Londoners are being asked for their views on the future of “stop and account” rules under which police officers and PCSOs must record details of incidents in which they stop a member of the public and require them to explain “why they are in a particular place, why they are carrying something or why they are behaving in a particular way.”
When such a stop incident happens, the officer must currently record the time, date and place where the stop happened and gives a copy of the record to the person stopped.
Under changes implemented by the UK’s coalition government, police forces will no longer have to record such stops however they can continue to do so if they wish.
The Metropolitan Police Authority is asking Londoners whether the officers should continue recording stops and accounts incidents.
Cindy’s Butts Chair of the MPA Communities Equalities and People committee said it was “essential that we maintain public confidence in policing, so to find out what Londoners think about stops and accounts we have devised a short questionnaire.”
The questionnaire, which can be found here, is open to all members of the public, although the MPA says it is “particularly interested” in hearing from young people as these are the group “most likely” to be affected by any changes.
The deadline for responses is March 31st.
Butts added: “We want to hear about your experience to help us decide what is best for London, and in particular from young people who may be more affected by stop and account.”
The changes do not affect the use “stop and search” powers which will continue to be fully recorded.
