Boris Johnson to relax stop and search rules as he launches plan to recruit 20,000 police officers

Boris Johnson has vowed to urgently relax stop and search restrictions for police officers across the UK, in a controversial first full policy announcement as prime minister.

Downing Street said that a trial scheme designed to make it easier for officers to conduct searches would be “urgently” reviewed, with a view to extending it across the whole country.

Mr Johnson also vowed to begin the process of recruiting 20,000 new police officers within “weeks”, saying the Home Office would launch the recruitment drive in September.

The stop and search trial began in April and involved seven police forces following less strict conditions in relation to searches.

Mr Johnson has repeatedly said that he supports stop and search being used to tackle violent crime. Critics say the controversial policy disproportionately targets ethnic minorities and is frequently used without good reason.

As the then Mayor of London, Mr Johnson said in 2016 that he was “concerned” at the high number of searches being carried out and called for “a more targetted approach”.

However, during the Tory leadership campaign this summer he said he wanted to give the police “the political cover and support they need to do stop and search and to come down hard on those carrying knives”.

He also pledged to recruit 20,000 new police officers within the next three years.

Downing Street said the government would set up a new national policing board to help drive the recruitment process. It will be chaired by Priti Patel, the new home secretary, and will bring together police leaders to ensure forces are doing all they can to recruit new officers.

Mr Johnson said: “As I said on the steps of Downing Street this week, my job as prime minister is to make our streets safer.

“People want to see more officers in their neighbourhoods, protecting the public and cutting crime.

“I promised 20,000 extra officers and that recruitment will now start in earnest.”

Ms Patel said: “Officers up and down the country put themselves in danger every day to keep us safe, they deserve our support.

“The rise we’ve seen in serious violence is deeply worrying. An additional 20,000 officers sends a clear message that we are committed to giving police the resources they need to tackle the scourge of crime.”

The home secretary said the announcement marked “the start of a new relationship between the government and the police working even more closely together to protect the public”.

Speaking in the Commons earlier in the day, Mr Johnson said he had told Ms Patel to treat the work of recruiting more police officers as “an absolute priority”.

He also hinted at the changes to stop and search rules, saying: “We will give greater powers for the police to use stop and search to help tackle violent crime.”

Mr Johnson said he had asked civil servants to draw up plans for tougher penalties for people found guilty of serious sexual and violent crimes, including ensuring that they serve time in prison. This will be accompanied by policies to reduce the number of “prolific offenders”, he said.

Diane Abbott, the shadow home secretary, said: “There is no evidence that random stops reduce violent crime. Stop and search is already too easily conducted on the basis of racial profiling. Evidenced based stops will always be a vital tool in fighting crime, but random stops will only poison relationships between young people and the police.”