In this briefing the Centre for Crime and Justice Studies, in collaboration with StopWatch, analyse the introduction of Serious Violence Reduction Orders (SVROs), which were introduced under the Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts Act 2022. They were intended to allow for suspicion-less stop and search of individuals previously convicted of certain knife-related offences. A pilot began in April 2023, in four areas across England.

The briefing finds attempting to track the use of SVROs is hindered by restricted data access. It argues that this lack of transparency undermines public accountability.