Merseyside Police new stop and search powers ‘should apply to 12yos’, says Ava White’s mum

Merseyside Police are one of four forces in England selected to trial new stop and search powers aimed at tackling knife crime and serious violence.

From Wednesday (April 19), new Serious Violence Reduction Orders will make it easier for officers to search high-risk offenders. The legislation will be applied to over-18s who have previously been convicted of carrying a knife.

However, the mother of Ava White, the schoolgirl who was stabbed to death in Liverpool city centre by a 14-year-old boy in 2021, says the new powers should go even further.

Leeann White told BBC Radio Merseyside: "Personally, I think it should be applied as young as 12, especially if they’re known to the police. If they’re known for anti-social behaviour, why can’t the stop and search apply to them?"

Speaking about the boy who killed her daughter, Ms White added: “Maybe if this was launched earlier, he would have been stop and searched and Ava would still be here. That knife could’ve been taken off the streets.”

Knife crime figures for Merseyside

• Ministry of Justice figures show 162 offenders were given an immediate sentence in the year to September 2022 – accounting for 33% of knife crime offenders who went through the criminal justice system.
• This was up on the proportion of offenders handed an immediate sentence in 2020-21 (32%), but below the proportion two years prior (38%).
• Overall, about 2% of the 498 offenders in Merseyside who went through the criminal justice system were cautioned, 21% were given community sentences and 33% were suspended sentences.
• The data shows 70% of offenders in Merseyside last year had no previous convictions or cautions, 19% had one, 6% had two and 5% had three or more.