Stop and Search

Report: 6
Date: 5 December 2011
By: Commander Territorial Policing Patrol Command on behalf of the Commissioner

Summary

At the October 2011 meeting of the CECF the MPS was given three actions following its quarterly stop and search update presentation. This report provides the responses.

A. Recommendation

That Members note the report.

B. Supporting information

Action 1: MPS to provide a report at the next meeting providing a breakdown of the number of unsubstantiated complaints received by ethnicity.

1. Complaints from stop and search represent 0.14% of all searches. In the 12 months from November 2010 to October 2011 there were 784 complaint allegations finalised arising from stop and search.

2. For the allegations finalised during this 12 month period, 480 (61%) were unsubstantiated or Not Upheld. Of these, 195 (41%) related to complainants of black ethnic appearance, 90 (19%) white, 31 (6%) Asian. See Appendix 1 for details of all allegations finalised (by ethnicity) over this 12 month period.

3. Any complaints recorded on or after 1 April 2010 that are subject to investigation are recorded under the classification of ‘Not Upheld’ at the conclusion of the investigation rather than the old classification of unsubstantiated.

4. A complaint will be classified as not upheld where the facts are clearly established and it is determined that the complainant’s allegation did not occur.

5. Unsubstantiated refers to instances where, following investigation, the investigating officer determines that there is not a case to answer in relation to an allegation made concerning an officer's conduct.

Action 2: MPS include details on how complaints arising from stop and search are investigated in the next report on stop and search.

6. All complaints made to the MPS are treated very seriously and dealt with as expeditiously as possible. Complaints in relation to stop and search are treated with equal importance as any other allegation type.

7. On initial receipt within the organisation a severity assessment is carried out to assess where the complaint should be managed. Cases which have been identified as gross misconduct or serious or complex misconduct will be managed by the Directorate of Professional Standards. Cases which do not meet these criteria and are deemed to be misconduct and suitable for local investigation are managed by the B/OCU where the incident occurred. Essentially the difference is that if a matter is identified as gross misconduct, the ultimate sanction for the officer concerned is that they may lose their job.

8. The IPCC Statutory Guidance provides clear guidance as to how complaints should be managed by the Police. It states that for a complaint to be dealt with under the Police Reform Act, it must follow this rule:

A complaint has to be about the conduct of a person serving with the Police and not relate to the direction and control of the Police force and be made by a member of the public (who claims to be the person in relation to whom the conduct took place or to have been adversely affected by it or to have witnessed it) or someone acting on his or her behalf.

Conduct is defined as action and decision or omission to act or decide.

9. Once a complaint is received by the MPS it must be; assessed to decide the appropriate response; identify whether the matter should be referred to the IPCC (mandatory referrals for incidents that resulted in death or serious injury, serious assault, serious sexual assault, serious corruption, a criminal offence which is liable to lead to a disciplinary sanction and is aggravated by discriminatory behaviour or where a relevant offence (7 years or more on first conviction) has been committed); identify whether it is suitable for local resolution; and decide whether investigation is required. This decision should be advised by the nature of the complaint, the information provided by the complainant or their representative and the expectations of the complainant. The complainant and the officer complained about should be communicated with at this stage.

10. An investigation will then take place if necessary. The available modes of investigation are independent (IPCC investigation) for investigations which cause the greatest public concern, managed (conducted by the Police under the direction of the IPCC), supervised (conducted by the police but with IPCC oversight) and local, where the investigation is carried out by the Police with no input from the IPCC.

11. When resolving a complaint the following principles should be followed:

• Deal with the reason for dissatisfaction, be restorative, be fair and impartial, be proportionate and when a complaint is upheld the Police must identify responsibility and where justified hold to account.
• The Police must also respond to a complaint effectively and in a timely manner, be as open and transparent as possible and identify and disseminate learning for local and national policing.

12. A local investigation should look into the circumstances that have given rise to a member of the public expressing dissatisfaction. To provide a sufficient and effective response an investigation needs to explain the reasons for what has happened and where appropriate, propose what may be done to put it right, or any other learning.

13. A key word in relation to the investigation and management of complaints is proportional. The resources and time spent responding to a complaint must be proportionate to its seriousness, the available evidence and public interest in the case. When reaching conclusions and proposing outcomes consideration should be given to what amounts to a proportionate response.

14. The IPCC expects that investigators will use their professional judgement to determine the scope of the investigation and the methods to be used. A list is available of factors that the IPCC expect the investigating officers to take into account.

15. The investigating officer needs to demonstrate that steps were taken to understand the complaint, what the complainant wanted and their thoughts or feelings. There should be effective communication between the investigator and the complainant.

16. At the conclusion of the investigation the investigating officer should provide a report. This report is provided to the complainant and it is also used by decision makers within the Police and externally, such as the Crown Prosecution Service and the IPCC. The IPCC provide clear guidance as to what should be included in the officer’s report.

