New ‘friendly face’ of police stop and search
Force to reassess officers’ approach following complaints of rudeness
WEST Midlands Police are looking at how they can improve the way they stop and search people to avoid damaging relations with the communities they serve.
It comes after the force asked members of the public how it felt to be searched, and received a number of complaints.
Inspector Dan Popple, from the force’s fairness in policing team, said some of those who responded felt officers had been rude.
Giving evidence to the House of Commons Home Affairs Committee, he said: “We thought it was going to be difficult; we thought we were going to struggle to get people to talk to us.
“Incredibly, we had over 150 people come and give testimonies to us to explain and say, ‘This was how it was to be stopped and searched’. It wasn’t good reading.
“A lot of people would say, ‘I just felt targeted. I think the people are rude. They didn’t really give me the reason why’.”
He said one young man had said he previously planned to become a police officer but had changed his mind after being repeatedly searched.
Inspector Popple said the force was
WEST Midlands Police recorded 11,064 stop and search incidents from January 1 to May 31 this year. A report to West Midlands Police Strategic Policing and Crime Board shows that black and Asian people are more likely to be stopped and searched than white people.
The paper, written by Assistant Chief Constable Vanessa Jardine, stated: “The findings suggest that a member of the Asian population is 2.5 times more likely to be stopped than a member of the white population and this increases to 3.9 times more likely as a member of the black population.
“However, powers are primarily utilised in hotspots for violent crime and robbery. When analysing the top five geographic areas of the force for most serious violence and robbery (Lozells and East Handsworth, Aston, Stockland Green, Handsworth Wood and Sparkbrook), disproportionality falls.
“In all five wards, there is a reduction in the likelihood of a member of the Asian and black population being stopped compared to the white population. This is a result of the increased diversity levels in these wards.
“As an example, in Aston, a member of the Asian population is less likely than a member of the white population to be stopped.”
looking at ways to change the process “so that stop and search is not about a legal process but is about an engagement, building rapport, and trying to humanise the encounter.” Examples might include encouraging officers to introduce themselves with their first name, and to explain more clearly why searches were taking place, he said. He added: “Why aren’t we introducing ourselves? Why are those handcuffs applied so quickly? Why are we not explaining? Why do we say, ‘Section 1 PACE,’ or, ‘Section 60 power’? This is all jargon. “Why are we not encouraging people to film? Why are we not talking to the camera? Why are we not explaining exactly the process and going through their rights? These are things that make a good stop and search for me.
“Introduce yourself. Call me by your first name. Why are you saying PC Popple? Why don’t you say Dan? It is little stuff like that.”
He was speaking to MPs conducting an inquiry into the way policing has changed 21 years after the publication of the report of the Stephen Lawrence Inquiry, known as the Macpherson report.
This followed the murder of Stephen Lawrence, a black teenager who was stabbed to death in a racist attack in south-east London.