Consultation strategy to support the phased implementation of Recommendation 61 in the borough of Hackney

Report: 9
Date: 27 February 2003
By: Clerk

Summary

This report informs Members of the draft communications strategy to support the phased implementation of Recommendation 61 in Hackney Borough.

A. Recommendation

That Members note the contents of this report and draft communications strategy at Appendix 1.

B. Supporting information

1. In March 2001, the Home Office asked all police authorities in England to consult with their communities about Recommendation 61 of the Stephen Lawrence Report. Consequently, the MPA began a two-month wide-ranging consultation programme with communities across London. Results from this process were forwarded in June 2001 to the APA who collated information nationally and passed all data to the Home Office Lawrence Steering Group for consideration.

2. This consultation supported the implementation of Recommendation 61 in London. The MPA was in full support of this recommendation and worked to influence the Home office in reaching this decision.

3. In November 2002, the Home Secretary announced seven sites had been selected on a nationwide basis for the initial phase of implementation of Recommendation 61.

4. The borough of Hackney will be the first in the MPS to phase in the implementation, which will roll out to the other boroughs after evaluation in 12 – 18 months time. This decision was taken despite a written request from Toby Harris, Chair of the MPA, to the Home Secretary that the recommendation should be implemented London wide as a means of allaying London’s ethnic minority groups’ concerns about disproportionality in this use of this police tactic.

5. The phased implementation is set to start in Hackney on 1 April 2003.

6. A draft copy of the communications strategy was sent to the Equal Opportunities and Diversity Board and Julia Smith, Senior Policy Officer and amendments incorporated.

7. The communications officers of the MPS (DPA) and other relevant agencies were consulted and informed of the MPA strategy.

8. An internal MPA Rec 61 Implementation Monitoring Group has been established. The communications strategy has been presented to Lee Jasper, GLA and Martin Meredith CRE at this group for further consultation. Advice will be sought from Hackney Crime and Disorder Partnership for a representative from the communities in Hackney to be included in this group.

9. The Communications Strategy will remain in draft form until consultation with appropriate community representatives.

C. Equality and diversity implications

The aim of the pilot is to obtain informed community views about how the recording of stops is impacting on communities and policing locally in Hackney. Within this remit the communications strategy will aim to encourage and stimulate debate with as many community groups as possible within Hackney specifically, but also with the aim of informing the public on a Londonwide basis. By facilitating the views of all groups to be heard, it will be possible to determine the levels of confidence and trust in the police who carry out stops, particularly among minority ethnic communities.

D. Financial implications

1. New information literature, leaflets and pocket sized credit cards, will be designed and produced by the APA, at no cost to the MPA, except if request specific MPA message.

2. Further advertising in the borough will have to be supported either by funding from partner agencies or by sponsorship, both of which are currently being investigated.

3. The majority of publicity will be gained through the media, both local to Hackney and London wide, and therefore will incur no costs.

E. Background papers

None.

F. Contact details

Report author: Jacqui Jones, Senior Press Officer, MPA.

For more information contact:

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

Appendix 1

Stops - Recommendation 61

Communications strategy

Background:

In March 2001, the Home Office asked all police authorities in England to consult with their communities about Recommendation 61 of the Stephen Lawrence Report.

Recommendation 61 states that:

Police officers should record all stops

• A copy of the record is given to the person stopped
• The record is to include the reason for the stop, its outcome and the self-defined ethnicity of the person stopped (16 + 1 system).

On 12 March 2001, the Association of Police Authorities initiated a national campaign informing people about their rights when stopped and searched by police.

Integral to this, the MPA began a two-month consultation programme with communities across London about Recommendation 61. Results from this consultation process were forwarded in June 2001 to the APA, who collated information nationally and passed all data to the Home Office Lawrence Steering Group for consideration. This consultation supported the implementation of Recommendation 61 in London. The MPA was in full support of this recommendation and worked to influence the Home Office in reaching this decision.

In November 2002, the Home Secretary announced that seven sites had been selected on a nationwide basis to phase the implementation of Recommendation 61.

The borough of Hackney will be the first in the MPS to phase the implementation, which will roll out to the other boroughs after evaluation in 12 – 18 months time. This decision was taken despite a written request from Toby Harris, chair of the MPA, to the Home Secretary that the pilot should run London wide as a means of allaying London’s ethnic minority groups about their concerns of disproportionality in the use of this police tactic.

