UK police given vast stop and search powers amid surge in knife crime

Police in the United Kingdom have been allowed to openly use stop and search powers to better tackle knife crime despite concerns that the decision could unfairly affect black people and other minorities.

UK media said on Sunday that Home Secretary Sajid Javid had authorized the use of stop and search by officers at a lower level of seniority in London and six other major areas in the country.

The changes to the current rules also allow police to use Section 60, a blanket power to search anyone in a designated area for a limited time if serious violence is anticipated.

It comes despite previous attempts by former home secretary and current Prime Minister Theresa May to reduce the number of stop and search operations from a whopping figure of 1.5 million at its height in 2008 to nearly 300,000 cases last year.

The Sky News said Javid monitored a stop and search operation at an underground station in Islington, north London where dozens of officers  rushed to search people at Angel Tube station using spotter teams and portable metal detecting knife arches.

The report said the search led to the recovery and confiscation of a knife from a young man who was arrested at the scene.

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The announcement on increased police powers comes amid a historic surge in the number of homicides involving knife and other sharp instruments in London and other cities.

Some 48 people have been stabbed to death this year while authorities recorded the highest number homicide involving knives since records began in 1946 in the year to March 2018, a total of 285 cases.

However, human rights activists have expressed concerns that the increased police powers could negatively affect minorities. Latest statistics have shown that young black men are nine times more likely than young white men to be stopped and searched by police.

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