Stop and search powers are being expanded after a 16-year-old boy was fatally stabbed in Lambeth last night.

A section 60 Order authorised today grants police officers the power to stop and search anyone inside parts of Lambeth between 11:45pm tonight (Tuesday July 6) and 02.45am on Wednesday (July 7).

Update: Shortly before 6pm today Wandsworth Police announced via Facebook that a section 60 Order was also authorised in SW8 and SW11. Stop and search powers were expanded in these postcodes at 3.00pm and will revert at 5.00am on Wednesday.

Section 60 Order: What is it ?

Ordinarily, police officers can only stop and search people they have a genuine suspicion are carrying drugs, a weapon or stolen goods.

A section 60 Order such as those authorised in Lambeth and Wandsworth today allows officers to stop and search people with no grounds for suspicion.

In theory, this means the police can stop and search anyone they like. Restraints on how a Section 60 Order is implemented should prevent such a blanket application in reality.

Only a senior police officer – at least the rank of Inspector – can authorise Section 60 searches and they may only do so if there has been serious violence in a particular area, or there is a risk serious violence may occur.

Section 60 Orders can also usually be authorised for 24 hours only. In Lambeth, the power expires after three hours.

Section 60 Orders in Lambeth and Wandsworth

In an announcement on Twitter, a Lambeth police spokesperson said the authorised section 60 Order followed the fatal stabbing of Keane Harling in Oval Place yesterday (Monday July 5).

They said: "A section 60 Order has been authorised from 11:45hrs on Tuesday, 6 July until 02:45hrs on Wednesday, 7 July for these areas.

"This is due to the fatal stabbing of a teenager on Monday, 5 July, in Oval Place."

A spokesperson for Wandsworth police confirmed it was "due to tensions in the community regarding a recent stabbing in Lambeth" that Inspector Croucher had authorised a section 60 Order in SW8 and SW11.

Further information on section 60 orders can be found in a video Wandsworth Police shared on Facebook.

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