The implementation of Recommendation 61 in London will take place in 5 phases:

• Phase 1 Paper based implementation in Hackney on April 2003;
• Phase 2 Implementation and phased evaluation, time scale 3-6 months;
• Phase 3 IT based implementation, estimated start date September 2003;
• Phase 4 Implementation, monitoring and evaluation; and
• Phase 5 Recommended approaches approved by the Home Secretary.

The MPA is working towards Londonwide implementation of Recommendation 61 by Autumn 2004.

Official definition of a stop

A police stop is defined by the Home Office as “when an officer request a person in a public place to account for themselves i.e. their actions, behaviour, presence in an area or possession of anything, a record of the encounter must be completed at the time and a copy given to the person who has been questioned, this is unless there are exceptional circumstances … a record of an encounter must always be made when a person requests it, regardless of whether the officer considers that the criteria set out has been met."

Aims

• To inform and explain to people who work, live, visit or travel through Hackney specifically, and then on a London wide basis, what Recommendation 61 means in relation to stops and how phased implementation will work.
• To obtain informed community views about how the recording of stops is impacting on communities and policing in Hackney.
• To secure public confidence and reassurance in the police, particularly amongst minority ethnic groups.

Objectives

• To continuously seek the views of the public in Hackney about the implementation of Recommendation 61
• To encourage and stimulate informed debate specifically in Hackney and then on a London wide basis.
• To ascertain what impact the implementation is having on relationships and interaction with police in Hackney, and monitor and review levels of confidence and trust in the police, particularly among black and minority ethnic communities.
• To explain the design and use of the new Recommendation 61 form, demonstrate how it works and explain the training for officers involved.
• To be able to present the communities of Hackney with a full report at the end of the phased implementation to demonstrate the value of their views and participation.

Key Messages

• Recommendation 61 comes directly from the independent Stephen Lawrence Report.
• Anyone stopped by police will now be given a written record of why. It intended to make stops less subjective and more transparent.
• Recommendation 61 is key to increasing community trust and confidence in the police who will be expected to demonstrate respect by reinforcing an individual’s rights when they are stopped.
• Recommendation 61 aims to ensure stops are intelligence led and targeted, and therefore more effective in making communities safer.
• Recommendation 61 will enable the MPA, MPA and communities to monitor disproportionate use of stops under the Race Relations Amendment Act.
• Recommendation 61 is fully supported by the MPA and the MPS, who previously requested that the Home Secretary implement Recommendation 61 London wide. Following the Home Office’s phased implementation programme, it will be introduced in all London boroughs.

Spokespersons

Cecile Wright, Peter Herbert (Members)

Other major stakeholders will nominate their own spokesperson and will include the borough commander of Hackney, Commander Bob Broadhurst, the leader of the council and community representatives.

Target audiences

NB Due consideration to be given for involvement of community leaders, outreach workers or special representatives and additional languages or formats when communicating with all groups.

General public:

Borough of Hackney, Londonwide and Southeast. There will probably also be national interest.

Key stakeholders in Hackney

Community groups in Hackney – Churches, faith groups, Muslim groups, youth groups, schools, voluntary groups, CPCG, tenant groups, Irish, Turkish, Somali communities, asylum seekers, disabled groups, ethnic minority groups, refugee groups, newly settled communities and LGBT.

Schools - utilising Safer Schools programmes for access, especially Stoke Newington High School.

Law centres, Citizens Advice Bureau and Race Equality Council.

Government agencies – GLA, TfL, GoL, Borough Council, Education Authority, Health Authority.

Media:

Local Hackney press, media and radio, London press and media (Evening Standard, BBC London, London Tonight, London radio stations, Big Issue, Time Out) national press, media, including Sky, and radio

Ethnic Minority media: The Voice, New Nation, Sunrise Radio, ethnic minority radio stations in the Borough, including pirates (Trident media strategy will guide on this issue), Turkish radio

Police:

• Borough police and Metropolitan Police Servicewide.
• Black Police Association
• Police Federation

External communication

In February, Julia Smith will be holding a series of meetings with key partners and stakeholders in Hackney. These are yet to be arranged and the decision to be taken as to whether media is invited to these meetings.

