In
updated guidance, the College suggests that police forces across England and Wales
should map areas where stop and search is most frequently used and ask people
in those communities to scrutinise police use of the power. The aim is to
further strengthen the understanding around the use of the powers and increase
public confidence.
The
panels are independent of the police and if required, members should be fully
supported with training on the law, complaints processes and data
interpretation.
The
guidance suggests that police forces should also be prepared to make
adaptations to ensure representation, such as changing the time and location of
meetings to make them easier to attend, and consider alternatives to formal
meetings, if that will encourage greater attendance.
Chief
Constable Mike Cunningham, CEO at the College of Policing, said: “Forces are dedicated to keeping
the public safe, and stop and search powers can make a real difference in
disrupting crime in the short term.
“Policing
is rightly one of the most scrutinised areas of public service and we should
welcome any opportunity for the public to better understand or ask questions
about our work.
“By
updating the stop and search guidance, we hope to improve the way the power is
scrutinised and build stronger relationships between officers and the public.”
“We
want local communities to be able to ask questions, share their experience and
build mutual understanding so that the police are best able to keep people
safe.”
In
addition to growing community engagement, forces should give serious
consideration to publicising details of where and when stop and search
authorisations have been issued - across multiple channels, including social
media - as well as providing the public with reassurance where needed.
Forces
should also ensure that communities are aware that members of the public can
accompany police officers on patrol and observe instances where ‘no suspicion’
searches have been authorised. Where this isn’t possible, or if a stop and
search hasn’t taken place during patrol, panel members can be given access to
body-worn footage to view a stop and search being carried out, providing
this does not breach the Data Protection Act 2018 (DPA 2018) and the General
Data Protection Regulation (GDPR).
Greater
transparency is also being applied to stop and search data, with forces
providing scrutiny panel members with information relating to the gathering and
processing of peoples’ data, as well as giving them access to stop and search
records. Should panel members question the use of stop and search powers,
forces should provide them with an explanation and, where necessary, guidance
for data interpretation and, if practicable, additional information relating to
stop and search, such as body-worn video footage, training materials,
complaints and statistics.