Forces defend use of law despite ‘little proof that it works’

FROM April 2020 to March 2021, police in England and Wales stopped and searched 544,810 people. This compared to 458,902 in the previous 12 months, a rise of almost 19 per cent.

Greater Manchester Police (GMP) was the only force which did not supply figures.

Despite asking on several occasions, GMP, which is in special measures, was unable to explain why it could not give Eastern Eye the data.

Yet in July, its chief constable, Stephen Watson, denied claims his force was institutionally racist because of disproportionate stop and search based on figures published by the Greater Manchester mayor, Andy Burnham.

Eastern Eye asked Burnham’s office, which is responsible for overseeing the force, to investigate and explain why GMP could not supply these figures.

Although fewer south Asians are stopped and searched when compared to black and white communities, the rise year-onyear was 47 per cent, three times the national average.

What is significant is that during national lockdowns, when most crime was going down, police were stopping and searching more ethnic minorities.

The National Police Chiefs’ Council lead on stop and search is Deputy Assistant Commissioner Amanda Pearson. “In some forces, the reduction in overall crime levels allowed officers to be redirected towards proactive policing in violence hot-spots,” she explained.

“Numerous factors, including further lockdowns, as well as proactive operations, may impact on stop and search figures.”

Some forces Eastern Eye contacted suggested the pandemic was a direct reason for increases.

“Anecdotal evidence suggests that during the pandemic, those undertaking street-level drug offending were more apparent during the periods of lockdown in terms of being identifiable by officers as activity not consistent with lockdown guidance and legislation,” said a spokesperson for West Yorkshire Police.

Assistant Chief Constable Julia Debenham from Leicestershire Police told Eastern Eye, “There was an increase in 2020-21, most likely to be caused by the Covidrelated factors, along with the introduction of a new policing model that created additional officers deploying in local areas.

“Officers found themselves on occasions with more capacity to undertake proactive patrols, and where people should have been in lockdown, suspicion in relation to people who were out was raised, which may have led to an increase in the use of the tactic.”

For the 20 forces with the highest numbers of south Asians stopped and searched, Eastern Eye compared the actual percentage with the area population.

It showed that West Mercia Police stopped proportionately five times as many south Asians as in its force area.

West Midlands, West Yorkshire, South Yorkshire, Lancashire, Bedfordshire, Staffordshire and Cambridgeshire stopped and searched more than twice the proportion compared to their corresponding force areas.

West Midlands Police refused to acknowledge Eastern Eye’s request for answers.

A spokesperson for West Yorkshire Police said, “Understanding disproportionality is complex and comparisons against simple census data averages can be unhelpful in the absence of wider context.”

Pearson said, “Work is being carried out to understand disproportionality in the use of police powers, including stop and search, so that we are able to explain the reasons behind it and reduce it where possible.

“Crime is not evenly distributed across society and disproportionate is not the same thing as discriminate.

“Where there is disproportionality, forces should be examining this and identifying why this is the case and, where it cannot be explained, how to address it.”

All the forces Eastern Eye contacted maintained that stop and search is a tool which was intelligence-led, effective and keeps people safe.

“We do not underestimate the impact stop and search has on communities and individuals,” said Debenham. “We know that to maintain public confidence in its use, the power must be used in a fair and effective manner. Often our use of the tactic is in direct response to an incident reported by a member of the public.

“How effective stop and search is, is as much about investigating matters reported to us at the time, avoiding unnecessary arrests as it is about a crime being detected.”

Not only did the Home Office choose to spin, it failed to address the most basic question – if stop and search is intelligenceled, why is it that it leads to a small percentage being charged?

Instead, the police minister, Kit Malthouse reiterated that the government had “empowered 9,000 more officers to authorise the use of Section 60 stop and search powers, used in anticipation of serious violence”, even though academics and Eastern Eye’s analysis suggest there is little proof it works.

Malthouse added, “Stop and search is a vital tool for removing dangerous weapons from our streets. Every weapon taken off the streets is a potential life saved. In the last year, stop and search has removed over 11,000 weapons from the streets and resulted in over 74,000 arrests.”

While it is true that one weapon “taken off the streets is a potential life saved”, what the government does not reveal is that arrests account for just 12 per cent of those stopped and searched, which is under one in eight of all stops.

It also does not reveal that between April 2020 and March 2021, the police charged under two per cent of the more than half a million people they stopped and searched. Of those charged, it is not clear how many were finally convicted.

If past form is anything to go by, that figure is likely published without fanfare long after journalists have forgotten the question – what does the data really say about the usefulness of stop and search?

The president of the NBPA, Andy George, is clear that officers stop and search black and Asian people for drugs, rather than weapons.

“Whenever you’re getting into the facts and figures, the majority of stop searches are for drugs, not for weapons. There’s only like, 16, 17 per cent of the time that you’re stopping people for weapons,” he said.

“Sixty, 70, 80 per cent of the time, it’s for drugs, it’s for the smell of cannabis or for cannabis.

“The black community research indicated that they’re less likely to actually carry [a weapon].”