Stop and Search Community Monitoring

Report: 5
Date: 4 October 2010
By: Chief Executive

Summary

This report provides an update on the work of the MPA Stop and Search Community Monitoring Network (CMN), the issues discussed, issues of concern and a proposal to increase the visibility and contribution of Community Monitoring Groups (CMGs).

A. Recommendations

That

1. the Members acknowledge the work of the CMN in supporting the development of improved community engagement and community-led scrutiny of the implementation of Stop and Search powers;
2. Officers develop proposals for the further development of the borough CMGs, including better integration with the Community and Police Engagement Groups (CPEGs).

B. Supporting information

Background

1. The Macpherson Report into the death of Stephen Lawrence made a number of recommendations intended to provide greater public scrutiny and control of policing, enshrine rights for victims of crime and extend the number of offences classified as discriminatory. Four of the recommendations were specifically aimed at ensuring the use of Stop and Search powers were applied in an unbiased way and these are:

Recommendation 60 - That the current powers of Stop and Searches are required for the prevention of crime and should remain unchanged;

Recommendation 61 - Police Services, should ensure that a record is made by police officers of all "stops" and "stops and searches" made under any legislative provision (not just the Police and Criminal Evidence Act). Non statutory or so called "voluntary" stops must also be recorded. The record to include the reason for the stop, the outcome, and the self defined ethnic identity of the person stopped. A copy of the record shall be given to the person stopped;

Recommendation 62 to monitor the Stop and Search practice, with a requirement that ‘records should be monitored by Police Services and Police Authorities and reviewed by the HMIC on inspections, with the information and analysis being published’; and

Recommendation 63 - to ensure public awareness of their rights when stopped and searched and ‘that Police Authorities be given the duty to undertake publicity campaigns to ensure that the public is aware of "stop and search" provisions and the right to receive a record in all circumstances'.

2. Community monitoring of Stop and Search is delivered through borough-based community monitoring groups (CMGs). CMGs act as independent overseers of local police functions at borough level, scrutinise any apparent unfairness in the way they operate and hold local Commanders and officers accountable on policies and practices in respect of Stop and Search. Members of CMGs also support the development of community confidence in Stop and Search activities by observing Stop and Search operations, such as Operation Blunt II, and providing reassurance by engaging with communities. CMGs hold regular scrutiny meetings at borough level with local police, liaise with the MPA lead officer and report back through the Community Monitoring Network (CMN).

3. The MPA established the Stop and Search CMN in 2005 to support community-based stop and search monitoring groups, supported by MPA staff, with community members appointed as co-chairs. The first meeting took place in September 2005. The CMN is the central forum for all CMGs through which we enable the community to scrutinise the MPS in respect of Stop and Search.

The aims of the CMN are to:

• Improve Londoners’ trust and confidence in the way police officers conduct stop and search tactics on the streets;
• Ensure an efficient and effective system for monitoring policing actions is in place across London boroughs through community groups;
• Ensure members of the community monitoring groups are aware of their roles and responsibilities; acting as an independent overseer of borough police to examine and challenge apparent unfairness;
• Provide an arena for community members and Stop and Search lead police officers to network across boroughs;
• Provide access to information on specific topics / areas, such as the complaints process;
• Provide an opportunity to collectively resolve obstacles and issues; and
• Promote the sharing of best practice.

4. The membership of the CMN includes: Chairs of CMGs, community representatives, voluntary/third party organisations and police at both borough and strategic level, supported by the MPA. The CMN provides an opportunity for CMGs to share common issues of concern and inform actions for both the MPA and MPS to progress.

CMN Meetings – Issue considered and outcomes

5. The CMN has held four meetings since January 2010, including a special meeting that took place on 28 June, focused on the changes to Section 44 of the Terrorism Act, 2000, and the final meeting for 2010 took place on 14 September. A wide variety of matters have been considered at these meetings, including the scrutiny of police data on stop and account and Stop and Search activity, particularly stops resulting in arrest or caution in order to explore disproportionality. The CMN also regularly reviews information on complaints to police and to third party reporting sites of complaints regarding the use of Stop and Search. The MPS has also made good use of the CMN, using it as a platform to inform, advise and discuss with communities the impact of changes to Stop and Search legislation, including the withdrawal of section 44 powers (Terrorism Act, 2000) and of proposed police operations/initiatives, which may impact on Stop and Search activity. The MPS has on several occasions discussed their community engagement activities in relation to Stop and Search, particularly in regard to their work with schools and young people. The Network further provides a regular opportunity for CMGs to share information and experiences of community responses and concerns about Stop and Search activity in terms of how stops are conducted by officers, as well as other opportunities for training and networking.

6. These meetings are informative and have produced a number of positive outcomes. They provide regular opportunities for the MPA and MPS to receive community feedback on community perceptions and observations of the use of Stop and Search. Generally speaking the feedback from the members of the CMN has been positive, with members feeling that they have benefited from increased knowledge and awareness of specific Stop and Search activities, such as Operation Blunt II, but there is still more to do, particularly in engaging with young people. In addition, members of the Network have identified specific issues for further consideration by the MPS, such as the need for officers to improve how they communicate information about when and why stops are conducted.

