Metropolitan Police Authority - Stop and Search Scrutiny

82/03
23 October 2003

The Metropolitan Police Authority Stop and Search Scrutiny Panel will hold its seventh meeting on Friday 24 October 2003 at 10 Dean Farrar Street, SW1, 10.00am - 1.00pm.

Witnesses will include representatives from the Black Police Association (BPA) the Metropolitan Police Federation and the Islamic Human Rights Commission.

All meetings of the Stop and Search Scrutiny Panel are open to members of the public and press.

Cecile Wright, Chair of the Stop and Search Scrutiny Panel, said:

“The manner in which the police use stop and search is crucial to community relations. In the light of this we will be examining how the Federation and the BPA inform their members about stop and search, whether it is a police ‘tool’ that they encourage their members to use and if it is possible to develop a way of strengthening community involvement and understanding around stop and search.

“Having spoken to a large range of people, including officers of all ranks, youth groups and academic authorities it is now appropriate the panel hear evidence from the staff associations and the Islamic Human Rights Commission.

“With the BPA we will be looking at the perspective of black police officers when they are searching black people and what their interaction is. In the light of recent events, we will be discussing issues around disproportionality and the factors that contribute to this.

“During 2000 - 2001 the Met’s own data for the stop and search rate for Asian people increased by 41%. We will discuss the reasons for this with the Islamic Human Rights Commission, and also, in the aftermath of 9/11, the police use of section 60 of the Public Order Act and how the level of police interaction with the Islamic communities can be improved.”

Background

In January 2003, the MPA's Co-ordination and Policing Committee agreed to conduct a scrutiny into the Met's performance and practice in using stop and search across the capital.

The scrutiny will be overseen by the Equal Opportunities and Diversity Board, the MPA committee responsible for matters relating to equal opportunity and diversity issues, and will concentrate on five key aspects of stop and search that previous studies have not explored. These are:

• Disproportionality and profiling;
• Use of stop and search data and policing intelligence;
• Cost effectiveness of stop and search;
• Public engagement and information; and
• Determine whether there exists different levels of criminality within different sectors of the population

Cecile Wright, Chair of the Panel, said:

"Historically, stop and search has resulted in distrust and levels of disengagement by those Londoners who are repeatedly stopped and searched. Although figures suggest a decrease in criminal activities the MPS’ figurers still show black Londoners are four times more likely to be stopped than white Londoners.

“This is of concern to the MPA as it impacts on the ability of the MPS to recruit black and ethnic minority people into the police service.

"Detailed investigation of the five areas to be addressed by the Scrutiny Panel will contribute significantly to addressing longstanding and unresolved issues surrounding police practice and use of stop and search."

Full details of the scrutiny and terms of reference can be found on the MPA website

Notes to editors

1. Dates of future meetings are available on the MPA website

2. The Islamic Human Rights Commission was set up in 1997. It is an independent, not-for-profit, campaign, research and advocacy organisation based in London, UK. It fosters links and work in partnership with different organisations from Muslim and non-Muslim backgrounds, to campaign for justice for all peoples regardless of their racial, confessional or political background.

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