§ 39. Mr. E. Fletcherasked the Secretary of State for the Home Department what instructions have recently been sent to the police in the Metropolitan area to take special steps to stamp out rowdyism at dance halls and elsewhere.
§ The Joint Under-Secretary of State for the Home Department (Mr. David Renton)The Commissioner of Police gives continuous attention to the protection of the public against hooliganism. It would not be in the public interest, however, to disclose the details of the instructions which he gives to his officers.
§ Mr. FletcherMight it not be in the public interest to let the public know that some special steps are being taken to deal with this increased rowdyism in the Metropolitan area?
§ Mr. RentonThis is no new problem. It has engaged the attention of the Commissioner of Police and his predecessors for some time. He remains ever vigilant about it.
§ Mr. Elwyn JonesBut is not the use of knives in dance hall rows a new development? What is the Home Office doing about that aspect, which is resulting in the death of young men?
§ Mr. RentonNo; the use of knives, alas, is something which has gone on, with varying degrees of intensity, for some years.
§ Mr. DeedesIs my hon. and learned Friend aware that, both in the Public Order Act, 1937, I think, and in a subsequent Act, the House has made it an offence to carry certain weapons in public places, and that what the public feels uneasiness about is the lack of occasional searches to see whether those weapons are being carried?
§ Mr. RentonI should point out to my hon. Friend that, whenever hooliganism of any kind which amounts to a breach of public order takes place, the police officers are automatically entitled to search the people who are guilty of the hooliganism. In that way, these knives are frequently discovered.