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Opinion poll that ‘backed stop and search powers’ had no option to oppose them

Analysts rubbish claim by the UK Home Office that public supported introducing ‘serious violence reduction orders’

By Anita Mureithi
Opinion poll that ‘backed stop and search powers’ had no option to oppose them
Experts warned that SVROs are likely to go in the same direction as previous police powers, relying on “little more than a set of racist stereotypes” | Vudi Xhymshiti/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images
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The UK Home Office has been accused of using “unreliable” data to back up its claim that “most” of the public is supportive of new suspicionless stop and search powers.

A report published today by the Runnymede Trust, a race equality and civil rights charity, rubbished the Home Office’s claim that 77% of responses to its public consultation on so-called ‘serious violence reduction orders’ (SVROs) were supportive.

SVROs are new orders introduced under the Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts Act 2022 that give police discretionary power to stop and search specific people at any time, in any public place, without the need for ‘reasonable suspicion’.

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