Recommendation 48

HM Government Acknowledged

The Government supports the police in their use of stop and search to tackle serious violence. That is why we have empowered over 9,000 more officers to authorise stop and search powers by piloting relaxation of voluntary restrictions on Section 60 ‘suspicion-less’ stop and search and creating orders for known knife and offensive weapons carriers. Last year, stop and search removed almost 16,000 weapons and firearms from our streets and resulted in almost 81,000 arrests. Every weapon taken off the streets through stop and search is a potential life saved. Stop and search can also act as a deterrent by preventing offenders from carrying weapons because of the increased likelihood of being caught. As the CRED report sets out, stop and search is a useful tactic. However, given the impact of these powers, it is important that they are used fairly and properly—and that their use is properly monitored. We recognise that more can be done to improve accountability and transparency about the use of these powers with the public. The Home Office welcomes the ongoing work taking place by policing bodies and forces to implement HMICFRS recommendations, as well as the existing guidance and best practice examples to improve the way that stop and search is used that are already referenced in the College Authorised Professional Practice and the Association of Police and Crime Commissioners In-Focus Race Disparity report. The NPCC has undertaken an initial review of forces’ implementation of recommendations made by HMICFRS in its 2021 report on the disproportionate use of police powers, which showed that the majority of forces have already implemented the recommendations or have plans in place to do so. A follow-up survey of all forces is currently underway to establish in more detail the action forces have taken, their planned activity and their timelines for implementation. Inclusive Britain sets out the Government’s commitment to look carefully at strengthening the system of local community scrutiny of police decision-making, such as use of stop and search, and the value and use of body-worn video (BWV) in this process. We will explore how best to facilitate the sharing of BWV footage with local scrutiny panels, in order to improve the scrutiny of police decision-making and the understanding of legitimate police use of powers such as stop and search. This will feed into the development of a new framework for scrutinising use of police powers that will be in place by summer 2023. This framework will ensure that local scrutiny panels are independently led, reflect the diversity of the areas they represent and give police officers the confidence to use their powers with the backing of local communities. We have also improved our data collection on stop and search, and now collect more data on this than ever before. We are continually looking to better understand disparities in stop and search and share this publicly in the interests of transparency. On 18 November 2021, we published our regular annual statistical bulletin, Police Powers and Procedures: Stop and search and arrests, England and Wales, year ending 31 March 2021. We gathered data on both age and gender, and we were able to display specifically where and when crimes take place. Using this new data, we can create a clearer picture on how stop and search is used and how best to build on the existing trust and confidence held between the police and the community they serve. We will continue to monitor these statistics at a national level, and we expect Police and Crime Commissioners to hold forces to account for their use of police powers and their wider response to HMICFRS recommendations. Under section 163 (s.163) of the Road Traffic Act 1988, the driver of a vehicle is required to stop for an officer in uniform when requested to do so. The police may wish to stop a vehicle and speak to the driver for a number of reasons, including insurance or MOT. We are aware of concerns about a perceived disproportionality in the exercise of s.163 Road Traffic Act powers, especially as currently there is no requirement to collect data on the use of this power. A number of police forces, including the MPS, have undertaken a piloted collection of this data. Any final decision on introducing a requirement to collect data on the use of s.163 would benefit from considering the findings of these pilots, alongside consultation with the NPCC to explore the practicalities of the data collection. Through our work in this area, we will continue to work closely with partners, including the NPCC, APCC and HMICFRS, to support them at a national level in their efforts to explore how best policing bodies and forces can take forward recommendations and ensure the delivery of a whole sector approach. As part of the actions outlined in the Inclusive Britain report, we have committed, with policing partners, to consider a range of metrics for stop and search rates in order to identify and, where