Chief Constable Stephen Watson has mounted a robust defence of police stop and search powers - and vowed they would be used far more in the future.
The force ramped up its use of 'stop and search' following the fatal stabbing of three young men in Greater Manchester in just 16 days.
It gives police powers to search someone if there are 'reasonable grounds' to believe they have illegal drugs, a weapon, stolen goods or items like a crowbar which would be used to commit a crime. READ MORE: Moment armed cops swoop on man who didn't know he had grenades in his rucksack But Greater Manchester Police went further and also made a so-called 'section 60' order which allowed officers, for a limited time in a small area, to search people even without reasonable grounds for suspicion.
The move came following the fatal stabbings of Kennie Carter, 16, in Stretford, Alan Szelugowski, 17, in Clowes Park, Salford, and Dylan Keelan, 20, in Dukinfield.
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