powers relating to Section 60, arming them with the tools and authority they need to clamp down on knife crime and other crimes related to concealing and using an illegal offensive weapon.
In practical terms, this means a few things. We are expanding the types of officers who are able to deploy and extend a Section 60 order to include more than just senior officers, now including both inspectors and superintendents. This decision, combined with nationalizing the program across all police forces, will mean that over 8,000 police officers across the country will be armed with this critical crime-reduction tool. In addition to this decision, we are changing the regulatory burden faced by police officers that determines when a Section 60 can be authorized. Now police officers will not be required to prove that a crime with an offensive weapon "will occur," a ridiculously high burden that is virtually impossible to meet, but simply that a crime with an offensive weapon, "may occur." This will make it far easier for police officers to intervene and prevent a serious, and potentially deadly, crime from being committed before any innocent citizen has been harmed. Lastly, we are expanding the amount of time that a Section 60 order in any given community can be in place, allowing expanded access for police officers dealing with high-crime communities who need these orders to be in place for longer periods of time.
This decision is the right one for our police, and it is the right one when it comes to keeping our towns and cities safe. There is nothing worse than having a hard working, dedicated police force trying to fight crime, only to have their hands tied behind their back by bureaucratic red tape put into place by people who don't know the first thing about the realities faced by police officers. The trial program put into place last year has proven that empowering police officers to engage in fair and appropriate stop and searches reduces violent crime, and so it is sensible that we give every police force these new powers. I was pleased to have a productive meeting with the chair of the NPCC, who welcomed these reforms, and will continue to work closely with police chiefs across the country to ensure they have the power, tools, and funding they need to get the job done.
I understand that some in the Labour Party are arguing that I, "talk a tough game," when it comes to crime reduction. I hope that this order from my office, that gives unprecedented and much needed powers to every police force across England and Wales dispels this notion once and for all. There is no responsibility more important for any Government than the protection of its citizens, and I take that responsibility incredibly seriously. While the Labour Party rip each other apart in the process of deciding what form of modern Corbynism they will adopt next, we in the Government will continue to work closely with the police and local communities to address rising rates of crime and keep our people safe. Actions speak louder than words, Mr. Speaker, and I am proud of the actions that the Government has taken today.