A former chief inspector at New Scotland Yard believes police officers are “scared” to stop and search, leading to an increase in knife crime.

Steve Gaskin admitted knife crime has been a “real bugbear” of his and while believing the police are doing “some good work” he said police forces are “missing a trick as well”.

The crime expert was speaking to the Oxford Mail as part of our anti-crime campaign which was launched at the beginning of April.

Mr Gaskin confessed he would not stop anyone if he was still in the police force due to potentially being put in front of a disciplinary board and losing his job.

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The former detective added the “days of sending your kids to a youth club are gone” believing there needs to be a “more contemporary outlook” to the knife crime but recognised it “distils down to money”.

Mr Gaskin said: “This is not aimed at an individual officer of force, but if a gang is like a snake, why isn’t the head of the snake being taken off? That is what I don’t understand.

“Secondly, and most importantly, stop and search for people carrying a weapon is an area where the police have ample power but it is an absolute political hot potato.

“Officers are scared of stopping and searching not because of their own personal safety but for the ramifications if they are wrong.

“If I was in the police force I wouldn’t stop anyone because you have got to weigh up the probability of either being called to task or going on a disciplinary course and being sacked.

“That stops a lot of officers from searching.

“However, let's be realistic, there is some good stuff going on. The police crime and commissioner in the Thames Valley is doing some good work and trying to tackle it.”

He praised Thames Valley Police’s Operation Deter which focuses on prosecution, intervention and prevention of knife crime.

Bicester Advertiser: Steve Gaskin, a former Scotland Yard detective Steve Gaskin, a former Scotland Yard detective (Image: Leah Hallam Creative)Operation deter is a “zero tolerance” approach to knife crime, seeking swift charge and remand decisions to those who carry knives, and has been driven by the force and the police and crime commissioner, Matthew Barber.

Mr Gaskin said: “What [Operation Deter] is doing is putting a focus on what people are carrying knives and making sure there are good relationships between the crime and prosecution service and the police and crime commissioner. That is good practice.

“There is no single silver bullet. There are a number of social issues that are at work.

“The first one is because a lot of boys in particular get involved in gangs and do it because they have an unsettled home. Sometimes that is because the parents just can’t cope.”

He added that parents, suspects, social services, local authorities and the police all have a part to play in battling knife crime.

Mr Gaskin, who launched The Crime Lab in 2019 after retiring from a 20-year career as a Scotland Yard detective, also believes that the true number of knife incidents could be underreported as not every stabbing requires hospital treatment.

He said: “There are no winners or losers, that is sure. I always feel very sad when a young person’s life is taken and the person who has done it is also a young person so there are no winners.”