Police fear to stop and search knife suspects ‘due to politics’

THE Police Federation has warned that officers are afraid to use stop-and -search powers because they fear they will face a political backlash.

It came after Boris Johnson, the Foreign Secretary, called for greater use of the tactic to end the “absolute misery” that knife crime causes.

In an interview with The Daily Telegraph, he acknowledged that the approach, which he deployed as mayor of London, had proved controversial but added: “By God, it worked.”

Simon Kempton, the Police Federation’s representative on stop and search, said officers were “grateful” for Mr Johnson’s intervention.

He said: “Stop and search prevents crime and helps detect crime. It saves lives. At the moment, police officers are increasingly simply not using the powers because they fear they will be caught up in a political football.

“It has led to an environment where people increasingly don’t want to use the powers. Police are afraid to use stop and search because they fear a political backlash. Ministers need to make the case for stop and search.”

It comes amid government concern over a rise in violent crime, particularly in London, with suggestions that the Home Office is not being tough enough.

Nearly 40 people have been fatally stabbed in London this year, with knife offences rising by a fifth to 37,443 in the year to September 2017.

John Hayes, a former Conservative minister, yesterday called for an urgent debate in the Commons on knife crime.