The police minister, Kit Malthouse, has insisted that a new wave of stop-and-search operations should not increase community tensions as the government unveiled a series of anti-crime measures.
Both Boris Johnson, the prime minister, and Priti Patel, the home secretary, announced in separate comment articles in Sunday newspapers a lifting of restrictions on police carrying preventive stop-and-search operations under so-called section 60 powers – in another apparent sign of a looming general election.
Johnson, writing in the Mail on Sunday, said the time had arrived to “come down hard on crime”. In the Sun on Sunday, Patel said she would ensure police had “the resources and the powers they need” to protect people.
At the same time, a Ministry of Justice announcement of a £2.5bn prison programme to create 10,000 new places, and a plan to defer the release of prisoners under licence, was briefed in advance to the Telegraph.
Stop-and-search in is a controversial tactic, and its efficacy on a large scale is in doubt. A Home Office study of its increased use in London when Johnson was mayor found no evidence it had contributed to reducing crime levels.
One of Theresa May’s flagship policies as home secretary was to make police use stop-and-search more selectively in the light of statistics showing black people were seven times more likely to be stopped by police than white people, with only about one in 10 of those stops leading to an arrest.
Labour said the announcement showed the Johnson government preferred to “appear tough” rather than focus on effective policies to combat crime.
But speaking on Sky’s Sophy Ridge on Sunday show, Malthouse said ministers were aware of the sensitivities, arguing that the rollout of body-worn cameras to police would help minimise the chances of the powers being abused.
“It’s definitely the case that we have to work very closely with all communities across the country to make sure that stop-and-search is done in a professional and sensitive way,” he said.
“Things have changed. The vast majority of uniformed officers now wear a body camera, so the interaction between them and the person who is being searched can be filmed, which will lead to a professionalisation, and in fact a better reaction from the person being searched as well.”
The new government’s robust attitude towards law and order matters, including a plan to recruit 20,000 extra police, has increased speculation there will be an election in the autumn. Patel was criticised last week for saying she wants criminals “to literally feel terror”.
Asked about the comments, Malthouse said: “We certainly want criminals to be in fear of police detecting them and catching them and putting them inside. We know that the greatest deterrent to crime is the perception of the likelihood of getting caught. And that’s, psychologically, what we need to increase.”
Diane Abbott, the shadow home secretary, said: “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.
“Evidence-based stop-and-search will always be a vital tool in preventing crime. But random stops have only poisoned police and community relations.”
The new prisons announcement, for England and Wales, will see a new prison built alongside HMP Full Sutton in Yorkshire, as well as refurbishment and maintenance work to create more prison places.
The justice secretary, Robert Buckland, said: “More and better prison places means less re-offending and a lower burden on the taxpayer in the future.”
