The roll out of a government pilot scheme to tackle knife crime has been shrouded in unjustified secrecy, according to a publication released today (12 December 2024) by the Centre for Crime and Justice Studies in collaboration with StopWatch.
Serious Violence Reduction Orders (SVROs) were introduced in the Police, Crime, Sentencing and the Courts Act, 2022 as a new civil order that granted an additional power to the police to stop and search an individual subject to an order at any time, in any public place, any number of times, and without the need for reasonable suspicion.
The SVRO pilot scheme began on 19 April 2023. Four police forces areas are involved in the pilot: Merseyside, Thames Valley, Sussex, and the West Midlands.
The briefing finds attempting to track the use of SVROs is hindered by restricted data access. It argues that this lack of transparency undermines public accountability.
While intended to reduce serious violence, the briefing reveals:
- Lack of transparency: Despite being a pilot scheme, the SVRO rollout has been marked by restricted access to crucial information about the use of the orders to date. The Home Office and police cite the need for a ‘safe space’ for policymaking as the rationale for not releasing basic information about the pilot thus far.
- Few searches conducted: With limited information from the pilot, researchers identified through annual stop and search figures, data that showed only 66 searches took place under SVRO powers in the first year of the pilot – significantly fewer than the 1,800 searches anticipated by the Home Office. None of these searches led to the discovery of weapons. The vast majority of these searches took place in one pilot area (Merseyside). It is unclear how many people these searches relate to.
- Disappointing progress: The speed at which civil orders like the SVRO have emerged contrasts with the slow pace at which evidenced-based measures to reduce serious violence have been adopted. Place-based investment, interventions for individuals affected by violence, and tackling damaged trust in policing require greater prioritisation if the government is to make progress regarding its ambitious target to halve knife crime over a decade.
Habib Kadiri, StopWatch's executive director, said:
In exercising powers that appear to do more harm than good to marginalised communities, the police risk damaging their already poor public reputation even further.
With SVROs, the Home Office tested a policy idea under the previous government and found it lacking in transparency, efficacy, and accountability. Therefore, the power should be repealed.
Doing this would demonstrate this administration's commitment to streamlining a bloated criminal justice legislature in favour of fairer and more effective ways of policing.
You can download and read our briefing below, and follow links to the Centre for Crime and Justice Studies website and a news article on the issue in the Independent.
