KIDS ‘TOOLED UP AGED SIX’

Police in new knife crackdown

THE use of stop and search powers could be stepped up amid claims children as young as six are carrying knives.

Police believe they are arming themselves out of fear after a surge in knife crime.

Met Commissioner Cressida Dick has warned that more youngsters could be now checked for weapons on the street.

She said stop and search is “a very important power for officers and has been hugely powerful in the fight against knife crime”.

The Met boss added that if extending the controversial tactic reduced the death toll she would “absolutely support it and explain why we have had an increase”. More than 30 people have been stabbed to death in London so far this year – up from 23 in the same period in 2016.

Police have also seized a record 300 knives in just one week in the city and community leaders say the escalating violence is scaring youngsters into carrying blades.

On a visit to a youth centre in Putney, Ms Dick was warned that young people “feel naked” without a weapon.

One woman told her that even young children can be armed.

She said: “On the housing estate it’s six-year-olds that are carrying knives because they think they won’t be stopped. You need to start there, in the primary schools. You need to tell much younger people.” Josh Osbourne, a mentor at youth charity Carney’s Community, said some 10-year-olds live in fear because of gang violence. He added: “They can’t even cross the road because they’re in a dispute with somebody else from the same postcode but across the road.” In the past, police have been criticised for overusing stop and search, with some forces accused of racial profiling. Under the powers, police can detain and check anyone if they have “reasonable grounds” to suspect they have illegal drugs, weapons or stolen property.