Police reveal stop and search figures following Easton stabbing
For 24 hours following a stabbing on Sunday officers in Easton were allowed to stop anyone they wanted
Fourteen people were stopped by Avon and Somerset (AS) Police during a 24 hour period of enhanced stop and search powers, following a stabbing in Easton on Sunday.
The force has released details in a bid to reassure the public that stop and search is being used appropriately.
Of the 14 people stopped, we're told eight were of Black heritage and six of Asian heritage, while all were under the age of 24. One was between 10 and 17 years old.
No weapons were seized.
WATCH: Our video report following Sunday's stabbing in Easton
"Under Section 60 of the Criminal Justice and Public Order Act, officers were allowed to stop and search people without requiring reasonable grounds for suspicion," a spokesperson for AS Police said.
"Under section 60AA of the same act, officers were also allowed to request individuals to remove any face coverings if they believed someone was trying to hide their identity."
The powers came into force on Sunday 9th June at 7pm following the stabbing of two men near Rawnsley Park in the early hours of that morning. One of the two injured men remains in hospital recovering.
Eleven people arrested on suspicion of attempted murder in connection with the attack, have all been released on conditional bail.
Chief Inspector for East Bristol and force lead for stop and search, Vicks Hayward-Melen, said: "We understand this tactic is not welcomed by all and that some people feel it is used to over-police certain communities.
"We are mindful of this whenever we make the challenging decision to use these powers, at the same time as weighing up the need to prevent further violence or escalation and reassure the public we are doing all we can to keep communities safe.
"I have and will continue to personally review all the stop and searches carried out under this power via the body worn video.
"We will also be ensuring this will be further scrutinised externally by the Independent Scrutiny of Police Powers Panel as is standard for searches under this power."
Enhanced stop and search powers were last introduced in Bristol in February following the death of Darrian Williams near Rawnsley Park. No weapons were recovered then, either.
Talking about the most recent incident in Easton, Ch Insp Hayward-Melen added: "The recent incidents in Stapleton Road and the surrounding area in the past few months has had a significant impact on the local community.
"We are making sure our Neighbourhood Policing Team for Easton is visible and available for members of the community to approach them with any concerns they may have.
"There is no place for knife crime on our streets or in our communities.
"We are committed as the police to doing everything we possibly can to stop this, from working with our intelligence teams to identify those who are posing the most risk in our communities, conducting knife sweeps, and engaging with our communities to alert them to the dangers."
The same day as the Easton attack, there were also stabbings in Weston Super Mare and Keynsham.
You can find out more about AS Police's efforts to tackle knife crime via this link.