Police stops - next steps

14/01
15 March 2001

The MPA will host a stop and search consultation day with key groups in London on Friday 23 March. This will mark the start of a two month consultation programme with communities across London and will be integral to a national campaign launched by the Association of Police Authorities on Monday 12 March, informing people about their rights when stopped and searched by the police.

The Home Office has also asked all police authorities throughout England to consult with their communities about Recommendation 61 of the Report of the Inquiry into Matters Arising from the Death of Stephen Lawrence. This proposes that anyone who is stopped by police should be given a record of that stop. Currently only stops and searches are recorded.

The MPA's consultation day will be a partnership event with the Society of Black Lawyers, the 1990 Trust and the Black Londoners' Forum. Ethnic minority groups have also been contacted to discuss the best ways of consulting with their communities.

Peter Herbert, deputy chair of the MPA and key speaker said:

"It is vital that the public confidence in policing is increased and reinforced. This will not happen unless we tackle the fundamental problem of the disproportionate use of stop and search. In order to overcome the hostility to stop and search from ethnic minority communities, these powers must be used fairly and transparently.

"The Lawrence Report recognised the need for stop and search. Informed research agrees that stop and search is a vital tool for police in the fight against crime, particularly drug and gun crime. However, one poorly conducted stop on a single individual can have a far reaching effect on the local community – even influencing such issues as recruitment and retention among ethnic minorities.

"Recommendation 61 was piloted during the course of last year in two Met areas – Hounslow and Greenwich. Results showed that the public were supportive of receiving information on the reason for the stop, the officer's name, police powers and people's rights. However public trust and confidence is primarily based on fair treatment and respect rather than on changes in procedure.

"No assumptions can be made as to the future use of the power to stop and search. Any power must be justifiable in terms of its effectiveness in reducing crime in London, balanced against the rights of the individual not to be subject to unnecessary or even unlawful interference with their daily lives. It is not possible to have a first class system of justice if people are treated as if they were second class citizens."

Delegates invited to the consultation day include members from the Council for Racial Equality, Black Police Association, Police Federation, Probation Service, Community leaders, Ian Blair Deputy Commissioner of the Metropolitan Police and operational police officers.

Additionally 'hard to reach' groups such as the Bangladesh Welfare Centre, the Turkish and Kurdish Refugee Association and the Simba Project will also be represented.

The British Crime Survey showed that minority ethnic groups have lower levels of confidence in their local police and this is particularly affected by stop and search.

Toby Harris, Chair of the MPA said:

"It is our priority to build confidence and trust in police amongst everyone within our communities. We know that stop and search is a major cause of concern particularly amongst young people and minority ethnic groups.

"Effective stop and search is intelligence led and management driven. Although the number of stops has fallen in the Met, the proportion of those stops resulting in arrest has risen, thereby indicating that police officers are using this power in a more focused way. It is a necessary and essential tool for police to tackle crime, but it has to be used with respect.

"The MPA welcomes the opportunity of consulting widely with all our communities. It is the only way forward if stop and search is to become a credible and acceptable police power."

Current Home Office statistics show that nationally black people are five times more likely to be stopped and searched than white and Asians nearly twice as likely as white people. The total number of searches carried out in the Met during April 1999 - March 2000 was 178,280 of which 107,142 were white people, 47,968 black and 16,102 Asian. Overall searches fell by 40 per cent in the Met during this period compared to 14 per cent nationally.

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