Memorandum submitted by the Police Federation
of England and Wales
BACKGROUND
1. The Police Federation of England and
Wales welcomes this inquiry by the Home Affairs Committee into
knife crime. As the body that represents the interests of 140,000
police officers, we bring together views on the welfare and efficiency
of the force, and take responsibility for their presentation to
both Government and other opinion formers. We would welcome the
opportunity to provide further written or oral evidence to assist
the Committee in their inquiry. For more information about the
Police Federation please visit www.polfed.org.
2. In March 2007 the Federation was invited
to submit written evidence to coincide with a one-off oral evidence
session in which Vernon Coaker et al gave evidence. The Federation
still stands by the views expressed in the document we submitted
but we offer our additional thoughts and opinions in line with
the key topics identified within the call for evidence promulgated
as part of this current inquiry.
AVAILABILITY AND
RELIABILITY OF
DATA, KNIFE-CARRYING
OFFENCES AND
HOTSPOTS
3. At a national level, the persistent lack
of statistics on knife crime that are based on robust and reliable
data makes it difficult to achieve an accurate picture of the
true prevalence of knife crime in our society. Headlines such
as "Shocking new figures reveal the true scale of knife crime
epidemic in England and Wales"[7]
contrast starkly with the views of academics such as those expressed
in a recent report by the Centre for Crime and Justice Studies:[8]
"The evidence on knife crime contains a
number of ambiguities, but combining the various data sets, a
rather clearer picture emerges. Despite increased media attention,
levels of knife crime reflected in the British Crime Survey have
remained fairly stable at around 6-7% of all violent crime".
4. On a local level, forces can rely on
their own internal intelligence and statistics to identify potential
hotspots in the community and target resources towards those individuals
at most risk. In some circumstances police managers may invoke
the use of "stop and account" or "stop and search"
powers in particular hotspot areas. We believe that this remains
a very effective tool in the fight against knife crime but sometimes
its utility is overshadowed by accusations of disproportionality.
Whilst we fully appreciate the sensitive nature of this issue
we feel it would be regrettable to see the demise of "stop
and search/account" tactics and, in fact, advocate an extension
to these powers (see Paragraph 9).
OFFENDER PROFILES
AND PUBLIC
PERCEPTIONS OF
LEVELS OF
KNIFE CRIME
5. Regrettably, the carrying of knives has
become normalised amongst some sections of the community, particularly
teenagers and young men living in inner city areas. The perception
that "everyone" is carrying a knife leads to a dangerous
spiral of activity where individuals feel that they are at greater
risk if they are unarmed. This cycle needs to be broken and the
message about the greater risks and grave implications of carrying
knives needs to be more strongly promulgated throughout all forms
of media in order to support and supplement the work that is being
carried out by police officers locally.
CAUSES: REASONS
FOR KNIFE-CARRYING
AND USE
6. Many people arrested for carrying a weapon
give no reason for doing so. This skews any figures that may be
collected and can lead to inaccuracies and assumptions. Some of
the main reasons that are declared include:
— To commit crime—such as robbery
and theft from the person (often the locations are identified
as hotspot areas).
— Self-defence—as mentioned above,
often based on a real or perceived risk that they may suffer harm
if they do not carry a knife. Often that potential harm is seen
as coming from a rival gang, school or other group identified
as "different" by the individual for perceived reasons
based on ethnicity, race or religion.
— A status symbol—young persons
carrying knives as a status symbol to impress their peers.
CAUSES: AVAILABILITY
OF KNIVES
7. Our previous submission highlighted the
fact that current legislation is not sufficient and has not kept
pace with the modern market. Flaws and confusion over current
legislation has contributed to derisory levels of enforcement
and sanction. As a consequence, knives and other weapons are still
freely available via many different means—traditional shops
and markets, magazines and catalogues (often available from outside
UK), via the internet (either directly or through auction sites)
and from Europe—an easy route into the UK unless more vehicle
and passenger searches are carried out. The materials used to
produce knives have also changed at a pace unmatched by the legislative
process. Non-metallic, concealed and skilfully disguised weapons
seem to be more prevalent. However, this fact should not divert
attention away from the major problem—traditional knives
available in the home or legally sold in shops such as kitchen,
craft and pen knives.
CURRENT LEGISLATION
8. We repeat our previous call for a single,
holistic piece of legislation to cover all aspects of weapon crime
(non-firearms). This would bring together clear definitions of
what a weapon is and what restrictions there are governing its
purchase, manufacture, importation, sale, promotion, carriage,
possession and use. It should also cover more recently developed
means of advertising, selling and supplying weapons—such
as those opportunities provided by the internet and new communications
technologies. Anomalies could also be removed, such as the bladed
article legislation with its arbitrary 3" provision. We also
believe there should be circumstances when possession of an offensive
weapon should be a crime in a private (domestic or commercial)
as well as public setting.
