Your views on Preston police crackdown on knife crime: "It isn’t just a policing problem"

Lancashire Police has been granted special powers to stop and search people this week as the force responds to a surge in knife crime in the city.

Police were issued Section 60 powers as part of ramped up patrols in the Fishwick and St Matthews area of the city.

Section 60 powers are rarely used and can only be authorised in an area where police believe there is a serious risk of violence.

The searches took place on Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday.

One person was arrested on suspicion of possessing an offensive weapon and another on suspicion of possessing a class A controlled drug.

Here are your views:

Go and get them OFF the streets.

Owen Mulholland

It should be a continuous thing, not for a few days or weeks, and whoever gets searched shouldn’t have the right to say no you can’t.

If you’ve nothing on you, you’ve nothing to hide so just let the police do their job.

Mark Baines

It’s not about having nothing to hide it’s about a right to privacy.

We’re not a police state yet, the day the police can do what they like against our rights is the day the country dies.

Thomas Wignall

Oh very clever police are informing everyone it’s only for a few days.

Next week all the little plastic gangsters will be back on the streets and another stabbing will yet again be reported.

Donna Marie Swain

This won’t stop them.

Nothing has changed.

Donna Jackson

Not advertising the fact they were doing stop and searches might have helped catch a few more.

Gillian Clarkson

It’s all a publicity stunt.

They’re thinking about numbers, statistics and politics.

John B

It’s kids and younger adults that should be searched.

Graeme Ash

Good if they just stop one person with a knife its a win-win.

Mick Smith

Nothing found as you told them all what you was doing.

Colin Eccles

Everyone still complaining yet if they didn’t tell you what they were doing you’d all be moaning that they weren’t acting because they haven’t said anything.

Give your heads a wobble and stop having a go at police who are severely under funded.

If you have such a problem with it start speaking up to those that matter. Not mouthing off over Facebook .

Lynsey Varley

How can you catch someone if they know what’s going on.

Dave Richard Banks

This is in response to a spike in knife crime in Preston and more generally across the entire country.

The police are doing their bit by upping the number of searches but this isn’t just a police problem.

Politicians, schools, parents and communities have to solve this problem together.

James Quirk