Increase use of stop and search powers in capital, Duncan Smith demands
Former Tory leader says police chiefs should bring back controversial tactic to tackle rising gang violence
POLICE chiefs should dramatically increase the use of controversial stop and search powers to tackle rising gang violence, Iain Duncan Smith, the former Conservative leader, said last night.
Mr Duncan Smith’s comments came as his think-tank released a new report warning that drug dealers operating “with impunity” across the country are to blame for a “toxic cycle of serious violence”, the Daily Mail reported.
The 148-page document, which is likely to increase the pressure on the government to get a grip on violent crime, comes just days after the number of killings in London this year reached 100.
It will put pressure on Sadiq Khan, the London Mayor but also the Prime Minister, who as Home Secretary led moves to reduce the use of police search powers, warning that they were being misused against ethnic minorities, who are up to seven times more likely to be targeted.
But, the report, by the Centre for Social Justice (CSJ), dismisses the “racial disparity” and calls for additional funding for community policing as well as a new order to allow convicted gang leaders to be stopped after they are released from jail, even if there is no evidence against them.
Among its findings, the report details how a gun is fired illegally in London every six to nine hours, almost half of residents in the capital say there are “no-go areas” and that nearly threequarters support police stop and searches.
Mr Duncan Smith, the CSJ’S chairman and founder, told the Mail: “Stop and search does two things. It tells the gangs they cannot move their guns and drugs around, making their lives much more difficult.
“People claim, “it’s not fair”, but who are the communities affected by this the most? It’s the poorest communities in our country. It means shops close, people don’t go on the street, kids who want nothing to do with the gang feel threatened.”
Andy Cook, CSJ’S chief executive, added: “If a gun were fired every day in rural Oxfordshire or leafy Surrey, every police resource in the country would be focused on bringing the violence to an end.”