Home Secretary backs police to increase stop and search

Police will have greater powers to prevent knife crime and tackle serious violence.

From:

Home Office

Police will have greater powers to prevent knife crime and tackle serious violence as the Home Secretary permanently lifts restrictions on their use of stop and search in areas where they anticipate serious violence to happen.

In a letter sent to police forces today (Monday 16 May), the Home Secretary will remove restrictions on section 60 that have been in place since 2014. These restrictions have limited when officers could use the vital power and decreased their confidence in deploying it.

Removing these restrictions means that more officers can authorise section 60, the

Justice overhaul to better protect the public and back our police

Cutting crime and building safer communities will be at the heart of new legislation unveiled in Parliament today (9 March 2021).

From:

Ministry of Justice, Home Office, The Rt Hon Priti Patel MP, and The Rt Hon Robert Buckland QC MP

• punishments to reflect severity of crimes with police given stronger powers and protections
• child sex abuse laws extended to cover sports coaches and faith leaders
• Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts Bill introduced to Parliament today

Cutting crime and building safer communities will be at the heart of new legislation unveiled in Parliament today, as the government delivers on its pledge to restore confidence in the criminal justice system.

The Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts Bill

Police to receive £60 million to support COVID-19 response

Police forces in England and Wales will be reimbursed with £60 million to support increased enforcement of coronavirus rules, Home Secretary Priti Patel has announced today.

From:

Home Office and The Rt Hon Priti Patel MP

Since the start of the pandemic, officers across the country have played a crucial role in helping to stop the spread of the virus, by enforcing the COVID-19 regulations to protect the public, while continuing with investigations and keeping our streets safe.

£58 million of the money announced today will

£35.5m to support young people at risk of involvement in serious violence

The government has today announced a further £35.5 million to help Violence Reduction Units across the country tackle serious violence and prevent young people being drawn into it.

From:

Home Office, Kit Malthouse MP, and The Rt Hon Priti Patel MP

Violence Reduction Units bring together organisations across local communities to tackle violent crime and address its underlying causes. These units also help fund vital local projects that do positive preventative work with children and young people.

This £35.5 million, which covers 2021/22, is the

Directors appointed to the Independent Office for Police Conduct

Home Secretary makes appointments to the Board of the Independent Office for Police Conduct.

From:

Home Office and The Rt Hon Priti Patel MP

Four new independent directors have today (Monday 8 February) been announced as they join the Board in non-executive roles at the Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC).

The four appointees are as follows:

• Bill Matthews – Bill began his career as an engineer before progressing into business and operations management roles with Motorola. He then spent five years running technology start-ups before building a portfolio of non-executive roles spanning media, health and criminal justice. Previously a member of the BBC Trust and Chair of the BBC Pension Scheme, Bill now chairs the Scottish Criminal Cases Review Commission, is a Non-Executive Director at the Scottish Futures Trust and the Scottish Member of the British Transport Police Authority. He was a founding non-executive member of the IOPC’s Board on its formation in January 2018 and has been re-appointed to the role after being successful in an open and fair competition.

• Deborah Bowman – Deborah is Emeritus