STOP & SEARCH
What is stop and search?
It is the various powers held by police officers to look for prohibited items such as weapons and drugs. In the last year the Home Office have extended the implementation of S&S powers as a way to tackle increased knife crime.
There are 3 main S&S powers, the most concerning is Section 60 of the Criminal Justice and Public Order Act 1994, which is a ‘no suspicion’ search power. It allows officers to stop anyone without reasonable grounds for suspicion if they believe it will prevent crimes involving serious violence. It applies when there is intelligence that such crimes have already taken place or might be about to. This Government has made it simpler for officers to use this power, actively encouraging its use.
It is controversial for a number of reasons.
effectiveness
A lot of research has been conducted to assess the effectiveness of S&S as a deterrent to crime, but there is very little evidence to show that it works.
For example, in January 2018 The British Journal of Criminology found “only a very weak and inconsistent association with crime. While there is some correlation, most notably in relation to drug offences, we conclude that the deterrent effect of S&S is likely to be small, at best”.
In 2019, StopWatch UK found that “only 5% of Section 60 searches actually led to an arrest”.
discrimination
Official statistics released in March 2020 showed that “between April 2018 and March 2019, there were 4 stop and searches for every 1,000 White people, compared with 38 for every 1,000 Black people”.
In other words, Black people were 9.5 times more likely to be stopped and searched than White people.
In 2010, when similar patterns were at play, research by the Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC) concluded that the “entrenched disproportionate use of stop and search powers on people from ethnic minority communities is consistent with the evidence on racial prejudice and stereotyping”.
more harm than good
If S&S is shown to have only a marginal impact on reducing crime, and yet disproportionately works against people from Black communities in particular, but also those from other minority ethnic backgrounds, its use ultimately breaks down trust between the police and the community.
“Any benefits of stop and search,” the EHRC stated in 2010, “need to be carefully weighed against the negative impact on public confidence in the police among ethnic minority communities”.
It is often a traumatic and demeaning experience to be stopped and searched, and gives too much room for police officers to act upon any unconscious bias and stereotypes they may hold.
what next?
Research personal accounts of people’s experience of S&S to stay informed about the effects it has on an individual’s wellbeing, and to recognise the role it plays in systemic racism.
Contact your MP expressing concern over the Government's expansion of the use of Section 60 Stop and Searches.
Write to your local police authority asking what they are doing to tackle racial profiling and prejudice within their workforce.
If you are worried about being stopped and searched, you can download the app “Y-Stop”. It is a project developed by young people with advice on how to handle a stop and search situation, telling people what their rights are. It also lets you record a stop and search incident in order to complain directly to the police if an officer has handled the situation in a way you are unhappy or uncomfortable with.
VIDEOS ABOUT STOP & SEARCH
You Match the Description: Stop and Search (Documentary, BBC Stories) by Aaron Roach Bridgeman
Stop-and-search: A BBC reporter's own experience by Noel Phillips (2017)
Adam Pugh Talks London Leadership & Peace Award, Police & Standing Up Against Racism | LDNRBS - Dec 2018