Stop and search tactics criticised

A review into the use of stop and search concludes that
a number of police forces are using the tactics in a way
that is disproportionate and sometimes discriminatory

Photo: Association of Chief Police Officers

The Equality and Human Rights Commission wrote to the police forces with the most disproportionate use of stop and search tactics to raise its concerns over possible breaches of the Race Relations Act.

The commission published a comprehensive review into the
use of stop and search across England and Wales, which
concludes that a number of forces are using the tactics in a way that is disproportionate and possibly discriminatory.

The review into 42 policing areas during the past five years
has found that few police forces have made improvements and
most continue to use their stop and search powers disproportionately against Black and Asian people. In fact, some police forces have actually increased their use
of stop and search against ethnic minorities.

Nationally, Black people are still stopped and searched at least six times the rate of white people and Asian people are about twice as likely to be stopped and searched as white people.

The evidence suggests racial stereotyping and discrimination
are significant factors behind the higher rates of stops and searches for Black and Asian people than white people.

The commission’s research reveals that some of the police
forces with the most disproportionate use of stop and search
powers against Black people were Dorset, Hampshire, Leicestershire and in the Wandsworth area. In Hampshire, the ratio increased dramatically in 2007/08.

However, the report found evidence from some police forces
that fairer use of stop and search powers can go hand-in-hand with crime reduction and increased public confidence in the police.

For example, a Practice Oriented Package initiative introduced in Stoke on Trent, which sets out best practice in stop and search, has resulted in the disproportionality ratio in Stoke dropping to 1.5 when comparing Black stops and searches to white.

Stop and think
The results of the Stop and Think Report, supported by an independent study produced for the commission, were also launched. It examined how much control was influenced by the police on the ethnic composition of young people entering the youth justice system.

The researchers found that Black and ethnic minority youths
were overrepresented in the criminal justice system. This overrepresentation started at the point of entry into the system, and largely continued as young suspects and defendants passed through it.

The report, Differential treatment in the youth justice system
(3), argues that an adversarial style of policing risks creating
animosity and distrust towards the police, especially amongst youths from ethnic minorities.

It says that when police forces adopt a professional “rule of
law” approach, the result is fewer arrests of Black and mixed-race youths and improved relationships with their community.

Researchers found that officers were also more likely to give white youths more lenient reprimands or fines, while Black and mixedrace youths were more likely to be charged with crimes. This was the case even when the alleged crimes and the individuals’ criminal histories were similar.

The commission’s Stop and Think report uses data from the
Ministry of Justice, Home Office, Metropolitan Police and the Office for National Statistics to analyse trends in stop and search use around the country.

Across England and Wales there were 22 stops and searches
per 1,000 people in 2007/08.

Breaking this down for the different ethnic groups, it reveals that the Black population had the highest rate of stop and search at over 110 per 1,000; the rate for Asian people was over 30 per 1,000; and it was 17 per 1,000 for white people.

If Black people were stopped and searched at the same rate as
white people in 2007/2008, there would have be around 25,000
stops and searches of Black people, instead, there were over
170,000. Other findings include:

• Some of the highest Asian/white disproportionate rates during
the past five years were seen in the West Midlands, Thames
Valley, West Mercia and South Yorkshire
• The biggest impact in terms of numbers of “excess” stops and
searches is seen in London where the stop and search rate is highest and where a high percentage of the Black and Asian population lives
• Outside London, large excesses were also seen in the West
Midlands, Greater Manchester and Thames Valley for Black
stops and searches, and in the West Midlands, West Yorkshire
and Thames Valley for Asian stops and searches.

The commission concludes that a National Policing Improvement
Agency initiative due for rollout in 2010, which aims to address the disproportionate use of stop and search tactics, needs to be rigorously implemented and monitored if it is to be effective.

Race relations

Commissioner Simon Woolley from the Equality and Human Rights Commission said: “It is time that we saw real improvement in these statistics. It is not enough for the police simply to launch new initiatives if those initiatives don’t
produce results.

“There is little evidence to suggest that targeting Black
people disproportionately with stop and search powers reduces
crime.

“In fact, this report shows evidence that police forces, like
Staffordshire and Cleveland that have used fairer stop and search tactics, have not only seen reductions in crimes rates in line with overall trends, but have also increased public confidence in the police.

“It is unrealistic and unhelpful to demand that policing should
be perfect. However, police services should strive to work
fairly and effectively while respecting basic human rights
and discrimination law. Only then can they be said to be ‘good
enough’.

“The Equality and Human Rights Commission will be looking closely at this research and writing to police forces with
the most concerning statistics to gain a better understanding of how they are meeting their obligations under the Race Relations Act.

“We cannot rule out taking legal action against some police
forces.”

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