Prime minister Boris Johnson has announced a major extension of stop and search powers for police.
The move comes in a fresh bid to crack down on knife crime.
The Prime Minister also promised tougher sentencing laws for serious sexual and violent offenders, which he said will be backed up by investment in building thousands of new prison places.
Writing in the The Mail on Sunday, he said 8,000 more officers would be able to decide to deploy stop and search in an area without seeking the authorisation of a senior officer.
"I want the criminals to be afraid - not the public," he wrote.
"That is why I am announcing today that in all 43 police authorities in England and Wales, we are making clear that the police can and should make use of their stop-and-search powers."
Mr Johnson said the Government was also investing £2.5 billion in creating 10,000 new prison spaces.
"At present, there are too many serious violent or sexual offenders who are coming out of prison long before they should," he wrote.
"This cannot go on. I am afraid that as a society we have no choice but to insist on tougher sentencing laws for serious sexual and violent offenders, and for those who carry knives."
