Stop and Search update

Report: 4
Date: 3 October 2011
By: Commander Territorial Policing Patrol Command on behalf of the Commissioner

Summary

This report provides an update of the Metropolitan Police Service use of Stop and Search powers.

A. Recommendation

That Members note the MPS Stop and Search update in response to the MPA Standing Quarterly Brief.

B. Supporting information

1. The most recent stop and search return for the 1st financial quarter 2011 is attached as Appendix 1.

2. During the 1st quarter, the total number of searches were as follows;

117,541 Section 1 Police and Criminal Evidence Act 1984 (PACE)
9,240 Section 60 Criminal Justice and Public Order Act 1994 (“CJPOA”) (S60)
288 Section 43 Terrorism Act 2000

In addition there were 156,744 Stop and Account recorded during the same time period. To date there have been no Section 47A authorisations in the MPS.

3. This quarter saw an overall decrease in the number of PACE and section 60 searches and the total number of Stop and Account compared to the previous quarter.

4. There continues to be quarterly fluctuations in stops data (increases and decreases) but by comparing a rolling 12 month period 2010/11 to the same period 2009/10 it can be seen that PACE search volumes have remained similar. PACE arrest rate (8.3%) and Positive Outcome rate (12.4% including cannabis warnings) are also very similar to 2009/10. S.60 search volumes have decreased compared to 2009/10, however, this is in proportion to threat level of serious youth violence.

5. Schedule 7 Terrorism Act 2000 is not a stop and search power in the way that Section 1 PACE, Section 60 CJPOA, or Section 47A Terrorism Act are. Its use is confined to ports for a very specifically defined purpose. Schedule 7 data is collated nationally, but forces are advised not to release the data in the interests of national security. Counter Terrorism Command (Ports Unit) has put in place measures to mitigate the impact of the use of Schedule 7 on certain community groups, through careful review of practices and exercise of powers in accordance with the legislative guidelines.

6. Appendix 2 provides a breakdown of all S60 searches and all searches for pointed/bladed articles (defined under Section 139 Criminal Justice Act 1988) and weapons under Section 1 PACE. The majority of these searches are linked to Operation Blunt 2 activity.

Operation Pennant

7. Operation Pennant is the performance framework for stop and search, it provides London-wide scrutiny of stop and search. Disproportionality and arrest rates, as well as other indicators, can be (and have been) scrutinised down to team and individual officer level.

8. This extremely detailed data is currently presented and discussed at Operation Pennant and MPS Stop and Search Strategic meetings. In future it will also be discussed by Area Commanders and their BOCU Commanders during monthly performance meetings, allowing another mechanism to highlight issues for further exploration or share good practice.

Community Engagement

9. Community engagement specifically in relation to stop and search takes a variety of forms, from local monitoring group meetings to lessons delivered by schools officers to members of the community accompanying police and observing stop and search operations.

10. Each B/OCU is required to submit a quarterly return to Territorial Policing Stop and Search team to enable collation and monitoring of activities. Additionally each borough is required to complete a stop and search Equality Impact Assessment and these feed in to the MPS stop and search Equality Impact Assessment.

11. A breakdown of community engagement activity by BOCU for the 1st quarter is attached at Appendix 3. Engagement activities have included:

• Kingston held two stop and search initiatives using passive drugs dogs and use of a triage type ''Search City'' based within the town centre. At both initiatives they had members of the community and partners attending as part of their external scrutiny focus.
• Talks were given to year 7/8/9 pupils at schools in Heston on police powers including stop and search
• Community observers from Ealing Police Consultative Group, Independent Advisory Group and local wards were deployed to observe police tactics (including stop and Search) to prevent crime and serious violence at Acton Carnival.
• A meeting with "Black Caribbean Boys Association" in Harrow where stop and search was explained to all that attended the meeting.
• A workshop in Southwark where officers from a wide spectrum of MPS portfolios attended providing an insight into policing tactics, including stop and search.
• Stop and search talks to Volunteer Police Cadets in Wandsworth

12. During the 1st quarter community observers/members of the public accompanied police and were able to observe stop and search operations on 130 separate occasions across the MPS. (Please be advised this data is not complete, some boroughs have not been able to collate and submit these specific returns due to Operation Withern and Operation Kirkin commitments).

13. Best practice is shared through MPA Community Monitoring Network meetings, BOCU stop and search lead officer conferences and publicised through News items on the MPS Intranet.

Section 60 Judicial Review

14. The Claimant was searched under section 60 Criminal Justice and Public Order Act (CJPO) 1994 in Haringey on 9 September 2010 and subsequently arrested. The Claimant issued judicial review proceedings on 11 December 2010 challenging the legality of Section 60 CJPO Act 1994.

15. Permission to proceed with the Judicial Review application has been granted. The review will examine the argument that a) Section 60 CJPO Act 1994 is unlawful as it is incompatible with Article 5 and 8 of the European Convention on Human Rights; b) Section 60 is discriminatory in that it is used disproportionately against black and minority ethnic communities.

16. The MPS will argue strongly against these assertions and a gold group has been set up, chaired by Commander Tony Eastaugh who is also leading nationally on this issue on behalf of the Association of Chief Police Officers (ACPO).

17. All evidence/information must be submitted to the High Court by 1 October 2011. The court has indicated it is desirable that the substantive hearing takes place before the end of this calendar year.

18. In the meantime, Section 60 CJPO Act 1994 remains a legitimate power and a tactical option for the MPS to continue using in the prevention of violence.

