Targeted stop-and-search tactics are an effective way to cut gun and knife crime, research suggests.

A review found that “hotspot” tactics, where police visited particular locations at particular times, could have a significant impact on crime. One highly successful strategy involved officers frisking people at traffic lights in high-crime urban areas.

The research, published today, was commissioned by Sir Al Aynsley-Green, the Children’s Commissioner for England, who has spoken out against the rise of stop-and-search tactics, saying they are likely to intimidate and alienate young people.

Stop-and-search operations are running at a record level in London in a big operation to cut the number of teenage murders and gang fights in the capital.

Most research on knife and gun crime used in the study comes from the United States where efforts to tackle the problem are more intense, more varied and go back many more years than in the UK, providing a rich data source. It found targeted stop-and-search programmes successfully led to a fall in both the illegal carrying of weapons and in crime. In some areas, it led to a 30 per cent fall in crime.

The way in which police were perceived locally was also found to be important if crime reduction programmes were to be successful. The study was conducted by the Centre for Crime and Justice Studies at King’s College London.

In an interview with The Times, Sir Al said the most striking thing from the research was that single interventions were not, on their own, a long-term solution to the problem

Sir Al said: “We are not against stop-and-search in principle, not least because children and young people say it is a visible way of making them feel safer. The research shows the methods are important, that used in hotspots, targeted and intelligence-led, it can make a difference short-term, and we welcome that. But there is always the downside that it can undermine other efforts to win sustainable acceptance among communities, and there is no conclusive evidence that long-term benefits may result.”

He said that there was a dearth of good research into the whole area of gun and knife crime, which this study was attempting to address. “There is huge public concern about weapons and weapons carrying after some quite dreadful events,” he said. “What is lacking from the debate is a really credible, authoritative examination of all the many and varied solutions.”

A poll of young people living in high-risk areas conducted by the Children’s Commissioner found a quarter wanted more stop-and-search operations in their neighbourhood.

A spate of teenage murders in London led to the launch of Operation Blunt last May. Since the operation began there have been 175,998 searches, 6,270 arrests and 3,804 knives seized. Police say they have lowered knife crime by 27 per cent in nine out of 10 main knife crime areas.

The operation has been criticised by race campaigners, who say it undermines confidence in the police. Home Office figures show black people are six times more likely to be stopped than whites.

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