7. The CMN regards the monitoring of Stop and Search complaints data as important to identify local borough issues. Feedback from CMGs highlights how essential it is for officers to demonstrate good standards of engagement with members of the public. Issues are fed back to the MPS through a variety of routes including, the Stop and Search Team, borough commanders and the senior lead officer. Discussions with supervisors ensure issues are addressed through stop and search briefings and/or officer training.

8. There are a number of Strategic level meetings that support the development and delivery of the CMGs and CMN, involving the Co-Chairs of the CMN, relevant MPA officers and the MPS Stop and Search Team. These include the Stop and Search Strategic meetings, exploring policy and compliance issues, which has recently been combined with the ‘Way Forward’ planning meetings that identify future operational issues and emerging concerns for discussion at future CMN meetings and Operation Pennant meetings where detailed Stop and Search data is examined and scrutinised.
Enhancing the work of CMGs

9. CMGs consist of community volunteers interested in Stop and Search and its impact on the local community. Most CMGs have an elected Chair and have (or are developing) an agreed terms of reference based on the MPA guidance document, A Practical Guide to Stop and Search Community Monitoring Groups. Further support is also being provided by the MPA Stop and Search officer and borough link Engagement and Partnerships officers.

10. Whilst some CMGs are aligned to their borough Community and Police Engagement Group (CPEG), many function in isolation. The CMGs not linked to local engagement structures have expressed concern as to the lack of consistency and opportunity to engage with other statutory mechanisms, which can have an adverse impact on the effectiveness of the CMG. Conversely, those that are linked with local CPEGs are generally more established and more able to attract members from the local community and to deliver effective local scrutiny. This issue could be addressed through ensuring greater integration of CMGs with CPEGs which would provide a public outlet for their work at borough level and ensure that CMGs are recognised as an important part of local borough scrutiny. In addition, recent discussions have highlighted the need to develop more formal feedback mechanisms to ensure officers are able to collate all the community intelligence flowing from the work of the CMGs through their experience as community observers, for example. Another issue that has arisen over recent months is the concern that the Stop and Search data provided to CMGs for the purposes of scrutiny need to be more accessible. This identifies a need to establish a more accessible, standardised template to ensure data is presented in a way that is easy to understand and that tells the story of what is happening at borough level. There should, of course, remain some flexibility for the data to reflect specific local issues, which may be different for individual boroughs. Discussions between the MPA and the MPS on these matters are ongoing and in the coming months officers will be developing proposals for change and will consult with relevant stakeholders in due course.

Engagement with Young People

11. Young people are not well represented amongst CMGs, so it is necessary to utilise other methods for engaging with this section of the community, which we know suffers a disproportionate impact from the use of Stop and Search. The MPS uses a number of youth focused initiatives to support engagement with young people, including Kickz and Met Track, two MPS initiatives aimed at engaging young people through sport. A number of CPEGs have also held youth events where there has been an opportunity to address the issue of Stop and Search and the Authority’s Engagement and Partnerships Team has also engaged directly with young people on this issue through their borough level activities, through citizenship events for example.

Stop and Search Community Observers

12. Members of CMGs periodically observe Stop and Search activity alongside police officers to reassure the wider community and survey how stops are conducted. Initial feedback indicates positive aspects as well as areas for improvement such as the timing and quality of briefings, local knowledge of officers, the tactics sometimes used that contribute to a positive or negative experience of the person being searched and the officer knowledge of the correct legislation under which a stop is conducted. Feedback is shared with senior officers to support improvements in the areas identified.

13. The community observers’ scheme has been well received, but there have been two particular concerns arising from it amongst CMGs. Firstly, CMGs felt that it was important that community observers on Stop and Search operations should be easily identifiable as non-MPS personnel. Secondly, CMG members have raised the question as to whether or not they are insured when taking part in community based observations. In response to these concerns, the MPS has introduced high visibility jackets for community observers, which specifically identify them as community volunteers. In relation to the second issue, CMG members have been advised that, as is the case with any community volunteer, they are not covered by an insurance policy. However, a risk assessment is conducted in advance of planned operations at which community observers will be present and individual observers are required to sign a waiver releasing the MPS of any liability in the event of them being involved in an incident.

14. This is an area being explored in more detail as volunteers working with the MPS on Stop and Search, providing community reassurance, are currently doing so at their own risk. In the event of a CMG volunteer being harmed, a challenge may be made on the basis that they were injured whilst acting on behalf of the MPA.

