Stop and search

Report: 11a
Date: 28 October 2004
By: Clerk

Summary

This report describes how the MPA is responding to those recommendations of the Stop & Search Scrutiny Report for which it is responsible, together with monitoring how the MPS is implementing its recommendations.

A. Recommendation

That the Authority

1. Receives an oral update on the first meeting of the MPA member panel; and
2. Agrees that future progress reports be made to the Equal Opportunities and Diversity Board, who will report issues of significance to the Authority.

B. Supporting information

1. The report of the MPA’s scrutiny into stop and search was published on 20 May. It contains 55 recommendations for future action. These recommendations are attached for reference as Appendix 1.

2. The Commissioner is separately reporting to this meeting of the Authority with an update on those recommendations that fall to the MPS to implement.

3. The MPA has set up a member panel to oversee the MPA response to those recommendations for which it is responsible. This panel will also monitor MPS progress. The panel membership is: Lynne Featherstone, Peter Herbert, Damian Hockney and John Roberts. There has been an inevitable delay in setting up this panel whilst member roles in the new Authority have been established, together with the summer break. As a consequence the panel held its first meeting on 21 October. The Clerk or the Chair of the Panel will report orally on the outcome of that first meeting.

4. In terms of future monitoring, the Authority is invited to agree that this be done by report to the Equal Opportunities and Diversity Board, with the Board bringing any issues of significance to the attention of the Authority.

C. Race and equality impact

None arising specifically from this report. Race and equality implications are integral to the scrutiny report itself and will be addressed by the MPA and the MPS as part of their implementation of the report’s recommendations.

D. Financial implications

None.

E. Background papers

None.

F. Contact details

Report author: Simon Vile

For more information contact:

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

Appendix 1: Recommendations of the stop and search scrutiny

A. Leadership: recognition of the problem

That:

1. The Commissioner acknowledge publicity that if racial bias exists in the use of stop and search powers, he gives a commitment that the practice will be eliminated.

2. The MPA reaffirm its duty to hold the MPS accountable to ensure that police procedures in every area of operations and administration are free of racial bias, and that further, the MPA engage with Londoners to strengthen the public scrutiny and monitoring of this commitment.

3. The MPA commit to inform and educate London’s communities regarding stop and search practice, and to encourage and support them in asserting their rights and responsibilities as full and equal citizens and to use all avenues of redress and complaint when these rights have not been respected.

4. Community groups take steps to inform and educate members of their communities regarding stop and search practice, and to encourage and support them to use all avenues of redress and complaint when their rights have not been respected.

5. The Home Secretary take urgent steps, through the Home Office, Race and Criminal Justice Unit, to conduct a critical evaluation the effectiveness of stop and search as a police tactic in reducing crime and promoting public trust and confidence.

6. The MPS Association of Chief police Officers (ACPO) review and revise its guidance on the use of stop and search in the light of the findings of this Scrutiny and other recent findings.

7. The Association of Police Authorities (APA), with respect to Recommendation 63 of the Stephen Lawrence Inquiry Report, expand its public education and awareness strategy regarding citizen rights and stop and search both directly as a national campaign, and indirectly through police authorities.

8. The MPA and MPS, in collaboration with the CRE, engage with the Department of Culture, Media and Sports a review of the arrangements that are in place for ensuring that the statutory requirements of the Race Relations (Amendment) Act 2000 are being fully implemented by the Office of Communications (OFCOM), Press Complaints Commission and the Advertising Standards Authority, specifically in relation to the ways in which stop and search and crimes affecting and committed by members of the Black and minority ethnic communities are reported.

9. The Secretary of State for Education be requested to review the effectiveness of the secondary school curriculum so that all pupils are provided with an understanding of the basic tenets of citizenship and human and civil rights and are provided with and have an understanding of the information contained in literature such as the stop and search ‘Know Your Rights’ literature.

10. The MPA and MPS commission research, in partnership with the Secretary of State for Education, to determine if there is any correlation between the Department’s policy on school exclusions, and the early interface by those thus excluded, with the criminal justice system.

11. The MPS demonstrates its commitment to the Specific Duty of the Race Relations Amendment Act 2000 by requiring all Borough Commanders to carry out a Race Equality Impact Assessment of stop and search and Recommendation 61 implications within 4 months of the publication of this report as a priority.

12. The Commission for Racial Equality publishes as an urgent report the outcomes of the work underway to examine whether continuing disproportionate figures based on race could be grounds for prosecution under the provisions of the Race Relations Amendment Act 2000, and demonstrate its commitment to initiate judicial proceedings on behalf of members of the public.

13. The Home Secretary provides clarification on people’s right to complain. If they have been mistreated in a stop and search under all statutory provisions, including Section 44 of the Terrorism Act 2000 and that such information is placed in the public domain and accessible to all who require it.

14. The Home Secretary ensure, in the spirit and intent of Recommendation 61 of the Macpherson Report, that all stops and searches be recorded, including those undertaken under Section 44 of the Terrorism Act 2000 and Section 60 of the Criminal Justice and Public Order Act 1994, and that this data be broken down on ethnic lines and be placed in the public domain.

