Why the Police use stop and search
Without the power of being able to stop and search individuals whom the Police suspect of having participated in or are about to commit a crime, the Met would be faced with a much tougher challenge on the streets of London.
What are they looking for?
Stop and search is never used lightly and police officers will only exercise their legal right to stop members of the public and search them when they genuinely suspect that doing so will further their investigations into criminal activity – whether that means looking for weapons, drugs or stolen property.
Section 60 of the Criminal Justice and Public Order Act 1994 is different to normal stop and search as it gives police the right to search people without reasonable grounds. This can only happen in a defined area at a specific time when a senior officer (Superintendent) believes there is a possibility of serious violence or weapons are involved.
How the Police use stop and search
Stop and search remains a hugely important police power for protecting Londoners, tackling crime and keeping our streets safe. It is an invaluable tool - especially in relation to knife crime; resulting in over 3,500 arrests for weapon possession and for taking several thousand weapons off the streets of London each year.
Stop and search must be used in a fair and effective way that supports public confidence and is independently scrutinised. Over the past few years the Police have changed the way they use stop and search, it is now used far less and is much more effective, complaints have reduced by 60 per cent. There are no individual numeric stop and search targets set for officers.
The Police do not underestimate the impact stop and search has on communities and individuals. They know that to maintain public confidence in its use, the power must be used in a fair and effective manner.
The primary purpose of stop and search is to enable officers to either allay or confirm their suspicions about an individual without having to arrest them.
Effectiveness must therefore reflect where suspicion has been allayed and an unnecessary arrest, which is more intrusive, has been avoided; or where suspicion has been confirmed and the object is found or a relevant crime is detected. Presently 32 per cent, almost one in three of all searches, result in the officer’s suspicion being confirmed and an illegal object found or a relevant crime detected. The arrest rate is now 20%, up from 8 per cent in 2011.
They recognise the increase in knife crime and continue to make a concerted effort with operations such as Teal and Sceptre to tackle this. The aims of these operations are to remove knives from circulation and target habitual knife carriers. This includes the use of intelligence led stop and search, where it is an appropriate tactic, in areas with high levels of knife crime and gang violence.
Controlled drugs are a concern of many local communities and are often linked to anti-social behaviour. The overall outcome rate from drug searches is currently 34% and one third of all their weapons arrests from stop and search come from drug searches.
There is disparity in the use of stop and search in relation to gender, age and race. The reasons for disparity are complex and include the use of the power to tackle gangs and specific crimes. All measures of proportionality are subjective depending on which population base is employed. No population base will ever accurately capture a street population or offender profile in a given area, at a given time. In 2016, 42 per cent of people who were stopped and searched were white, 40 per cent were black and 14 per cent Asian. However, the Officer must be able to justify his reason for stop and search.
In a survey of 9,492 school children in London aged 11 to 18 years conducted by the Mayor’s Office for Policing and Crime in 2015, 58 per cent of them believed stop and search made them feel safer.
Body Worn Video has been rolled out across the Met and will help to reassure Londoners that their interactions with the police are recorded. The technology offers greater transparency for those in front of the camera as well as behind it. The cameras will allow the Met to demonstrate the professionalism of officers, gather evidence and demonstrate their professionalism in the face of many challenges involved in policing the Capital. The use of the BWV, by the police is mandatory and must be pointed out by that officer that the encounter is being recorded.
The Met believes a stop and search is most likely to be fair and effective when:
- the search is justified, lawful and stands up to public scrutiny the officer has genuine and objectively reasonable suspicion they will find a prohibited article or item for use in crime
- the person understands why they have been searched and feels that they have been treated with respect
- the search was necessary and was the most proportionate method the police officer could use to establish whether the person has such an item
The Commissioner supports the use of stop and search in a fair and effective way that enhances public confidence and is independently scrutinised.
They will continue to work with our communities and stakeholders to improve the quality of interactions and ensure that stop and search continues to protect Londoners.
The Hillingdon IAG/SSCMG will continue to monitor the Hillingdon Police’s use of Stop and Search powers, to ensure the best of standards of the encounter to maintain the public confidence in our Police.
