Home Office figures show fall in Met stop and search

06/01
18 January 2001

Stop and search in London fell by 40 per cent in 1999/2000, according to figures released by the Home Office today. The Met recorded a total of 178.280, representing 22 per cent of all national stop and search in 1999/2000 (under Section 1 PACE).

The fall in stop and search was less for black people, at 35 per cent, than for other ethnic groups, at about 40 per cent. Although the reductions were split fairly evenly across ethnic groups, 40 per cent of all stop and search carried out by the Met in 1999/2000 were searches of ethnic minorities. The arrest rates were fairly consistent across ethnic groups, with a higher proportion of white persons searched being arrested, 16 per cent, compared to 13 per cent of Blacks and 12 per cent of Asians.

Nationally, black people were recorded as being 5 times more likely to be stopped and searched.

 Toby Harris, chair of the MPA said:

"Of the total number of people stopped and searched,16 per cent were arrested which is 3 per cent up on the year before. This would indicate that although less stop and search was carried out, a greater proportion resulted in arrests and therefore the searches were more targeted.

"The Macpherson Report stated that stop and search was a necessary tool for effective policing. However stop and search is a police tactic that remains an issue of considerable dissent amongst ethnic minority communities in London. We are currently working with the Met and the Home Office to look at how stop and search should be carried out by officers to minimise inherent problems and hope to prepare new guidelines in the near future.

"The Home Office figures also show an increase of 111 per cent in the reporting of racist incidents. This large increase may be due to a number of factors such as changes in recording practices. However it may also be indicative of an increased confidence from racially abused people to report such crimes to police. Positive changes have taken place in the Met since the Macpherson Report and we intend to continue to build on them.

The Home Office today released Statistics on Race and the Criminal Justice System (Section 95 of the Criminal Justice Act 1991) that show that overall stop and searches fell by 14 per cent nationally compared to 1998/99. In all 800,000 stops and searches were recorded nationally by police during 1999/2000.

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