UK police given new powers to fight knife crime

Police in Britain will be given new stop and search powers targeting at known knife criminals, the British government has said, reported Xinhua.

The powers would apply to individuals previously convicted of carrying a knife or an offensive weapon, including people who have received non-custodial sentences such as community orders or suspended prison sentences.

"The new orders, which build on existing stop and search powers, will help the police to better target the small minority of persistent offenders who repeatedly flout the law," said a spokesperson of the Home Office, Britain's interior ministry.

The Home Office said the proportion of offenders who have already committed one or more previous knife and offensive weapons possession offences has risen from 20 percent in the year ending March 2010 to 29 percent in year ending March 2020.