Police are afraid of using stop and search to tackle knife crime because they fear political backlash

Police officers have warned that they are afraid to use stop and search powers because they fear they will face a political backlash.

The Police Federation said that ministers need to make the case for greater use of the powers after a surge in the number of stabbings in London. 

It came after Boris Johnson, the Foreign Secretary, called for more use of stop and search powers to end the "absolute misery" that knife crime causes.

In an interview with The Telegraph he acknowledged that the approach, which he deployed as mayor of London, had proved controversial but added: “By God it worked.”

Simon Kempton, the Police Federation's representative on stop and search, said officers were "grateful" for Mr Johnson's intervention.

He said: "Stop and search prevents crime and helps detect crime. It saves lives. At the moment because of how it has been treated by politicians, police officers are increasingly simply not using the powers because they fear they will be caught up in a political football. 

"It has led to an environment where people increasingly don't want to use the powers. When used properly it is a vital tool for policing. Police are increasingly afraid to use stop and search because they fear a pollitical backlash. Ministers need to make the case for stock and search."

It comes amid government concern over a rise in violent crime, particularly in London, with suggestions that the Home Office is not being tough enough. 

Nearly 40 people have been fatally stabbed in London since the start of the year, with the number of knife offences rising by a fifth to 37,443 in the year to September 2017.

As home secretary, Theresa May introduced changes in 2014 that meant police were only allowed to stop people when there were “reasonable grounds for suspicion”. It led to a dramatic fall in the use of the powers.

John Hayes, a former Conservative minister, yesterday called for an urgent debate on knife crime in the Commons. He described a recent interview with the mother of a young boy murdered in a knife attack.

He said: "In calling for tougher sentences and more stop-and-search, that mother declared chillingly that politicians didn't care because their children weren't at risk.

"I know people across this House do care. So will the Leader of the House arrange for a debate on the issue of knife crime and of the culture which is gaining hold in our cities and elsewhere, which not only allows but celebrates the carrying and use of knives?"

Andrea Leadsom, the leader of the Commons, said: "The Home Secretary has been determined to take early action. We have had a number of discussions about what more can be done.

"She has launched in March a national knife crime media campaign across all channels, including billboards, to try and take young people away from this awful scourge."

Mr Johnson recalled how he increased the use of stop and search powers after he became mayor in 2008. He said: “I remember vividly what was going on. It was an absolute nightmare. We were having about 28 or 30 kids killed every year, most of them in knife attacks.

“If people are going to go equipped with a knife, they are putting other people at risk and they are putting themselves at risk. You have got to stop them, you have got to search them and you have got to take the knives out of their possession. And we did that with Operation Blunt II. We took tens of thousands of knives off the streets."