Update on Section 44 - Metropolitan Police Authority Stop and Search Board

61/05
5 December 2005

A meeting of the Metropolitan Police Authority (MPA) Stop and Search Board will be held in meeting room 1 (ground floor), 10 Dean Farrar Street, London SW1 on Tuesday 6 December 2005 at 3 p.m. The meeting is open to the public and the press.

The Board will receive an update from Assistant Commissioner Andy Hayman, the Metropolitan Police Service’s lead officer for stops carried out under section (s.) 44 of the Prevention of Terrorism Act (POTA) 2000.

John Roberts, MPA lead member on stop and search, said:

“Section 44 is applied in areas that senior police officers, with the Home Secretary’s agreement, have designated as being at risk of terrorist attacks. This law can be applied for up to 28 days at a time, and is renewable on a rolling basis. Currently the whole of London is designated as being at risk.

“Under s.44 police officers do not need ‘reasonable grounds’ to stop and search, which they do under the Police and Criminal Evidence Act (PACE) 1984 – the more general power to stop and search people. However, stops under s.44 do have to be carried out sensitively and appropriately.

“Stop and search under s. 44 needs to be understood by the public before such extended powers are acceptable to Londoners. We need to inform people about this police tactic if we are to maintain trust and confidence in our police and build safer communities for everyone.”

At the meeting MPA members and representatives from the Independent Police Complaints Commission (IPCC) and community stop and search monitoring groups will have the opportunity to raise questions about s.44. They will examine how this power has been used to date and whether data collated about stops under s.44 can be shared with Londoners without compromising police intelligence and activities.

Notes to editors

1. Legislative Background For Stop And Search Practice

Statutory Search Powers under the Police and Criminal Evidence Act 1984 (PACE)
The general power for police to stop people, vehicles and vessels, comes from the Police and Criminal Evidence Act 1984. Both the powers to Stop and Search under PACE and those authorised by most other statutes must be carried out in accordance with the Code A of the Codes of Practice.

S.60 Criminal Justice and Public Order Act 1994 (CJPO)
This power gives a constable in uniform the right to stop and search any person or vehicle, within a particular area, during a specific period of time, to prevent serious violence and the carrying of weapons and also provides the power to request removal of face coverings. 

S.44 Prevention of Terrorism Act 2000 (POTA)
This power gives a constable in uniform the right to stop and search any person or vehicle, if they have articles of a kind which could be used in connection with terrorism, authorised by a chief officer and applied within a particular area for a specific period of time. 

Under both Section 60 CJPO and Section 44 POTA , police do not require the ‘reasonable grounds’ to make stops and searches, which are always required for the general power to stop and search people under the Police and Criminal Evidence Act (PACE) 1984.

2. Stop and search statistics

The number of stop & searches recorded in the past 12 months has increased by 2.4% year on year. There are currently 34 stop & searches per 1,000 residents recorded in London. The number of stop & searches varies by ethnicity groups:

• 23 stop & searches recorded per 1,000 white population;
• 99 per 1,000 black population; and
• 31 per 1,000 Asian population.

Stop & searches recorded for most groups show a year on year increase, with the largest for Asian persons, increasing by 4.6%.

The proportion of stop & searches of male persons is 93.7% (227,994 rolling year), with just 12,367 women being stopped & searched.

The actual number of arrests made from stop & searches has remained at a similar rate year on year. The arrest rate for all groups are also similar year on year, with the only increase recorded for Asian arrest rate which has risen from 8.7% to 8.8%. The arrest rate for white persons is 10.5% and black persons 11.7%. The overall arrest rate currently stands at 10.9% to August 2005.

Source: MPS report to MPA Equal Opportunities and Diversity Board 01/12/05

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