A TOTAL of 63 people were stopped and searched by police over the weekend, resulting in one arrest.
Officers stopped and searched a further 48 people in the Shirley, Millbrook and Lordshill area over the weekend after a section 60 was re-authorised.
The section 60 was in place from 6pm, Saturday 10 October until 5.59pm yesterday, Sunday 11 October.
The section 60 was implemented twice in the Shirley, Millbrook and Lordshill areas from Friday October 9, following an incident of serious violence that took place on Thursday, October 8, where five or six people with mopeds were reported to have approached a 31-year-old man and a 22-year-old woman walking on Tangmere Drive and stab the man.
The 31-year-old man was taken to Southampton General Hospital with serious yet not life-threatening injuries.
Police are treating the incident as racially aggravated as it was reported the group verbally abused the man before attacking him.
A 16-year-old boy from Southampton has been arrested on suspicion of robbery, GBH and possession of Class B drugs.
He has since been released on bail with conditions while enquiries continue.
As a result, from 6pm Friday 9 October, officers stopped and searched 63 people.
Three people were found to be carrying cannabis and were issued with community resolution orders, three catapults were seized and a 25-year-old man from Southampton was arrested on suspicion of drug supply offences following a stop on Anglesea Road on Friday 9 October.
He was released from custody but remains under investigation.
Inspector Sarah Nicholson said: “First and foremost, the section 60 power helps us to prevent incidents of serious violence.
“We are also able to better apprehend those who are carrying weapons, or those who are involved in planned violence.
“I have seen people ask why we tell you this beforehand. We do this because it is important you know what we are doing about violent crime in your communities.
"When we tell people a section 60 has been authorised, it also may make those considering doing something that involves weapons and violence, to think about their actions and the consequences that come with them.
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