BORIS JOHNSON GIVES POLICE MORE POWER TO STOP AND SEARCH, A MOVE AIMED TO ‘RESERVE THE BALANCE OF UNFORESEEN CIRCUMSTANCES’
UK: The new British Prime Minister Boris Johnson gives police more power to stop and search. This came with his confirmation plans of extending police officers’ freedom to stop and search members of the public, however, had earlier been kicked against due to tensions, but insisted, despite warning that it could practically result to societal tensions.
It’s equally understood the prime minister, during his Party leadership contest made it clear that his administration will beef up security with additional 20,000 new police officers, with this announcement it isn’t a surprise, though there are concerns.
Reports from The Mail on Sunday, stipulate that the prime minister practically backed his Home Secretary ‘Priti Patel’s’ claim, though considered controversial, adding that criminals should “literally feel terror”. And in his mail, he wrote:
“As Home Secretary Priti Patel has rightly said, we need to reserve the balance of fear”.
Meanwhile, it’s understood there are concerns as Boris Johnson gives police full-fledged authority on the basis of ‘stop and search’. However, the Prime minister in his statement explained:
“I am announcing today that in all 43 police authorities in England and Wales, we are making clear that the police can and should make use of their stop and search powers.
“We are extending an existing pilot so that 8,000 more officers can decide to deploy stop-and-search across an area without a senior officer needing to give the go-ahead.
“The operation can be instituted by anyone of inspector rank and above, and the officer can proceed simply on the basis that he or she thinks a crime may be committed”.
Based on this, a particular group of persons is considered primary targets and these are ‘thugs’, and have instructed the police to focus more on them, adding that: “I want the criminals to be afraid – not the police”. In addition to this, he also wrote:
“We have the impression of a growing culture of insolence on the part of the thugs, and in the face of that sense of impunity – entirely misplaced – I believe the British public knows instinctively what we must do”.
Not only did Boris Johnson give police more power, but also pledge to expand the prison system in order to accommodate more offenders. However, he has called for harsher sentences specifically for “serious sexual and violent offenders, and for those who carry kni
“We are creating another 10,000 space in our prisons. The Chancellor, Sajid Javid, has agreed to invest up to 2.5 billion pounds to deliver this commitment.
“Frankly, this investment is long overdue. It is not enough just to catch the criminal, punish them and deter them from further crime. We must also do far more to turn their lives around because our penal system is woefully ill-equipped to rehabilitate and reform”
There were immediate criticism and a serious concern from the shadow home secretary of the opposition party ‘Labour’, on the
“History has taught the Tories nothing. Extending Section 60 [stop and search] powers over the summer is a tried and tested recipe for unrest, not violence reduction.
“This draconian approach shows that Boris Johnson’s government has no real plans to invest in policing or a public health approach to tackling violent crime. They have opted to appear tough, instead of dealing with the root causes of crime. And finally, on this, she added:
“Evidence-based stop and search will always be a vital tool in preventing crime. But, random stops have only poisoned police
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