Stop and Search: Have your say! Four days to go

Overall, it is estimated that there are 1.2 million 'Stop and Searches' every year in England and Wales. Black people are seven times more likely to stopped than white people.

Under section 60 of the power which last year accounted for 46,961 stops our of 1.2 million Black people were 37 times more likely to be stopped and searched than white people.

There is little doubt that too often the delivery of the present practice of ‘Stop and Search’ and other Police stops,  particularly when they are done in a unlawful way alienates  a generation of young BME men and women.

When one  includes all police stops-8 million-  hundreds of thousand of Black and Minority Ethnic individuals are stopped and often humiliated by this practice whilst going about their law abiding business.

Now here’s a chance for you to respond. If there is one political act you do this year it must be to let the Government know during this consultation what you feel about Police 'Stop and Search' practices. Here’s the email address: Stopandsearch@homeoffice.gsi.gov.uk. cc info@obv.org.uk too.

Just last week I was made aware of a young man in Birmingham who was ‘Stopped searched’, arrested on suspicion of theft and put in police for 15 hours. He told police that at the supposed time of the theft he was at a police station reporting the theft of a car. They never checked, hence the 15 hours in a cell before being let free.

At the heart of this problem is what many percieve to be racial profiling: guilty until proven innocent.

In June the Home Secretary Theresa May took a proactive approach to dealing with the excess of the police stop and search powers by launching a consultation into the police’s use of the tool. This consultation period was extended for another six weeks until 24 th September.

If we want real change in this area the Government must have your views.

The consultation gives the public the opportunity to have their say on the effectiveness of this power, which is supposed to effectively combat gangs, knife crime, Terrorism and drug offenses around the country.

OBV encourage you to respond to the questionnaire, email the consultation to Stopandsearch@homeoffice.gsi.gov.uk or participate in a short online poll.

This is a chance for people to express your experience with the police and suggest a more effective method of dealing with the issues at hand.

Stop and search is one of the most frustrating police powers, one million stops alone were recorded.

Though the government supports the ability of officers to use the tool, May said:

If it’s being used too much or with the wrong people, then that is a dreadful waste of police time. It must be applied fairly and in a way that builds community confidence in the police rather than undermining it.”

The figures from ‘Stop and search’ highlight why many BME individuals lack confidence in the police. Black people are seven times more likely to be stopped and searched than their white counterparts.

We must have as many response as possible. Email the consultation to Stopandsearch@homeoffice.gsi.gov.uk

By Alan Ssempebwa

Stop and search facts and figures courtesy of StopWatch

• More than one million stop and searches are carried out every year, taking up more than 300,000 hours of officer time.
• People from a black or ethnic minority background are up to seven times more likely to be stopped and searched by the police than those from white backgrounds.
• The search-to-arrest ratio varies considerably across forces. In Cumbria the figure is three per cent; in Kent it is 19 per cent. In London , where most stop and search incidents take place, it is eight per
• cent.
• Police stopped and searched 1.2 million people and/or vehicles under the Police and Criminal Evidence Act (PACE) and other legislation in 2011/12.
• Police forces in England and Wales stopped and searched nine per cent fewer people in 2011/12 than in 2010/11.

However, although the stop and search figures a highlight how inefficient and discriminatory the practice is, they fail to account for other similar powers that the police also use in excess. This includes stops under Section 163 Road Traffic Act 1988, stop and account, section 1 PACE and section 23 misuse of drugs act, section 60 criminal justice and public order 1994 and schedule 7 Terrorism Act 2000.

Stop and Account

• There were 2,211,589 stop and accounts across England and Wales in 2008-09
• Ministry of Justice data has consistently show disproportionate rates of stops in many forces, with people from black and minority ethnic groups being stopped more frequently than white people.
• The law and guidance around stop and account is confusing and opaque

Section 163 Road Traffic Act 1988

• This is the mostly used stop power ad can be deployed without reasonable suspicion and without making record of the encounter. There is therefore significant risk will be misused
• 10 per cent of adults in England and Wales are stopped per year. It is estimated that there were 5,486,912 stops in 2010/11
• Survey data shows members of ethnic minority communities are disproportionately subject to car stops.
• There is evidence that traffic stops are being misused with Section 163 stops being used for matters wholly unrelated to road traffic purposes.
• Section 163 stops are recorded and are therefore not accountable.

Police and Criminal Evidence A6t 1984 and Misuse of Drugs Act 1971

• ·The police recorded 1,137,551 stop and searches across England and Wales in 2011-12. This has been growing exponentially over the last three decades, baring little relationship to the levels of crime which have declined in the same period.
• Black people are stopped and searched seven times the rate of white people, while Asians are twice as likely to be stopped and searched.
• Up to a quarter of all stop and searches are on children under the age of 17. Code of Practice A is silent on the treatment of children during stop and search encounters.
• Only 9.4 percent of recorded stop and searches led to an arrest.

Section 60 of the Criminal Justice and Public Order Act 1994

• The police recorded 47,961 Section 60 searches across England and Wales i n2011-12. This has grown dramatically between 1999-2009 the number of searches increased 20 fold or 2000percent
• Black people are stopped and searched at a rate of 37 times that of white people and Asian people are stopped at a rate of 9 times white people.
• In 2011-12 only 2.8 percent of section 60 searches led to an arrest and only 0.4 percent were for possession of an offensive weapon the avowed purpose of the power.

Schedule 7 Terrorism Act 2000

• In 2012-13 the police recorded 61,145 stops of which 2,277 lasted over an hour
• BME groups make up 58 percent of those subject to Schedule 7 stops
• Only 670 (less than 1%) of these stops resulted in a detention in 2012/13. No information on the number of people convicted and on what charges
• The Independent Review of Terrorism has found that the majority of examinations which have led to convictions were intelligence-led rather than risk factors.

All this information is courtesy of Stop Watch UK