‘We can’t hold back in the fight against knife crime’
22 June 2023
West Midlands Police Federation has welcomed the Home Secretary’s pledge to back the use of stop and search powers “to prevent violence and save more lives”.
Suella Braverman said she would give her “full support” to officers who use the powers and was writing to police chiefs across England and Wales to give her full backing to the tactic.
Ms Braverman said: “Carrying weapons is a scourge on our society, and anyone doing so is risking their own lives as well as the lives of those around them.
“This dangerous culture must be brought to a stop.
“My first priority is to keep the public safe, and people who insist on carrying a weapon must know that there will be consequences.
“The police have my full support to ramp up the use of stop and search, wherever necessary, to prevent violence and save more lives.”
West Midlands Police Federation chair Rich Cooke welcomed Ms Braverman’s comments and warned that statistics used by critics of stop and search could be misleading.
He said: “I agree with the Home Secretary 100 per cent.
“We can’t hold back in the fight against knife crime and stop and search - talking in the widest possible sense - is an uncontroversial tactic which has widespread public support.
“It certainly has widespread support among police officers because we know it works.”
Rich Cooke has welcomed the Home Secretary's comments on stop and search
Critics of stop and search say it disproportionately targets black and ethnic minority communities.
Government statistics suggest black people are seven times more likely to be stopped and searched compared with white people.
And campaign groups have previously warned that relaxing restrictions on police use of the power could compound discrimination.
But Ms Braverman made it clear she supported the police in tackling knife crime among young black males.
“Every death from knife crime is a tragedy,” she said.
“That's why I also back the police in tackling this blight in communities which are disproportionately affected, such as among young black males.
“We need to do everything in our power to crack down on this violence.”
Rich acknowledged it was a complex issue but warned failure to face up to the realities of street crime would lead to the loss of more young lives.
“We get potshots taken at us over issues such as disproportionality which comes from an average figure taken across the entire population of England and Wales,” he said.
“But the figures - and they’ve been quoted again in the media today - are not accurate.
“Statistical averages are very general tools to measure something which is not a simple or straightforward issue.”
Rich said it was complicated by levels of poverty, social injustices and a variety of issues which he suggested had a much bigger impact on communities than policing tactics.
He said: “I think sometimes we are too worried about political considerations. Suella Braverman has given us enough political top cover and we should embrace that and use these powers because there are too many kids getting murdered.
“It is a complicated issue and I do think some of the debate has been warped by the media.
“Some community leaders have got concerns and I think in those cases we have to explain the use of the tactic better because the media narrative has warped the debate and I don’t think they are getting the truth.”
