Implementation of Recommendation 61

Report:10a
Date: 02 September 2004
By: Commissioner

Summary

This report details the progress to date of the implementation of Recommendation 61 of the Lawrence Report and local monitoring arrangements.

A. Recommendations

1. Members are asked to comment on the progress towards implementation and the setting up of local monitoring arrangements.

B. Supporting information

Overview

1. Recommendation 61 of the Stephen Lawrence Inquiry Report requires police officers to record all stops where they ask a person to give an account of themselves. The record should include the reason for the stop, the outcome and the self defined ethnic identity of the person stopped. A copy will be given to the person stopped.

2. The Home Secretary has instructed that Recommendation 61 – ‘Stop and Account’ will be implemented nationally by 1 April 2005. The MPS and MPA are working in partnership towards a phased London wide implementation. Hackney and Tower Hamlets Borough Operational Command Units (BOCUs) have already fully implemented ‘Stop and Account’. The formal MPA launch will be at Notting Hill on Tuesday 4 October 2004.

3. Commander Broadhurst through his team within Territorial Policing Headquarters (TPHQ) Modernising Operations is coordinating the implementation across the London Boroughs. This team operates a ‘R61 Helpdesk’ providing advice and guidance via the telephone, intranet and on site support. A Recommendation 61 Roll Out Group chaired by John Roberts, MPA Member, is informing the implementation process and is made up of key representatives from the MPA, Greater London Authority (GLA), Transport for London (TfL) and various community groups. TPHQ, Directorate of Public Affairs (DPA), Diversity Directorate, Tower Hamlets and Bromley BOCUs represent the MPS. The Working Groups main aim is in maximising the full potential for community engagement, coordinating the external publicity and overseeing the implementation.

London wide roll out of Recommendation 61

4. The MPS has taken a project management approach to implement Recommendation 61 across the boroughs. Every BOCU has a Project Lead at Senior Management Team (SMT) level, Superintendent or Chief Inspector, responsible for implementation. Most have a project coordinator or manager to run the project on a day-to-day basis.

5. All boroughs have returned their first ‘Position Statement’. Each BOCU has an Implementation Plan, a Communication Plan and are in the process of engaging with key community stakeholders with a view to initiate Local Community Monitoring Groups. A corporate R61 Community Impact Assessment (CIA) template has been developed and boroughs are in the process of completing their local assessments.

6. Overall, most boroughs are making good progress towards the October implementation date. Commander Broadhurst, through the TPHQ R61 Helpdesk is monitoring performance against the implementation plans, highlighting good practice and providing assistance where necessary.

7. The R61 Helpdesk has dealt with around 200 emails and 50 phone calls from Project Leads and managers. To date there are 23 separate subjects posted for discussion on the intranet Special Interest Group (SIG). The TPHQ Project Team has also visited a number of boroughs, particularly Bromley and Kensington and Chelsea to capture good practice. This good practice is being made available via the SIG and Helpdesk. There is a R61 intranet page on the TPHQ site.

Training

8. Territorial Policing Training Board have authorised the development of a thirty minute fully interactive computer based training (CBT) package mandatory for all patrol based officers up to and including the rank of Inspector, Special Constables and Police Community Support Officers (PCSOs). The CBT is being built by the National Centre of Applied Learning Technologies and once complete will be available to all police forces in England and Wales. The training will be accessible to all MPS and MPA staff.

9. The training will be rolled out from October and will address the need for patrol-based staff to understand the definition of Recommendation 61 and the knowledge of when to record the stop. It is anticipated that it will take up to six weeks for all patrol based officers to undergo the training and this will have an impact on the implementation date of the 1 October 2004.

10. Further work is being done to progress the tutor led supervisor training and ‘Critical Encounter’ training. The Performance Needs Analysis developed by the TPHQ Recommendation 61 Implementation Team with assistance from the Training Standards Unit is being used as a basis to inform the development process of the supervisor training. Decisions are still pending around these training requirements. The issues being considered are:-

• recognising and promoting good practice
• public perceptions of police behaviour during police encounters;
• monitoring and supervising the process of stop and encounter

The work is in the early stages of development, and further details will be provided when it becomes available.

Publicity

11. Internal posters are being created by DPA through the Design Studio. The poster will use the same ‘red block’ image used on the BOCU Guide and ‘Information for the practitioner’ leaflet. Once produced they will be distributed to all BOCUs and pan-London units like the Territorial Support Group and Transport OCU. DPA are also investigating designs for a poster campaign.

12. Officers will receive a reminder that Recommendation 61 is coming in their September payslips.

13. The MPS is also working with the MPA and the ‘Know Your Rights’ van/trailer. Work is underway to provide officers, PCSOs and Cadets to staff the ‘stand’.

Community Monitoring

14. The TPHQ Project Team assisted in the MPA Community Engagement Event where BOCUs and community groups across London were invited to give their views and ideas on what local community engagement should look like and what monitoring should take place. This successful event has provided the basis for development of a set of Terms of Reference for local monitoring groups.

Collection and Analysis of Data

15. The new stop and search forms are nearing completion and are planned to be available for when the training begins. There are delays around the building of the new data fields within the existing database. The Department of Information (DOI) have agreed to deliver the updates, but as yet have been unable to programme in the work.

C. Race and equality impact

As mentioned above every BOCU is undertaking a R61 specific Community Impact Assessment. The R61 Helpdesk are working closely with Diversity Directorate to ensure the assessments are as comprehensive as possible. Good practice when identified will be disseminated to all the Project Leads via the intranet SIG. Diversity Directorate will be collating the MPS wide community impact assessments.

The aims of this assessment is to identify community issues around

• Race
• Homophobia
• Community Tension
• Officer Safety and
• Inter group Rivalry

The Community Impact Assessment is an ongoing assessment carried out by each of the boroughs. Boroughs are expected to consult with community representatives within this process, which is then continuously reviewed on a monthly basis.

A proforma has been devised specifically for Recommendation 61, which is completed by boroughs and submitted to TPHQ and DCC4 (Diversity Directorate). The completed documents will then undergo a quality check and advise or good practice will then be disseminated in the appropriate manner.

D. Financial implications

The implementation to date has been resourced out of existing TPHQ and BOCU budgets. There has been a small publicity budget, which is financing the design and production of the poster campaign.

E. Background papers

none

F. Contact details

Report author: Commander Robert Broadhurst, TPHQ

For more information contact:

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

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