Stop and Account consultation

19. The consultation process commenced in January 2011 and concluded on 8 June 2011.

20. The main consultation activities carried out jointly by the MPS Stop and Search team and MPA included the following:

• The process was launched by the MPS Directorate of Public Affairs together with the MPA Communications Unit with a Media Awareness week.
• A survey was posted on the MPS stop and search intranet site encouraging colleagues to vote for whether or not to cease recording of Stop and Account. In addition the views of Stop and Search Leads were sought.
• Two 10,000 volt sessions were carried out. One with the top 50 police officers and PCSOs that carried out the most stops and were most effective in terms of arrest. The second was with young people from education establishments, voluntary sector organisations and organisations such as Youth Justice Board.
• Radio interview with a phone-in session hosted by Reprezent Radio with the MPS ACPO Lead for Stop and Search and Cindy Butts (MPA).
• Views of young people canvassed by a young presenter on Radio Reprezent.
• A questionnaire placed on the Metropolitan Police Authority website accompanied by a press release encouraging people to visit the site and complete the questionnaire.
• A Conference held on 11 May 2011 in The Chamber, City Hall. The debate followed a ‘question-time’ style format with two panels and hosted by the current affairs presenter Kurt Barling.

21. The majority of police staff that responded to the survey on the intranet site wanted the MPS to cease recording of Stop and Account, which was in contrast to the majority of the public who wanted to retain recording. Specific results include:

• 79% of police colleagues surveyed voted to stop recording. (A total of 601 respondents)
• 80% of Police Stop and Search Leads voted to stop recording. (A total of 46 respondents)
• 95% of young people surveyed on Radio Reprezent wanted to retain recording. (A total of 200 respondents)
• At the Conference there was an overwhelming desire to find a method that allowed the people if London to feel confident that they could hold the MPS to account for their use of Stop and Account.

A total of 973 MPA questionnaires were completed. (Awaiting analysis of results from MPA).

22. A report has been submitted to the Management Board for consideration and a decision is pending as to whether stop and account will continue or not.

Next steps

23. The Pilot at Lewisham is now complete although continuing monitoring will be implemented to check on the quality of briefings, the impact on Community confidence and the standards of stop and searches.

24. It is anticipated that a roll out of the Next Steps initiative will commence once the ongoing work at Lewisham has been fully evaluated. The next borough to implement Next Steps will be Ealing and this is forecast to take place within the next couple of months.

Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC)

25. The MPS and EHRC are in dialogue and work is ongoing.

Complaints

26. The Directorate of Professional Standards (DPS) compiles data on complaints against MPS personnel relating specifically to stop and search. Complaints arising from stop and search are very low and make up less than 1% of all searches conducted. The number of allegations finalised arising from stop and search for the 12 month period July 2010 to June 2011 (broken down by Borough of incident) is attached at Appendix 4.

27. There were 808 complaints / allegations finalised in the MPS during this 12 month period. 469 were Unsubstantiated/Not Upheld, 198 were Locally Resolved and 21 Substantiated/Upheld.

28. The most allegations Finalised (74) over the 12 month period for a single borough were recorded in Westminster and Lambeth.

29. Lambeth had the highest number (8) of Substantiated/Upheld allegations over the 12 month period out of their borough total of 74 allegations Finalised.

30. The sanctions for those allegations substantiated/upheld where there was a case to answer was management action.

31. Management action may include:

• Pointing out how the behaviour fell short of the expectations set out in the Standards of Professional Behaviour;
• Identifying expectations for future conduct;
• Establishing an improvement plan;
• Addressing any underlying causes of misconduct.

32. The police officer may in some cases be advised that any future misconduct, even if it is of the same type, could be dealt with by disciplinary action rather than management action.

C. Other organisational and community implications

Equality and Diversity Impact

1. The Metropolitan Police Service recognises that its ability to police with the confidence of all communities can be affected by how stop/search powers are used and how they are carried out. An Equality Impact Assessment specifically for the use of stop and search powers by the MPS is currently being reviewed. Each BOCU has also completed their own Equality Impact Assessment on their use of stop and search.

2. The use of stop and search in the MPS is directed by Policy and Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs). The aim of the MPS stop and search policy is to ensure that officers comply with the law, act within their powers and that all stop and search powers are used fairly, responsibly, without unlawful discrimination and with respect for people being searched. This Policy and SOPs are published in the public domain and are subject to regular review by the Stop and Search Team.

3. The MPS publishes the Monitoring Mechanism on a monthly basis on the Internet. This provides each BOCU’s data on stop and search and for the MPS as a whole. This allows Community Monitoring Groups (CMGs) to scrutinise the use of stop and search by their local BOCU and to hold them to account. It also allows for comparisons to be made by BOCUs against the rest of the MPS.

4. Operation Pennant, a performance framework for stop and search, provides London-wide scrutiny of stop and search. Disproportionality and arrest rates are scrutinised down to team and individual officer level.

Consideration of Met Forward

5. MPS stop and search policy and Standard Operating Procedures support the Met Streets and Met Connect strands of Met Forward. Police officers out on patrol on the streets and on public transport, conducting stop and search, supports Met Streets to deal with the menace of gangs, guns and knives. Through the Community Monitoring Network, stop and search website, Operation Pennant and the Stop and Search Strategic Committee, the MPS is supporting Met Connect by ensuring our communities are properly informed and engaged with regard to stop and search matters to deliver increased confidence in policing.

Financial Implications

6. There are no additional financial implications arising from this report.

Legal Implications

7. The legal implications of the section 60 review are set out in paragraphs 14 to 18 of the report.

8. Section C of this report supports the contention that the MPS adopts a fair and proportionate approach to stop and search.

Environmental Implications

9. There are no environmental implications arising directly from this report.

Risk Implications

10. The MPS continues to monitor the introduction of new legislation and changes to the codes of practice to ensure compliance and minimise any reputational risk caused by misuse of the powers.

D. Background papers

None

E. Contact details

Report author: Superintendent Victor Olisa, Stop and Search Team, MPS

For information contact:

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

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