Police were called by the London Ambulance Service shortly before 6pm following reports of a stabbing on Bourne Terrace in Paddington. The teenager was taken to hospital for treatment, but his injuries are not believed to be life-threatening, the force said. Police confirmed no arrests have been made.
A police cordon remains in place in surrounding areas while an investigation is carried out.
Inspector Brown from Westminster Police authorised the stop and search powers “to prevent further escalations of serious violence”.
Section 60 of the Criminal Justice and Public Order Act 1994 will be in place for 12 hours from 7.30pm on Wednesday, September 8 to 7.30am on Thursday, September 9.
It will cover areas including Paddington, Maida Hill, Westbourne Green, and West Kilburn.
Westminster Police tweeted: “Due to an incident in Bourne Terrace, W2 and to prevent further escalations of serious violence, Inspector Brown has authorised a Section 60 from 1930hrs on 8th September 2021 until 0730hrs on 9th September 2021.”
The force has urged anyone with information to contact the police on 101, quoting the reference CAD 5754/08Sep.
The Criminal Justice and Public Order Act 1994 says a Section 60 order “gives police the right to search people in a defined area during a specific time period when they believe, with good reason, that: 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”.
The act adds: “Section 60 is different to other stop and search powers in that it requires the authority of a senior officer, and officers carrying out searches using this power are not required to have reasonable grounds to suspect that the person or vehicle is carrying weapons or dangerous objects.”
The number of stop and searches have fallen considerably across England and Wales in recent years.
In 2020, there was a total of 577,054 searches in England and Wales, according to the Home Office.
The figure is around a third of the peak in 2009, when 1.5 million took place.
The spike in 2009 coincided with the Metropolitan Police’s Operation Blunt II.
The scheme was supported by the London Mayor at the time, Boris Johnson, and aimed at tackling knife crime in the capital.
https://www.express.co.uk/news/uk/1488475/london-news-stabbing-bourne-terrace-paddington-police-stop-search-breaking-news