17. Communication is key to complaint investigations, the complainant (or representative) should be updated on the progress of the investigation, its provisional findings, whether an investigation report has been submitted, the action to be taken and outcomes.

18. The complainant should be given an estimate of how long the investigation is likely to take and updated on any change to this. At the very least the complainant should be updated every 28 days as to the progress of the investigation.

19. It is not possible to say without a review of every individual locally resolved public complaint into a stop and search incident how many times a member of the public was given an apology or officers were directed to undertake training.

Local Resolution

20. Complaints may also be locally resolved; this is a process by which the matter is concluded by solving, explaining, clearing up or settling the matter directly with a complainant. The complainant’s acceptance of the outcome is the objective of a local resolution process. A matter is only suitable for local resolution if even if proved would not justify bringing criminal or disciplinary proceedings against the officer concerned. In its most basic terms it is an agreement between the Police and the complainant as to how the complaint should be resolved, for example an apology, an explanation, words of advice or management action.

21. When a case is locally resolved the outcome must be aimed at solving, explaining, clearing up or settling the matter directly with a complainant. The key aspect of this process is that the complainant (at the present moment) HAS TO AGREE to the action taken, identifying that this will resolve the matter for them. The guidance is not specific as to what the action should be and it is very much dealt with on a case by case basis.

22. At the conclusion of an investigation or local resolution process the complainant is provided with a leaflet detailing how they can appeal to the IPCC if they do not agree with the outcome or the process.

23. This information is also contained within all DPS outcome letters and contained within the IPCC website.

Action 3: MPS to include details of wider community engagement activities relating to stop and search in the next report.

24. The use of community observers is encouraged and is a frequent occurrence across the MPS, for example; between April and June 2011 community observers/members of the public accompanied police and were able to observe stop and search operations on 130 separate occasions.

25. For health and safety reasons it is only possible to have a limited number of community observers at any one stop and search operation. It is important that local monitoring group members are invited to observe local stop and search activities, however, they are also encouraged (through the community monitoring network) to link with other local monitoring groups and engage in joint activities. When pan London stop and search operations are run, the deployment of community observers is co-ordinated centrally e.g. Community observers were deployed with the Taskforce during Operation Blunt 2.

26. Comprehensive engagement takes place within schools and colleges and with youth clubs/services across London on a regular and ongoing basis, the types of engagement activities undertaken are varied and often innovative. The following provides an insight into the breadth and depth of activities undertaken:

• School liaison officers are regularly utilised during citizenship lessons and assemblies to provide input on stop and search, however, this is managed locally and is dependent on the support and co-operation of each individual school/academy.
• An MPA/MPS Stop and Search DVD entitled ‘Go Wisely’ was introduced in 2008. This focused on educating both police officers and public by looking at stop and search from both viewpoints, with a view to improving encounters. Young people were involved on the project board and filming. More recently Brent police and a local pupil referral unit explored the issues surrounding stop and search encounters from the viewpoints of both the police and young persons, through role reversal and the creation of a DVD. Harrow police conducted a similar exercise with schools in Harrow. Croydon police have recently linked in with Croydon College on a similar project to create a stop and search DVD.
• During recent Crime and Security Act consultation young people from education establishments, voluntary sector organisations and organisations such as Youth Justice Board participated in an innovative (10,000 volt) interactive session with experienced police officers at Hendon, where full and frank discussions were held on MPS use of stop and search. In addition to this the views of young people were canvassed by a young presenter on Radio Reprezent and during a conference at City Hall.
• Newham held a stop and search ‘Roadshow’ for young people and Ealing police held a youth forum for secondary schools at Ealing town hall. Each involved ‘Question Time’ panels which gave the opportunity for young people to give their opinions.
• A joint MPA/MPS video competition for young people is currently underway with the support of the Community Monitoring Network and is based on the theme, ‘Know your rights’. The winning video clip will receive a prize and be placed on Youtube.
• TSG4 officers explored stop and search issues concerning young people through music and drama with ‘Second Wave’ youth theatre group in Deptford. A similar initiative in Harrow saw the police in partnership with a local school and their stop and search monitoring group, explore the issues of stop and search though drama and poetry. Brent police arranged for local young people to engage in role play scenarios with recruits at Hendon training school.
• A stop and search e-learning package is currently being developed for MPS operational officers. As well as covering powers and procedures, it provides an opportunity for officers to enhance their street skills through studying video clips of young people (identified by the GLA outreach team) role playing being searched and expressing their views on the way police conduct stop and search.
• The MPS is taking advantage of engagement opportunities offered by the Met-Track scheme to deliver stop and search messages to young people centred on 'rights and responsibilities'. Met-Track attempts to engage with those hard-to-reach young Londoners who might not otherwise have had the opportunity to take part in sport.

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

Environmental Implications

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

Risk Implications

9. The MPS continues to monitor the use of powers 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

Send an e-mail linking to this page

Feedback