Police make first application for knife crime stop-and-search order
West Midlands Police have applied for a Serious Violence Reduction Order after a man was sentenced earlier this week
Last updated 14th Jun 2024
West Midlands Police have made their first stop and search application to the court - one of four forces trialling these additional powers.
It’s after a 45-year-old man was handed a jail sentence earlier this week for holding a knife and a class a Drug at Wolverhampton Magistrates Court.
On 26 April, he was handed a 12-month custodial sentence for possession of a lock knife and four weeks imprisonment to run concurrently for possession of a Class A drug - but was already serving a suspended sentence for possession of a lock and craft knife.
Now, the police have applied for their first Serious Violence Reduction Order (SVRO) to help reduce knife crime offending across the region.
Superintendent Gareth Morris, said: “We are pleased to be one of only four police forces trialling these additional powers, anything that helps us tackle this issue and keep the pressure on those who are involved in the most serious violent crime is very welcome.
“Ultimately, we will use any tool available to us to keep our communities safe, so any extra measures that we can use are a huge help. It gives us a more proactive approach for repeat offenders and will help us protect those most vulnerable from being drawn into further exploitation by criminal gangs.
“This pilot coincides with a range of activity already taking place to tackle knife crime and serious violence across the West Midlands together with partnership work with the Violence Reduction Unit.”
The orders, known as SVROs, were introduced on 19 April in four force areas, including the West Midlands - with the trial letting the court decide whether to grant the stop-and-search powers when a person aged 18 or over is convicted of an offence involving a bladed article or offensive weapon.
If they're granted by the courts, the orders allow officers to stop and search subjects to check if they are in possession of a knife or blade, intended to reduce offences while also changing the behaviour of known knife and weapon carriers.
These orders are in place to help to tackle prolific, high-risk offenders, by making it easier for police to search them for weapons.
Each investigation where suspects are charged with knife crime offences and have a history of knife related crime is eligible for an application to be made alongside the prosecution.
Following the Dudley investigation, a further four applications have been made in which will be heard at court in coming days.
His SVRO hearing will be held at Dudley Magistrates Court on 2 May.