Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many times stop and search powers have been used under Serious Violence Reduction Orders in the West Midlands.

Serious Violence Reduction Orders (SVROs) were piloted for two years throughout Merseyside, Sussex, Thames Valley and West Midlands police force areas. The pilot took place between 19 April 2023 and 18 April 2025.

The pilot is being independently evaluated, and the evaluation is considering the use of stop and search powers under SVROs across the four pilot forces

The final independent evaluation of the pilot, due this summer, will look to understand the use of the SVRO stop and search power and the effectiveness of SVROs in reducing reoffending and knife carrying.