Increasing stop and search is the Tories trying to look tough – but only ending austerity will reduce knife crime

Over the weekend we learned that the government were introducing more stop and search powers for police officers in a misguided attempt to curb violent crime. The new powers make it easier for officers to openly search anyone. It's quite remarkable that the government are introducing new measures that experts and professionals, including the police, have not called for.

The Tories have a very unhealthy obsession with appearing to be “tough on crime” regardless of the consequences. We know that this approach is demonstrably harmful and yet they seem intent on pursuing these policies because they create headlines which show them to dealing with the problem swiftly and robustly.

The Conservative Party are pretty selective about which manifesto promises they stick so no one will be surprised to hear that on this issue they either have an incredibly short memory or they're deliberating working to undermine their own pledges. In their 2017 manifesto, it stated they would “legislate to mandate changes in police practices” if stop and search didn't become more targeted and “stop to arrest” ratios did not improve. Despite evidence showing the contrary, it appears they're not only looking to ignore their pledge they're actively doing the opposite of what they said they’d do.

The Section 60 stop and search power from 1994 they intend to enhance already enables officers to carry out a search without reasonable suspicion when a senior officer deems it necessary. How many more times must campaigners remind the government of the negative consequences of stop and search which isn't intelligence-led? The racial disparity of stop and search will continue to rise if politicians keep assuring voters they will make progress on this issue and then do the complete opposite when in power.

Those who have been campaigning on this are at risk of repeating themselves yet again as successive governments fail to provide any meaningful change for young people at risk of violent crime. Research has shown that in order to tackle knife crime we must consider the issues that underpin those at risk of carrying out these crimes. Following six months of silence, the Home Office has finally responded to calls for an update on the plans for a “public health approach”. Some might hail this as a victory but I think it's appalling it has taken this long for the government to announce a consultation and no other progress.

The statement also commits to consulting on a new “legal duty” on public sector workers to collaborate with other agencies. It is quite apparent public sector workers are already stretched so this suggestion is basically meaningless without further funding.

Taking all of this into account, I think we are safe to state that the government’s handling of this issue has been awful. Repeated statements on stop and search are serving as a useful distraction technique while young people continue to die. Which is why we must continue to put pressure on the government to make significant changes that actually improve the lives of young people.

There is mounting evidence of the direct links between cuts to public services and the devastating murders being widely reported in the media. Last year, Theresa May announced the end of austerity and yet there’s still no evidence local authorities are in a position to make the significant changes necessary to provide better youth services or any of the other services that provide a lifeline for young people.

We know the circumstances that these young people are facing derive from poverty and other issues which are within the government's control yet we've seen no change. Let’s see if the latest empty announcements make any difference or whether we’re still saying the same things this time next year.