It is essential that all London Boroughs are made aware of the background to and phased implementation of Recommendation 61 to avoid the confusion experienced during the Lambeth cannabis pilot. Therefore, the following points must be integral to the external communication strategy:

• That Hackney is one of seven sites nationwide that the Home Office have decided should be the first to implement Recommendation 61 and that when the most efficient method of implementation has been decided, Recommendation 61 will be phased in throughout London.
• That the MPA requested the Home Secretary to implement Recommendation 61 across the whole of London, not just in one borough. To hasten London wide implementation the MPA, with the MPS, will introduce an IT based recording of stops in another borough, yet to be decided, in September.

Therefore:

• A letter will be written to all borough stakeholders held on the MPA database outlining the situation. Help will be sought from stakeholders to disseminate this information to communities in their boroughs.
• Link Members will be provided with a presentation on Recommendation 61 to give to their CPCGs, community groups and other interested parties.

Media strategy

Recommendation 61 event on 31/3/3 to be led by Toby Harris, Cecile Wright, Peter Herbert, Deputy Commissioner, Commander Bob Broadhurst, Borough Commander Hackney, Leader of Council and community representative – to be held in appropriate public venue 10.30 am – invitees to be representative of local communities, stakeholders; local and London media.

Thereafter a steady flow of information to be maintained by the following means:

Cecile Wright and Peter Herbert to be available give press interviews/briefings as requested/arranged.

Where possible to participate in joint press briefings with Metropolitan Police, local authorities or other relevant stakeholders

• To set up links with other websites so that information is disseminated in unified and coherent fashion – specifically: the Black Lawyers Society, 1990, Black Forum, Hackney Live, Hackney BOCU website.
• To liase with relevant stakeholders in order to use meetings, such as council, community or CPCG meetings, to disseminate information, engender debate and clarify emerging issues.
• To use stakeholders’ publications e.g. local authority’s free newspaper 'Hackney Today' delivered to all householders.
• To make full use of public areas such as doctors’ or dentists’ surgeries, libraries, and to approach frequently used places such as hairdressers, shopping centres, supermarkets and garages for support to hand out publicity and information.
• To approach clubs and bars to ask permission to put information/publicity in washrooms

NB. Directorate of Public affairs will be responsible for offering filming facilities to media for going out with officers taking part in the pilot and stopping people in accordance with Recommendation 61

Publicity

Press release to be issued before 31/3/03 and thereafter to update media as necessary to maintain information flow about Recommendation 61 phased implementation in Hackney.

New information literature, leaflets and ‘credit cards’ (designed and produced by APA) to be issued within the borough and across London.

Information released to carry logos of MPA, MPA and Hackney Council whenever possible

Information packs will be available for public meetings, media and for Link members to give out in non Recommendation 61 boroughs.

All agencies to agree ‘lines to take’ that encompass main points for interview purposes.

To Link in

Stop and Search Scrutiny

This scrutiny will run concurrently with the pilot

• Press release has been sent out and posted on website.
• Cecile Wright is spokesperson and interviews are to be arranged.
• Information to be fed directly into ethnic minority press and media.
• MPA website has been updated on Recommendation 61 and Stop/Search scrutiny on Stop and Search page.

Toby Harris Hackney borough visit 30/4/03

Stop and search pilot and scrutiny could be added to agenda and relevant parties invited.

Local press are invited to attend and therefore further interviews could be offered.

Internal Communication

• To inform the Job - initial article (double page spread) is planned for 21/2 with regular follow-ups and up dating.
• To maximise use of Intranet (internal Met website) – information will be posted on corporate part of Met Intranet

Police Notices

• To approach National publications such as Police and Constabulary for features.

Media Monitoring and Evaluation

• All press cuttings to be collated
• TV and radio media to be monitored
• Websites to be monitored and designated e-mail response address to elicit response from communities

Resources

There are significant resource implications involved in this strategy.

The APA, at no cost to the MPA, will provide the information literature except if a specific MPA message is printed onto the generic material. The original APA Stop and Search information material cost £53,000 for 400,000 leaflets and 800,000 ‘credit cards’ to carry the MPA contact details. A great deal of this material is now redundant and therefore it is not recommended that the new material be customised.

Further information publicity will need to be funded – the GLA and TfL will be approached for financial assistance.

A full-scale publicity campaign including for example, advertising on buses, hoardings, local radio would cost in the region of £200,000. This is not available in our budget.

Sponsorship has been discussed and further research in this area may prove viable.

Inter agency Communications liaison

• Communications to establish channels with relevant partners and agencies, particularly the MPS/DPA, community representatives and the local authority.
• Methods of contact to be established.
• All agencies to inform partners before issuing statements or media facilities.

Jacqui Jones 28/1/03

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