Metropolitan Police Authority – Stop and Search Review Board

31/06
24 May 2006

A meeting of the Metropolitan Police Authority (MPA) Stop and Search Review Board will be held in meeting room 1 (ground floor), 10 Dean Farrar Street, London SW1 on Thursday 25 May 2006 at 2.00 p.m.

The Board oversees implementation of the recommendations of the MPA Scrutiny on Metropolitan Police Service (MPS) Stop and Search practice.

John Roberts, MPA member and chair of the review board said:

“We will be considering recommendations from the MPA Stop and Search Scrutiny report, specifically those that deal directly with complaints and feedback, with colleagues from the Stop and Search Community Monitoring Network, the Independent Police Complaints Commission (IPCC) and the MPS.

“Complaints about stop and search need to be dealt with in a swift and satisfactory way. Among the issues we will examine are third party reporting and locally based resolutions such as restorative justice and mediation.

“The process of how to complain also needs to be crystal clear and accessible in order to raise public confidence in both the police complaints system and the police service. There has to be greater public transparency in the investigation of complaints and improvement in the way complainants are kept regularly informed of the progress of investigations into alleged violations.

“We are currently participating in the Home Office campaign ‘Stop and Search Know your Rights Pass it On’ which aims to inform young people in black and ethnic minority communities about stop and search as a police tactic, what their rights are when they are stopped and how they can complain if they feel they have been mistreated. The MPA is working hard to ensure that stop and search is used to make London safer for everyone.”

Notes to editors

1. MPA Stop and Search Review Board terms of reference

Purpose

• to lead implementation of the Metropolitan Police Authority (MPA) Scrutiny on Metropolitan Police Service (MPS) Stop and Search Practice on behalf of Equal Opportunities and Diversity Board (EODB)
• to scrutinise progress by the MPS against the 32 scrutiny recommendations for which they have responsibility on behalf of EODB
• to lead implementation of the 25 recommendations involving engagement with statutory and voluntary partners, on behalf of EODB

Accountability

• the board is a sub-group of EODB and works on its behalf to lead implementation of the scrutiny recommendations
• the MPS will report to the board on any aspect of its response to the scrutiny recommendations. Any issues, which the board cannot resolve, will be referred to EODB for decision. The board will report to EODB through written and verbal updates at committee

The Board

• after a scheduled meeting in July the board will hold public meetings on a quarterly basis
• Board meetings will be structured to ensure part of each meeting will involve discussion with MPS colleagues and an external agency referenced in the scrutiny report
• the board will seek to involve witnesses to the scrutiny in order to track improvement.

2.The MPA Stop and Search Scrutiny report can be found at:
www.mpa.gov.uk/issues/stop-search

Further media information

For further information, please contact the MPA press office

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