9. We firmly believe that the use of "stop
and search" powers is the most effective tool the police
have against the rise of knife crime and that extending those
powers will have a positive impact. Current legislative restrictions
mean that officers must have reasonable grounds in order to exercise
stop and search powers. In relation to the carrying of a knife
they would need to know, with almost certainty, that an individual
is in possession of a weapon to justify a search. Whilst Section
60 of the Police and Criminal Evidence Act (1994) allows for searches
within a defined area and timescale, this requires prior intelligence
that disorder or violence is likely and the order needs to be
authorised by an inspector and confirmed by a superintendent.
10. We strongly recommend that the powers
to stop and search are extended to allow police officers to use
their discretion to search someone when the officer believes there
is threat of impending violence and where there is currently no
Section 60 power in place. This would be particularly helpful
to deal with occasions when groups or gangs unexpectedly congregate
and the officer in attendance believes that there is an immediate
likelihood of violence or disorder (as would be defined). The
officer making the authority would be required to inform an Inspector
at the earliest opportunity. Once the threat of violence or disorder
has rescinded, the use of the power will also cease. Similarly,
should the situation escalate than a full Section 60 would then
be authorised by an Inspector within a time limit, such as four
hours. The extension we suggest will ameliorate what we perceive
to be a gap in the current legislation.
SOLUTIONS: EDUCATION,
PARENTS AND
COMMUNITY PROJECTS
11. The education system has a real part
to play in solving the problem of knife crime. A "joined-up"
approach should be employed which encompasses all stakeholders.
A strong message needs to be conveyed not only via media campaigns
(including social networking internet sites such as Facebook and
YouTube and taking advantage of communications technology such
as Bluetooth) but also by supplying teachers, students and parents
with information about trends, risks and consequences. Positive
role models (on a local and national level) should be recruited
in order to highlight the impact of weapons on society and to
fight the "glamour" of carrying a weapon that some individuals
perceive. On a more practical level, coordinated approaches to
searching of students, we envisage that this would be led by the
establishment and that police involvement would be considered,
but not assumed to be necessary. The use of search powers, confidential
reporting for students and search arches may be of use in some
educational establishments.
12. Within the wider community, entertainment
areas such as nightclubs, pubs, cinemas, bowling allies and leisure
complexes need to be targeted. Again, a coordinated approach including
partnerships with management, the police and the local authorities
is required in order to display a clear message to visitors and
users of such facilities. That message is simple: carrying knives
and weapons will not be tolerated.
SOLUTIONS: POLICE
OPERATIONS, AMNESTIES
AND ENFORCEMENT
13. In the past, knife and other weapon
amnesties have been organised by police forces and local authorities.
Whilst in practical terms they are limited in their effectiveness
they send an important message to the public that carrying weapons
is unacceptable in a civilise society and that positive stand
is being taken by the police and local community.
14. Enforcement needs to be credible, consistent,
and deterrent. The media have helped generate a perception amongst
the public that cautions are routinely being issued to individuals
caught carrying knives and this has had a negative impact. However,
the fact remains that the latticework of legislation surrounding
knife-crime the makes it more likely that a caution will be issued
as a sanction for carrying a bladed article which, to the media,
is the same as carrying an offensive weapon. As we advocate, a
more holistic piece of legislation would help to grade weapon
offences and attach meaningful sentences to those offences.
15. We believe that coordinated policing
operations involving local partners and community workers in areas
where knife carrying is prevalent—whether schools, colleges,
shopping centres or licensed premises—are a positive step
forward. Practical innovations such as the proactive use of detection
wands can be highly effective (both in terms of detection and
prevention) and can be put into operation quickly and easily.
SOLUTIONS: CONVICTIONS,
PENALTIES AND
SENTENCING
16. To reiterate, now is the time to revisit
the legislation covering knives and weapons accompanied by appropriate
sentencing guidelines. Non-court penalties may be appropriate
in certain circumstances, but a consistent approach is needed.
October 2008
7 Daily Mail, 21 September 2008. Back
8
Squires, P and Silvestri, A with Grimshaw, R and Solomon, E (June
2008), "Street Weapons Commission: Guns, Knives and Street
Violence", Centre for Crime and Justice Studies, accessed
at http://www.crimeandjustice.org.uk/opus721/C4_Street_crime.pdf Back
| 
