Serious Violence Reduction Orders – Do they work?
What are Serious Violence Reduction Orders, and do they work in relation to knife crime? We investigate in this article.
Serious Violence Reduction Orders (SVROs) are a police stop and search power piloted by forces in England and Wales. The orders were created by the Police Crime Sentencing and Courts Act 2022.
SVROs can be given to people who are convicted of an offence, if the court believes that the individual used or was in possession of a knife or bladed article when the offence was committed.
When Can a SVRO Be Applied?
An individual can also be given an SVRO if someone they were with during the commission of an offence used or was in possession of a knife or bladed article, and they ‘knew’ or ‘ought to have known’ that the other person was in possession of a knife or bladed article.
SVROs can last from six months to two years and can be made against anyone over the age of 18. They can also be put on people who are already in prison, taking effect when that person is released.
SVROs Versus Stop-and-Search
When an SVRO is applied, the same individual can be subject to stop and search by any serving police officer under the SVRO power.
Unlike most other stop-and-search powers, under an SVRO police officers have no legal requirement to have an evidence-based reason (i.e. ‘reasonable grounds for suspicion’) to stop and search an individual.
Officers can stop and search an individual subject to an SVRO at any time and in any location, simply by virtue of the SVRO being in place.
Failure to comply with an SVRO condition without a reasonable excuse, or obstructing a police officer in the exercise of a SVRO-based stop and search, can lead to a prison sentence of up to two years.
SVROs and Human Rights
From their inception, SVRO powers have generated a great deal of controversy. Successive home secretaries have defended the power as way to deter violence and ‘break the cycle of offending’, but various human rights groups, academics and politicians have raised objections to the power.
The main concerns cited with regards to SVROs include civil liberties, racial disproportionality, joint enterprise policing and collective punishment, practical ineffectiveness, and a lack of transparency about the rolling out of the powers.
Do SVROs Work?
The Runnymede Trust reviewed the use of Serious Violence Reduction Orders and concluded:
- No statistically significant link between existing police stop and search powers and violence prevention or reduction. Section 60 (of the Public Order Act 1994) search powers prove particularly ineffective, with an overall arrest rate of 0.5% for offensive weapons between 2001 and 2021.
- No studies demonstrating a relationship between court or civil orders and a reduction in rates of ‘offending’ behaviour.
- To the contrary, the evidence points to a relationship between the use of court or civil orders and increasing levels of involvement with the criminal justice system.
- A clear and significant link between similar police interventions and police stops, and negative mental and physical health outcomes such as higher rates of anxiety, self-harm, suicide attempts, diabetes and high blood pressure. These negative health impacts are disproportionately felt by Black communities.
- A clear and significant link between high-discretion stop and search powers and deepening racial disparities in the use of police powers. The study identified no police stop and search power that does not lead to highly racially disparate outcomes. For example, under Section 60, Black people are 18 times more likely to be stopped and searched.
What’s the Solution?
As a result of their findings, the Runnymede Trust urged policymakers to:
- Immediately scrap the Serious Violence Reduction Orders pilot and repeal the Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts Act 2022;
- Repeal legislation on high-discretion policing powers, such as Section 60 of the Public Order Act 1994;
- Scrap the use of other pre-crime intervention civil orders such as Knife Crime Prevention Orders and Behavioural Prevention Orders;
- Fund grassroots community-led and community-trusted organisations that play a role in conflict mediation, violence interruption and prevention; and
- Fund community-led mental health support and legal advocacy for individuals harmed by police stop based interventions.
How Can a Criminal Lawyer in London Help?
If you need expert help and advice on Serious Violence Reduction Orders, a criminal lawyer in London can help and advise you, no matter your circumstances. With over 30 years of experience in criminal law, we can provide advice including what you must do if you have an SVRO, what to do if you are stopped and searched, and your rights if you have an SVRO.
Furthermore, if you need specialist advice in relation to any criminal investigation or prosecution, from the initial investigation through to court proceedings, please get in touch. As a specialist criminal lawyer in London, our services range from knife crime and fraud to drug offences, so rest assured that our team will be able to help, whatever your case.
Call John Howey on 020 7388 1658 or email jhowey@jfhlaw.co.uk. Let us help.
Image credit: “Hunting Knife” by cooling84 is licensed under CC BY-ND 2.0.
