Police slam shouting onlookers who interfered in stop-and-search machete seizure

7 November 2022, 13:45 | Updated: 7 November 2022, 13:48

Police have slammed the actions of two onlookers who interfered in a stop-and-search operation which led to the confiscation of two machetes.

The incident, which took place on Friday evening in East London, saw Hackney Police approach the group of youths after information suggested they were either involved in, or were preparing for, illegal activity.

After officers began the stop-and-search operation, the two bystanders began shouting at officers from the Homerton Policing Team.

Refusing to accept their reasons for stopping the youths, the team took to Twitter to denounce the actions of the individuals, who began "shouting" and "accusing us of harassing the youths".

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Each of the confiscated blades, contained in a sheath, is describes as being around 30cm long.

The Twitter post published by Homerton Policing Team displays two large blades and the caption: "To the two members of the public who tried to obstruct us whilst we were dealing with a group of youths in Retreat Place E9 tonight, shouting at us & accusing us of harassing the youths.

They added: "If you tried to listen to us we may have been able to show you what we found."

Earlier in the evening, the policing team took to Twitter to explain that officers were out in force in the area.

Noting the operation was aimed at deterring crime and fireworks related-incidents linked anti-social behaviour, the force conduct a range of patrols and targeted sweeps across the borough.

It follows building criticism against the Metropolitan Police, after the force was accused of failing to record 69,000 crimes including stalking and domestic abuse, alongside a host of 'inadequate' responses to 999 calls.

It also follows the news that 6.5 million crimes were recorded in the 12 months to June 2022, a figure up from the previous all-time high of 6.3 million in the year to March.

Figures show that in London, which accounts for between a fifth and a quarter of all knife crime, only one in six criminal offences involving a knife were solved over the past two years.