Stop and search is a necessary part of the policing toolkit. But it also needs to be used with care.
Stop and search provokes a range of different opinions and emotions. Some may come from lived experience, from being subject to a stop and search or from working in a related area.
Figures released by the IOPC this week from a national survey of adults across England and Wales in November 2020 showed that just 28% of respondents from a Black, Asian or Minority Ethnic (BAME) background think the police should continue using stop and search as they are.
Of those surveyed who said stop and search is not applied as it should, 63% do not believe the police apply it in the same way to all groups. Close to half (47%) of the same category of people said they believe the police apply stop and search when there are not reasonable grounds to do so.
And it’s no surprise.
In 2019/20, people from a BAME background were over four times more likely to be stopped and searched than White people, and Black people specifically were almost nine times more likely to be stopped and searched.
A HMICFRS report published last week also called for police forces to explain the disproportionate use of police powers such as stop and search and use of force on people from a BAME background or risk losing the trust of the communities they serve.
Last year, national research was published showing 85% of Black people do not believe that they would be treated the same as a white person by the police.
There is clear concern around discrimination and stop and search not being applied equally to all groups.
There needs to be a much more evidence-based approach to stop and search and open conversation about the and the impact this has on Black communities.
The Metropolitan Police accounts for 48% of all the stop and searches conducted across England and Wales. Their increased used of stop and search accounted for 50% of the total increase in stops and searches in 2019/20. While the demographics of London will impact on this, the Met stopped and searched 51 Black people for every 1,000, nationally the figure was 19 Black people stopped and searched for every 1,000.
From our own work looking at a review of investigations conducted by the Metropolitan Police Service last year, we’ve seen the smell of cannabis as the sole grounds given for stop and search, which is not in accordance with authorised policing practice. We’ve seen handcuffs used when other tactics could have de-escalated the situation and a general lack of understanding about the impact of disproportionality.
There has to be greater transparency around the reasons for stop and search being used, and for police forces to understand it’s impact. The jury is out on whether stop and search reduces crime, and now it’s legitimacy as a policing tactic that is marginalising the very communities police need to win the trust of is being questioned.
We know that when trust and confidence is strained, crime is less likely to be reported and people are less likely to provide intelligence to the police. The irony is that this means stop and search can’t be as effectively targeted and so a vicious cycle continues.
Fundamentally, this affects community confidence and puts the policing by consent model in jeopardy with many communities.
This cannot be an outcome that anyone wants.
It is critical for police forces to work together with Black communities, to listen and understand those concerns are legitimate, and most importantly, to respond.
Sal Naseem is the London Regional Director and the lead for race-based discrimination for the Independent Office for Police Conduct. Our focus on race-based discrimination was announced in 2020 as one of our priority areas of work.
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Disapplication means that a police force may handle a complaint in whatever way it thinks fit, including not dealing with it under complaints legislation. This may only happen in certain circumstances where the complaint fits one or more of the grounds for disapplication set out in law.
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You can request a review/appeal if you’re not satisfied with how your complaint has been handled.
You can request a review/appeal if you’re not satisfied with how your complaint has been handled.
