Stop and Search Scrutiny Implementation Panel

Report: 10
Date: 19 May 2005
By: the Chief Executive and Clerk

Summary

This report provides the Board with an update on the progress of the member-led panel leading oversight of all 55 Recommendations made by the MPA Scrutiny on MPS Stop and Search Practice.

A. Recommendations

1. That the Board notes the progress of the panel.

B. Supporting information

1. As part of the responsibilities of the Equal Opportunities and Diversity Board (EODB) to scrutinise areas of police performance that have a specific impact on equality and diversity issues, the MPA approved the need for a scrutiny to be undertaken to address the disproportionality of stop and search rates.

2. The report of the MPA Scrutiny on MPS Stop and Search Practice was published on 4 May 2004. The scrutiny made 55 recommendations for action by the MPS, MPA and 12 other public authorities across government sectors.

3. The MPS has established mechanisms to enable progress against the 32 recommendations which apply specifically to itself. This work is led by the MPS Stop and Search Steering Committee, chaired by DAC Brian Paddick.

4. 23 recommendations require action by organisations other than the MPS. Therefore, a structure was required to enable members to oversee responses to both MPS specific, and wider recommendations providing a global overview of progress across the issues highlighted by the scrutiny panel.

5. The role of this group is to co-ordinate and lead oversight of, and progress against, the full 55 recommendations from the Scrutiny on Stop and Search, and to report to EODB at each meeting.

6. The panel is pursuing a programme of thematic meetings tackling a number of themes including:

• Stop and search policy
• Supervision
• Feedback and Complaints Resolution
• Training
• Monitoring Mechanisms
• Community Engagement

At each meeting, the panel discuss a theme with colleagues from the MPS together with representatives from the relevant external agency in order to progress work against the recommendations made by the scrutiny.

7. The panel has now met five times and the following document is attached as Appendix 1:
· Minutes, meeting 17 February 2005

8. The most recent panel meeting was held on March 23rd where the focus was training for officers to address, in particular, challenges around improving the quality of the encounter. The panel welcomed early proposals for a training programme to equip officers with the interpersonal skills to negotiate stop and search encounters more successfully.

9. However, three issues of concern remaining for panel members are:

• Lack of detailed proposals for this form of training and its development.
• Lack of clear and agreed timescales for delivery - roll out to ‘green field sites’ Tower Hamlets, Lambeth and Territorial Support Group is expected in July / August with roll out across the MPS estimated for the end of the year. However, timescales remain unclear regarding the point at which all front line officers will have received this training when communities across London may expect to begin to have a different experience of stops and searches.
• Sustainable MPS corporate response to stop and search - while colleagues within a newly termed Stops and Searches Team (Territorial Policing Headquarters) continue to co-ordinate the response to the MPA scrutiny recommendations, the long-term sustainability of this corporate resource, currently providing a ‘home for stop and search’, remains of concern to members.

10. As chair of the Stop and Search Scrutiny Implementation Panel, Lynne Featherstone spoke at an internal MPS conference on 19 April, opened by the Commissioner where she repeated members’ concerns in relation to corporate responsibility for stop and search practice, timescales for delivery of training and the importance of a demonstrable change in officers’ attitudes and behaviour.

11. Key messages communicated during the conference to the Borough Commanders, Senior Management Team leads on stop and search and community members who attended included:

• New comprehensive MPS policy on stop and search powers prior to arrest with standard operating procedures on each legislative power have been published on the Aware system and are currently in the process of being ‘information mapped’ to ensure accessibility and utility
• Stop and search is a performance management issue which should be led at both senior and front line levels, and used as a tactic to achieve the B/OCU’s priorities
• Community engagement locally should demonstrate how effectively stop and search is used to tackle local priorities as part of building confidence among communities in the use of the powers.

12. The April meeting of the MPA’s Stop and Search Scrutiny Implementation Panel had to be postponed due to member unavailability. However, members will reconvene this month where they will examine the final theme identified within the scrutiny relating to community engagement and stop and search.

13. Members will then take the opportunity to review its scrutiny of the MPS response to the six themes and identify how it will continue to oversee the quality of the response to the recommendations. For example, this could mean reviewing particular recommendations in considerable detail.

C. Race and equality impact

1. The scrutiny panel has contributed significantly to the MPA’s efforts to recommend approaches to stop and search which reduce perceptions of discriminatory police practice and increase levels of trust and confidence in the police among black and minority ethnic communities.

2. Members must feel confident that all 55 recommendations are progressed adequately and within appropriate timescales in order to continue to work to positively affect low levels of confidence in the MPS among black and minority ethnic communities.

D. Financial implications

The administration of this group is met by the MPA from existing budgets.

E. Background papers

• Stop and Search Scrutiny Implementation Panel - minutes of 17 Feb 05

F. Contact details

Report author:  Hamida Ali Race and Diversity Unit, MPA.

For more information contact:

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

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