Current Legislative Matters

15. There are a number of current legislative matters, which have a direct bearing on the policy and practices governing the use of Stop and Search. Firstly, the ruling from the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) that Section 44 (Stop and Search) of the Terrorism Act 2000 contravenes the European Convention on Human Rights and is therefore unlawful. As a result, all police forces have been advised that Section 44 should no longer be used. In practice, and in response to concerns expressed by MPA members and the wider community, the MPS had already modified their use of this power and this had already produced a significant reduction in the number of Stop and Searches conducted under this legislation. Secondly, as a result of the Equalities and Human Rights Commission (EHRC) report ‘Stop and Think’, published in March 2010, the MPS was one of five forces from whom the EHRC sought additional information on their use of Stop and Search powers. Thirdly, in July 2010, the Home Secretary announced the decision to abolish the national requirement for the recording of Stop and Account encounters with effect from 1 January 2011, although police forces will be permitted to continue collecting ethnicity data where there are specific local concerns. In addition, the Crime and Security Act, 2010 reduces the recording requirements in respect of Stop and Search and the Home Secretary is encouraging the use of mobile data technology as an alternative to recording Stop and Search encounters on paper.

16. These points are covered in more detail in the MPS Stop and Search report, but members should be aware that CMN members have expressed concerns about the removal of the requirement to record Stop and Account encounters, which they believe is integral to developing and maintaining public support and confidence in the use of the power. However, the alternative view is that were the MPS to cease the recording of Stop and Account, those stopped and held to account would be delayed for less time and based on reasonably conservative estimates of time taken to record the encounter at the time of the stop and to then enter the record onto a database, the MPS suggest that there is the opportunity to make non-cashable savings in excess of £1,000,000. In addition, some CMGs hold the view that discontinuing the recording of Stop and Account would provide an opportunity for MPS officers to engage more freely with members of the community, whilst reducing the potential for confrontation.

17. The MPS is currently exploring the implications of ceasing to record stops under Stop and Account and whilst this will decrease the length of encounters, there is an ongoing debate taking place with CMGs and others as to the advantages and disadvantages before the MPS reaches a decision the way forward in January 2011. Of significant concern is the potential for disproportionality to increase if data is not collected and how to monitor the effect on the community. The removal of this requirement would also be likely to impact on an individual’s opportunity for redress should they feel aggrieved by the way in which the encounter is conducted.

C. Other organisational and community implications

1. Equalities Impact

18. Members may wish to note the differing viewpoints in relation to the proposed changes in recording Stop and Account, as suggested by the Home Office. This change could have a detrimental impact on community confidence and particularly on BME communities. This could also have an adverse impact on community support for Stop and Search, reducing public trust and confidence in the MPS and undoing the positive effect of the good work that has already taken place. An alternative perspective suggests it will actually improve community engagement with the community, which does not lead to a request for personal information when not necessary, which some sections of the community believe increases the potential for confrontational encounters.

19. Members may wish to consider the Report from the Equality and Human Rights Commission ‘Stop and Think’ that reflects a range of issues that impact on the BME community and in particular young people. For example the report highlights that:

• Black people are at least six times as likely to be stopped and searched as white people;
• Asian people are around twice as likely to be stopped and searched as white people’;
• Both black/white and Asian/white disproportionality ratios have remained approximately constant over the last five years if changing population composition is taken into account; and
• The biggest impact in terms of numbers of ‘excess’ Stops and Searches are seen in London where the rate is highest and where a high percentage of the black and Asian population live.

20. With regard to ongoing scrutiny and oversight of stop and search practice within the MPS, there is a need to ensure that diversity across all stands is reflected in the work of the CMN and local CMGs, particularly with respect to young people who suffer disproportionate impact from stop and search.

2. Met Forward

The CMN is the mechanism that enables the MPA to scrutinise Stop and Search practice across the MPS in partnership with local CMGs. As such, this contributes to the overall scrutiny of the MPS and its delivery of effective engagement with communities in London and supporting the vision of Met Forward. In particular it supports:

• Met Streets, the prevention of gun and knife enabled crime, Blunt 2
• Met Partners, working in partnership with the community and local Stop and Search scrutiny
• Met Connect, engaging with CMGs and the wider community to explain Stop and Search and observe planned Stop and Search operations and
• Met Specialist, in supporting public protection, public order, civil liberties and organised crime.

3. Financial Implications

There are no additional financial implications arising from this report or from the proposed development work, which will be managed within existing resources (0.5 full time equivalent for the lead officer and the support of an administrative assistant for approximately 3 days per meeting).

4. Legal Implications

Recent and potential changes to Stop and Search legislation and the EHRC report ‘Stop and Think’ are likely to have a considerable impact on operational policing and the MPA will need to ensure it continues to monitor and hold the MPS to account for its operational use of Stop and Search.

While certain legal requirements on the recording of stop and search and stop and account may be repealed, there will be an option to continue to record such information where it is deemed important and relevant in the local context and members may wish to have a view on this particular issue given the ongoing concerns about disproportionality.

5. Environmental Implications

There are no direct environmental implications from this report.

6. Risk Implications

There is a need to ensure the CMGs are effective to protect the MPA reputation and ensure compliance with the MacPherson Recommendations. The current position is that the Authority does not provide any insurance for community observers, but there is a need to further consider the implications of this position to ensure any financial or reputational risks are minimised.

D. Background papers

None

E. Contact details

Report author(s): Bennett Obong, MPA

For information contact:

MPA general: 020 7202 0202
Media enquiries: 020 7202 0217/18

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