15. The Government of London Office (GOL), through its funding initiatives such as the BME Cracking Crime, consider support for community-based initiatives to monitor and engage with the police around stop and search practice.

B. Stop and search powers

16. The present MPS review of Special Notice 12/01, “Metropolitan Police Service Guide to the use of Stop and Search” provide clear direction as to:

1. The proper application of ‘reasonable suspicion’
2. Guidance and policy on the use of S.60 of the CJPO Act 1994 and the administration procedures to be followed.
3. What the power can best contribute to tackling the crimes which are of concern to the public
4. The situations in which it is the appropriate tool for achieving these ends

That further, these draft policy and operational guideline be fully impact assessed under the requirements of the RRA and be submitted to the MPA through the Equal Opportunities and Diversity Board for adoption before September 2004 including an action plan for its implementation and the other recommendations contained in this report.

17. The MPS, in applying more rigorous, objective, intelligence-led criteria for ‘reasonable suspicion’ as identified in the above recommendation, reverse the existing ratio of ‘low discretion’ stops and searches (that is, robust suspect profiles that are based on police intelligence and/or information received from the public) to high discretion stops over two years. This is a performance measure, upon which progress and achievements should be reported to the EODB on an annual basis.

18. The MPS, in conjunction with the Home Office, undertake a cost benefit analysis of stop and search practice and identify and develop the appropriate comparators and indicators regarding the optimal trade-off between the appropriate use of stop and search and the potential increase to community trust, confidence and cooperation in policing by consent.

C. Organisational management

19. The MPS strengthen its management, monitoring and supervision of the use of stop and search powers by establishing clear lines of accountability, reporting relationships and monitoring responsibilities including delineating responsibilities between Senior Management and the BOCUs. And that further the MPS provide a progress report on Operation Diamond, which is modernising the MPS data systems, and identify how it is integrating further analysis of stop and search data with respect to, for example:

• Further breakdowns by ethnicity
• Times of offences compared to times of searches
• Suspect ethnicity compared to ethnicity of persons searched
• Comparative analysis of other tactics used to counter these offences
• Use of completed search forms as a basis of monitoring supervision and analysis
• Ward based on the above

20. The MPS identify a specific department to take responsibility, and be held accountable by the MPA, for the collation and monitoring of all stop and search data, including disproportionality, to inform policing intelligence and policing management. This department also be responsible for disseminating and publication of this information internally and externally on its website, and to stakeholder groups. And that further, each BOCU be required to establish a further set of key performance indicators pertaining to stop and search in partnership with key community stakeholder groups, and that this stop and search performance information is produced and disseminated on a regular basis to the local media, the CDRP, and community groups.

21. The MPS increase the quantity, quality and status of analysts at the BOCU who can produce and disseminate publicly understandable data on local stop and search rates, as well as for monitoring and supervisory purposes as a necessary precondition of the roll out by October 2004 of Recommendation 61 of the Stephen Lawrence Inquiry Report.

22. The MPS report to the EODB on the feasibility of identifying, assessing and training those police officers who are unfit for operational duties as analysts.

23. The MPS review and accelerate the current mechanisms for selecting sergeants and provide a timetable for filling the current shortage.

24. The MPS revise the sergeant job descriptions to ensure accountable management structures are in place to ensure that Beat officers receive adequate supervision, and report on progress before December 2004 to the EODB.

25. In conjunction with Recommendation 14, the Home Office develop appropriate performance measures with respect to stop and search within PPAF that emphasise quality rather than quantity, and that these compare BOCU performance.

26. The MPS ensure that BOCUs have procedures to ensure that S60 authorisations are effectively managed from inception to conclusion, including appropriate quality assurance checks, and these are reviewed by the MPA on an annual basis.

27. The MPS monitor and review the systems that are already in place for managing and supervising, at BOCU and OCU level, individual officer use of the stop and search powers (and of the requirements for recording as per Recommendation 61). This monitoring incorporate ‘exception testing’, i.e. officers whose racial disproportion in stops and searches is significantly above the average for officers in their borough. And that regular 4 monthly reports be presented to the Equal Opportunities & Diversity Board on the outcome of this monitoring.

28. The MPS provide a report to the Equal opportunities and Diversity Board outlining the range of actions, including disciplinary actions that could be taken, in accordance with the Code of Conduct and the requirements of the Race Relations Amendment Act 2000, against officers who consistently use stop and search powers with no sound reason.

29. The Home Office provide guidance attached to the police Code of Conduct to include unjustified disproportionality in stop and search figures as grounds for discipline.

30. The MPS review the specialist skills required to implement the whole concept of community policing which requires officers to have in-depth and specialist knowledge of the communities they police. Further the MPS review its special priority payments and promotion structure in order to encourage officers to view ‘beat’ policing as an attractive career option. And that further the Safer Neighbourhoods programme be monitored with regard to this concern and how it informs the effectiveness of stop and search in boroughs.

D. Training

31. The MPS review and identify the ingredients of a ‘good’ stop, develop modules for ‘critical encounter training’ and incorporate them into existing training curricula.

