• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to footer

MayorWatch

London News and Comment

  • NEWS
  • Twitter

Stop & Search – the Met’s new website seems a little off-message

July 4, 2013 - Martin Hoscik@MayorWatch

Lots of welcoming this week for Home Secretary Theresa May’s decision to review the police’s use of Stop and Search powers.

May rightly says that the power to see what people are up to is “a vital police tool” but, echoing words of the London Assembly and now-defunct Metropolitan Police Authority and London Assembly, warns that overuse “erodes community confidence in the police.”

Her review has been welcomed by London Assembly and former MPA member Jenny Jones who, alongside colleagues from all City Hall parties, has been a vocal critic of the Met’s past overuse of the powers.

Acknowledging the current Met leadership team’s “real progress in reducing the amount of wasteful stop and search”, Jones says that it’s not just the number of stops which give cause for concern, but the quality.

She adds: “when stop and search has to be done, it should be done with extreme politeness.”

The tone of ‘stops’ and the behaviour of officers is something that Met Commissioner Sir Bernard Hogan-Howe and his team have discussed with the Assembly’s Police and Crime Committee.

Hogan-Howe last year told AMs that Stop and Search catches wrongdoers only in the minority of cases and said that the Met needed to move towards a more intelligence-led approach.

But even with intelligence leading the way, the Met’s own figures show that the “positive outcome rate (arrested/given cannabis warnings) from stop searches has risen from 13.9 per cent in January 2012 to 18.5 per cent in February 2013”.

This means that over 80% of those stopped were found to be doing and carrying nothing illegal.

The Commissioner has also said that changes in the Met’s recruitment practices, notably steps to recruit more officers from London who understood the sensitivities of London’s various communities, would also see officers’ attitudes change.

The importance of addressing community concerns is vital – the Met’s own statement welcoming May’s review says:

“Latest financial year [April 2012-March 2013] figures for Section One searches (the vast majority of searches carried out by the MPS) show white black disproportionality is now 1: 2.4. This means one white person is being stopped for every 2.4 black people being stopped. For same time period, white Asian disproportionality is now are parity, 1: 1.0, which is one white person being stopped for one Asian person being stopped.”

In a lengthy statement, the Met says it “accepts there is disproportionality in the use of stop and search”.

Commander Adrian Hanstock, MPS lead for stop and search. adds: “The causes are complex and it is important we understand those causes and scrutinise it to ensure it is not used in a discriminatory manner.”

It’s encouraging that the Met’s leadership sees this and the overall number of unsuccessful ‘stops’ as areas which needs further improvement.

But maybe the force would seem a little less keen on randomly stopping and delaying overwhelmingly innocent Londoners if it didn’t feature a PCSO apparently conducting a stop within the lovely montage adorning its new website?

met_website_stop

It does somewhat confuse the message.

  • Click to share on Twitter (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on Tumblr (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on Pinterest (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on LinkedIn (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on Reddit (Opens in new window)
  • Click to print (Opens in new window)
  • Click to email this to a friend (Opens in new window)

Tagged With: Stop and Search

RECENT UPDATES

TfL proposes bus and tube cuts and annual fares increases to achieve long-term financial sustainability

London’s entire bus fleet now meets ULEZ emissions standards

New road layout comes into effect at Old Street roundabout

TfL funding enables creation of 2,000 new cycle parking spaces




Popular

1,700 extra Santander Cycles are coming to London’s streets

TfL confirms changes to Older Person’s Freedom Pass and 60+ Oyster card hours

TfL fares to rise in return for £1.6bn Government rescue package

Election for Mayor of London and London Assembly postponed until 2021

FEATURED

City Hall to move to Docklands as Mayor seeks to raise £55m for frontline services

‘Concern’ over TfL’s ability to deliver major projects in wake of Crossrail cost overruns

City Hall halts London Overground ticket office closures but many will still see opening hours reduced

Transport for London confirms bus cuts will go ahead despite passenger opposition

GOT A STORY?

As the original London news and scrutiny site we've been casting an eye over the capital's public services and politicians since 1999.

 

Many of our top stories started with a tip-off from a reader - if you've got something you'd like us to cover get in touch and we'll do the rest.

Stay In Touch

  • E-mail
  • RSS
  • Twitter

Copyright © 2021 MayorWatch Publications Limited · MayorWatch is Registered Trademark · All Rights Reserved · Contact Us · Terms of Use · Privacy Policy

MayorWatch Publications Limited · 20-22 Wenlock Road · London N1 7GU · Company Number 6291816

loading Cancel
Post was not sent - check your email addresses!
Email check failed, please try again
Sorry, your blog cannot share posts by email.