Police have invoked a Section 60 order for the Tunstall area of Stoke-on Trent which will give them special powers due to fears that violence could break out this evening
19:14, 29 Oct 2025Updated 19:45, 29 Oct 2025
Fears of trouble breaking out in a UK city tonight has led police to introduce special powers.
A Section 60 order has been invoked for Tunstall, in Stoke-on-Trent, in a bid to quell any potential disorder. It comes after officers received 'information over potential violence' in the town this evening (October 29) while a hammer has also been found inside a vehicle. The Section 60 order - which covers Boathorse Road and the area bordered by Reginald Mitchell Way, High Street and Nash Peake Street - will remain in place until 11pm tonight.
The measure means officers have the power to stop-and-search anyone they suspect may be involved in violence or weapon offences 'without the need to have reasonable grounds'.
They also have the authority to make suspects remove any masks or face coverings. A large police presence was spotted in the Hollywall lane area of Tunstall this afternoon, reported StokeonTrentLive.
A Staffordshire Police spokesman said: "We’ll be using Section 60 powers in the Tunstall area. A Section 60 authorisation means that we can stop and search people for weapons and in this case a s60AA has also been authorised to allow officers to require an individual to remove a face covering.
"Section 60 allows any uniformed constable to stop pedestrians or those in vehicles and search them and their property for offensive weapons, regardless of whether there are any grounds for suspecting possession of such items. This is what makes Section 60 a suspicionless search.
"For this to happen a senior officer - those who are Superintendent or above - must believe that serious violence has happened in an area, or is about to happen, before they agree to this power being put in place. It’s called a Section 60, or S60, because it is allowed under Section 60 and Section 60AA of the Criminal Justice and Public Order Act 1994."
Staffordshire Police stressed that the order does not mean people will be stopped indiscriminately and officers will still follow usual stop and search processes including explaining why a person has been stopped, what object the officer is searching for, the legislation being used, recording the interaction on body worn video, and offering a receipt to the person who has been stopped.