Opinion : Should a Section 60 Order be enacted in High Wycombe?

It seems that in recent weeks there has been a noticeable increase in crime in High Wycombe.

Indeed the news section of this site has peppered with articles where people have been injured, stabbed, etc…. during incidents involving knives and other weapons.

Only today an article appeared in the news section of this site headlined ‘Man found outside High Wycombe train station with stab wounds‘.

Then there was the incident in New Road recently where an 18 year old man was stabbed. In Cedar Terrace a man sustained a fractured eye socket during a robbery. In Downley there was an incident of kidnap and assault in Plomer Green Lane and a knife was produced during a robbery in Micklefield in which the keys to a moped were taken.

All the aforementioned incidents were reported in the news section of this site in the last fortnight.

Let’s face it Wycombe is no longer a quaint market town nestling in the Chiltern Hills. It’s a dangerous place and crime involving knives is taking place here in our town, it’s not just something that happens in cities like London.

Recently what are referred to as ‘Section 60 Orders’ have been used by the police in various locations not all that far away from High Wycombe. They have been used in Slough, West Berkshire and currently one is in force in Milton Keynes.

A Section 60 Order gets its name from Section 60 of the Criminal Justice and Public Order Act 1994. It temporarily allows police officers greater powers to stop and search people in relation to items connected with violence in a defined location and for a specific period of time.

For one to be enacted the police must believe, with good reason, that either :

• Serious violence will take place and it is necessary to use this power to prevent such violence.
• Or that a person is carrying a dangerous object or offensive weapon.
• Or that an incident involving serious violence has taken place and a dangerous instrument or offensive weapon used in the incident is being carried in the locality

During the recent Section 60 Order in West Berkshire a total of 165 stop searches were conducted and three knives were recovered. Two arrests were made for possession of a knife while one person was referred to the Youth Offending Team for support and intervention. A knife arch was also deployed at a business premises on Northbrook Street, Newbury.

With all the recent incidents of crime involving knives in High Wycombe isn’t it time a Section 60 Order was enacted here?

The Frogmoor, Desborough Road, New Road, High Street, Downley, Castlefield and Micklefield areas would certainly be worthy of coverage. Indeed my good self would like to see a portable knife arch deployed mounted on a trailer so it could be moved around quickly to aid the battle against knife crime.

Sadly my good self fears that, as usual in our town, nothing will be done before it’s too late and before we know it there will be yet another murder investigation launched in relation to a knife related incident in our town.

In my opinion it’s about time there was a crack down on the carrying of knives in High Wycombe. The sooner a Section 60 Order is put into effect in High Wycombe the better so knives and the scumbags who carry them are removed from the streets of our town.

What do you think?

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