Boris Johnson 'to stop criminals being freed after serving half their sentence'
Boris Johnson has vowed to "come down hard" on crime as he announced an extension of police stop-and-search powers and tougher sentences for violent criminals.
The Prime Minister also wants to end the automatic release of prisoners who have served half their sentence, according to the Telegraph
Mr Johnson said he was determined to tackle rising levels of knife crime amid the impression of a growing "culture of insolence" among "thugs" who believed they could act with impunity.
At the same time, he said the Government would be investing £2.5 billion in creating 10,000 new prison places to ensure serious violent and sexual offenders got the sentence they deserved.
According to the Telegraph, Mr Johnson will meet with police chiefs, prosecutors, former judges and prison bosses at No10 tomorrow.
The sentencing plans are at the forefront of a series of measures to tackle the UK's rising violent crime that will be unveiled over the next few days
Since taking office last month, Mr Johnson has already set out plans to recruit another 20,000 police officers over the next three years.
His latest announcement will be seen as further evidence that he is preparing the ground for an autumn general election amid continuing deadlock in Parliament over Brexit.
It comes just days after a police officer received multiple stab wounds after being attacked with a machete in east London.
Writing in The Mail on Sunday, the Prime Minister said the "first duty" of any government was to protect the public.
"We have the impression of a growing culture of insolence on the part of the thugs; and in the face of that sense of impunity - entirely misplaced - I believe the British public knows instinctively what we must do," he said.
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"We need to come down hard on crime. That means coming down hard on criminals. We need to reverse the balance of fear. I want the criminals to be afraid - not the public."
Stop-and-search: what are the changes?
Section 60 powers give officers the right to search people in a defined area during a specific time period when they believe serious violence will occur.
Stop and search can be deployed to look for offensive weapons before they can be used, or to look for weapons used in a recent attack that might be being carried by someone in the locality.
The recent changes mean officers can stop and search anyone in a designated area "without needing serious grounds for suspicion if serious violence is anticipated".
Authorising officers now only need reasonable belief an incident involving serious violence "may" rather than "will" occur.
Now officers at the rank of inspector and superintendent will be able to authorise the deployment of stop and search instead of seeking the approval of a more senior colleague.
Furthermore, the initial period a Section 60 is in force is now 24 hours rather than 15 hours.
The period a Section 60 can be extended to is now 48 hours, whereas it was previously limited to 39 hours.
Under the Government's plans, an existing pilot project, which allows police to deploy stop-and-search powers in an area without the authorisation of a senior officer, will be extended to cover an additional 8,000 officers in England and Wales.
Mr Johnson acknowledged the move would be controversial but said he believed it would have the backing of the parents of those children most at risk of getting caught up in knife crime.
"We are making clear that the police can and should make use of their stop-and-search powers," he wrote.
"I know that left-wing criminologists will object. And, of course, it is right that stop-and-search should be done courteously and in accordance with the law.
"But I also know that the people who back this intervention most fervently are often the parents of the kids who are so tragically foolish as to go out on the streets equipped with a knife, endangering not only the lives of others but their own."
The Prime Minister said the investment in the prison system - approved by Chancellor Sajid Javid - was "long overdue".
When police did catch violent criminals, he said that it was "vital they get the sentence they deserve".
He wrote: "In the past five years, we have seen literally hundreds of convicted rapists who have come out of prison commit another sexual offence.
"This cannot go on. I am afraid that as a society we have no choice but to insist on tougher sentencing laws for serious sexual and violent offenders, and for those who carry knives.
"Our first duty is to protect the public in the most basic way - and that means taking such people off the streets."
Shadow Home Secretary Diane Abbott said: "This draconian approach shows that Boris Johnson's government has no real plans to invest in policing or a public health approach to tackling violent crime.
"They have opted to 'appear tough' instead of dealing with the root causes of crime.
"Evidence based stop and search will always be a vital tool in preventing crime. But random stops have only poisoned police community relations."