WE ARE A MAGAZINE ABOUT LAW AND JUSTICE | AND THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN THE TWO
February 07 2025
WE ARE A MAGAZINE ABOUT LAW AND JUSTICE | AND THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN THE TWO

Met Police claim that ‘stop and search hesitance’ is to blame for rising knife crime and fewer arrests

Met Police claim that ‘stop and search hesitance’ is to blame for rising knife crime and fewer arrests

Arrests of teenagers by the Metropolitan Police in London for knife offences have fallen despite a rise in knife crime, The Times has reported.  There was a 33% decrease in arrests of under-18s for knife offences in London between 2018 and 2023, according to data released to the Times and published on the 26th of January under freedom of information laws.

Commissioner Hayley Stewart suggested this was due to ‘fewer officers feeling confident about using stop and search tactics as they fear complaints’.  Met Commissioner Mark Rowley suggested officers’ increased hesitance to stop and search suspects was due to concerns surrounding complaints, claiming officers thought: ‘My career can be suspended for a couple of years if a complaint comes in.’

Met data shows officers conducted 118,688 stop and search procedures in the year to 4 January 2025, representing a decrease of around 34,000 from the previous year. Despite this, knife crime has risen in the London area, which has been mainly attributed to increased gang violence and knifepoint robberies.

These new figures come among widespread criticism of the stop and search procedure and, in particular, the disproportionate numbers of Black people subject to it. Some 40% of the searches represented in the new data were of Black individuals, primarily aged 18-24.  The Justice Gap has previously reported on the issue of over-policing marginalised communities.

In October 2023, Deputy Assistant Commissioner Ade Adelekan said stops and searches had ‘traumatised’ communities in London and acknowledged that the procedure needed a ‘reset.’ A survey conducted by YouGov in March 2023 found that 42% of respondents ‘strongly’ or ‘somewhat’ distrusted the Met, with distrust higher among women.

The survey followed the highly critical Baroness Casey review, which described Black Londoners as ‘over-policed and under-protected’. It suggested that racism and other forms of discrimination were rife within the force, and indicated that stop and search procedures were conducted on Black individuals at a significantly higher number than white individuals.

The Met have nonetheless defended stop and searches, with Adelekan describing it as a tool that can save lives. London mayor Sir Sadiq Khan’s office has also expressed support for the procedure, describing it as a ‘vital policing tool.’ The office supported ‘intelligence-led stop and search that is carried out fairly and with respect.’

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