Metropolitan Police Authority - Final public meeting of Stop and Search Scrutiny Panel

96/03
27 November 2003

The Metropolitan Police Authority Stop and Search Scrutiny Panel will hold its final public evidentiary meeting on Friday 28 November 2003 at 10 Dean Farrar Street, SW1, starting at 10.00am.

Witnesses will include Jonathan O'Dea of the Action Group for Irish Youth, Commander Brian Paddick of the Metropolitan Police and Delroy Lindo.

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

"The Irish community has experienced at first hand the negative aspects of police stops and we felt it was important to get a specific insight into how young Irish people feel about the issue.

"Brian Paddick, formerly borough commander in Lambeth will be sharing with us his experience of policing one of London's most culturally diverse boroughs, which will provide a valuable insight into the operational use of police stops.

"We will also be hearing from Delroy Lindo who has in the past had issues surrounding stop and search powers, and we believe he also has a useful contribution to make to the scrutiny." 

This final public meeting of the Stop and Search Scrutiny Panel is open to members of the public and press.

Background

In January 2003, the MPA's Co-ordination and Policing Committee agreed to conduct a scrutiny into the MPS'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.

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