Courts to get anti-knife crime powers with Asbo-style orders for children as young as 12

Home Office to introduce curfews and strict rules in attempt to stop violent crime

Related video: Audience member gives a passionate speech about knife crime during BBC's Question Time in June (PA)

Courts will be given extra powers to impose rules and curfews on anyone aged 12 or over who may be carrying a knife, the Home Office has announced.

The Asbo-style powers, called knife crime prevention orders (KCPOs), are civil orders that can be imposed on people who the courts believe pose a threat to the public through the use of a bladed weapon.

The powers will be introduced as part of the Offensive Weapons Act, which is attempting to tackle knife crime and serious violence.

KCPOs could allow the courts to impose curfews and place restrictions on a person's movements and internet use, along with preventing them from associating with certain people and activities.

Priti Patel, the home secretary, claimed the measures would “stop acids and knives making their way onto our streets and being used to carry out horrifying attacks.”

Details of the orders were included in draft guidance published by the Home Office on Thursday.

When KCPOs were first proposed in January by then-home secretary Sajid Javid, the orders received a mixed response.

Duncan Ball, the National Police Chiefs' Council lead for knife crime, said the orders would bolster police powers amid increased patrols and stop and search measures.

However, Sarah Jones MP, chair of the All-Party Parliamentary Group on Knife Crime, said KCPOs risk "criminalising a generation of young people who have grown up unsupported and who often turn to carrying weapons out of fear."

The announcement today comes as the government is under pressure to act on knife crime after a spate of recent attacks on police officers and members of the public.

In the last seven days, four people have died, including two teenagers, and another has been injured in stabbings around the country.

On 8 August, Metropolitan Police officer Stuart Outten received multiple stab wounds when he was attacked while on duty in Leyton, east London.

The KCPOs announcement comes days after a different Home Office campaign was labelled “embarrassing” and “racist” for its attempt to tackle knife crime.

Food boxes carrying a #knifefree logo were announced on Wednesday and rolled out to more than 210 takeaway chicken outlets in England and Wales, such as Morley’s and Dixy Chicken.

Diane Abbott, the shadow home secretary, said the campaign was “offensive”.

"Instead of investing in a public health approach to violent crime, the Home Office have opted for yet another crude, offensive and probably expensive campaign,” she said in a statement on Twitter.

In response to the backlash, Ms Patel defended the scheme and claimed Ms Abbott was “playing politics with knife crime”.

Agencies contributed to this report