32. In endorsing the recommendation of the MPS Inspectorate on its Thematic Inspection of S60 Criminal Justice and Public Order Act 1994 (August, 2003), the MPS assess its training on the use and application of S.60, and this include all ranks involved in this process.

33. The MPS develop an ongoing programme of refresher training on stop and search that addresses the implications of the revised guidelines and the skills required to ensure the high quality of the encounter, and that a timetable be developed for delivering the programme to all front-line officers over the next 2 years. And that further the stop and search training engages with children and young people from the BME communities that it include content on Islamophobia, the provisions of the Human Rights Act especially articles 5, 9,10 and 11, that it include the do’s and don’ts, that it be work based, and that it involve peer reviews. The stop and search training curriculum also engage with children and young people from communities disproportionately affected by stop and search practice, that it include content on Islamophobia, the provisions of the Human Rights Act (especially articles 5, 9, 10, 11 and 14), that it be work based, and that it involve peer reviews.

34. The MPS undertake a feasibility study to determine the requirements, implications and timetable for implementation of police accreditation to undertake searches.

35. The MPS develop an ongoing programme of training for accreditation on stop and search that addresses the implications of the revised guidelines and the behavioural skills required for ensuring the high quality of the encounter. And that further, a timetable be developed for delivering the programme to all front-line officers at the Borough level over the next 3 to 4 years.

36. The MPA and MPS undertake a feasibility study, including a cost-benefit analysis, of the provision of police training on stop and search through civilian organisations particularly in inner city boroughs with high stop and search rates.

37. The MPS report back to the EODB on the feasibility of establishing a programme of secondment for probationers to be placed in inner city schools and community organisations and NGOs before they are posted to boroughs

E. Public complaints

38. In recognising the need for alternative non-intimidating means by which members of the public may make a complaint regarding stop and search, that the MPA, the Independent Police Complaints Commission (IPCC) and the MPS formally endorse and support the appropriateness of third party reporting.

39. The IPCC develop a standard public complaints form that be made available not only at every police station but widely distributed to community agencies, and that this also be made available electronically on police and NGO websites.

40. The IPCC consider the feasibility of establishing a funding programme in support of third party reporting centres.

41. The Commission for Racial Equality review its funding programme for Racial Equality Councils that incorporates support for third party reporting.

The MPA establish a separate funding programme in support of community monitoring initiatives of stop and search practice and third party reporting by established community advocacy groups.

43. The MPS develop a training module in the handling of public complaints, and that officers so trained initiate monthly community forums and other community outreach activities, such as visiting youth clubs, to take complaints and receive feedback.

44. The MPS, in conjunction with the above recommendation, in each BOCU identify a Public Complaints Officer and that this information is publicised on the BOCU website, in the local community through NGOs, Race Equality Councils and other local voluntary organisations as a means of improving public trust and confidence in making complaints to the police.

45. The MPS require each BOCU to submit an annual report, at the end of the fiscal year, to the MPA on their complaints handling procedures and their resolution, and this be publicised under the Specific Duty of the Race Relations Amendment Act.

46. The principles of restorative justice and mediation be considered as appropriate alternatives by the IPCC and MPS in their procedures to formal stop and search complaints.

47. The IPCC assume responsibility for reviewing and updating present information on how to make a complaint regarding stop and search. This should clarify the process regarding taking complaints at the local police station, to the IPCC, or to the police authority.

48. In ensuring greater public transparency in the investigation of complaints, the IPCC monitor, evaluate and report on all complaints resulting from stop and search on an annual basis; and that further, the IPCC identify the appropriate procedures by which complainants are kept regularly informed of the progress of investigations into alleged violations.

49. The IPCC, in partnership with the Association of Police Authorities and the MPA, undertake a public information campaign so that the complaints procedure and rights on stop and search are well publicised. This strategy should incorporate posters, leaflets and web-based information and utilise not only radio, television and print based media but also NGOs and other community based agencies.

50. As part of the above information campaign, and as part of its commitment in implementing Recommendation 63 of the Lawrence Inquiry Report, the MPA provide support for the provision of training and information sessions for community groups, schools, and other local fora on peoples rights specifically on stop and search but also on the relevant Articles of the Human Rights Act (particularly 5, 9, 10 and 11).

F. Raising public awareness

51. The Association of Police Authorities (APA), with respect to Recommendation 63 of the Stephen Lawrence Inquiry Report, expand its public education and awareness strategy regarding citizen rights and stop and search both directly as a national campaign, and indirectly through police authorities.

G. Community - police relations

52. The MPS explore the feasibility of introducing a feedback system to assess the quality of police public encounters in stop and search situations by test piloting a feedback form to be given at the end of the encounter.

53. Each borough commander be directed to meet with concerned and affected communities on an organised and ongoing basis to establish a citizen feedback system for sharing and reviewing stop and search data and activity and to discuss concerns and work with these communities to facilitate improvements in practice and in community-police relations.

54. The MPA identify and disseminate ‘best practice’ models, not only in London but also nationally and internationally, of community monitoring activities and ownership of local police stop and search practice.

55. The MPS establish an Independent Advisory Group (IAG) on stop and search practice to oversee the implementation of these recommendations and to monitor and promote best practice on a pan-London basis.

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