Stop and Search

Stop and Search Scrutiny Panel Meeting

Monday 11 January 2021, 17:00 – 19:00

Venue: MS Teams

1. Welcome

AB welcomed the group.

1. Children & Young People Stop Search Data

PC KB provided an overview of their role at Sussex Police in the Youth Safety Intervention Team and shared data with the group which shows Sussex Police carry out an average of 23 stop and searches, across Sussex per day, of the 23 searches on average 5 are under the age of 18.

KB stated that while it was a legal requirement to inform parent/carers of those under 18 if their children were arrested, this was not the case for those stop/ searched, however Sussex Police has made the decision to inform all parents /guardians when this is the case. By contacting the parent/carer in this way it allows Sussex Police to explore whether further safeguarding measures are necessary. This safeguarding might include referrals to one of a number of Multi-Agency Service Hubs (M.A.S.H) in Sussex. These M.A.S.H units include colleagues from children services, social services and early help services – professionals who are better placed than the Police in determining the welfare needs of children.

KB provided an insight into work that Sussex police has carried out to inform and educate children around stop and search.  These include Schools Liaison officers visiting schools to provide presentations that covers rights and how the police should conduct stop searches. Although COVID-19 has curtailed these visits in the last year, there were a number of other measures Sussex Police were putting in place to improve and inform the experience of stop and search related to under 18s. These include: The production of a short educational film to help improve understanding around Stop & Search, enhanced safeguarding training for police officers to consider when they conduct stop and searches and the establishment of a local scrutiny panel for young people which will convene when COVID-19 restrictions have been lifted.

KB provided data to the group which showed that between 01/12/2019 – 30/11/2020 there had been a total of 8,334 searches in Sussex, for all ages. For children between the ages of 10-17 there had been 1,926 searches, of this 216 self-identified as Black Asian Ethnic Minority (B.A.M.E). For people between the ages of 18-29 there had been 3,828 searches, of this 725 self-identified as B.A.M.E. KB informed the group that 50 under 18’s were searched more than twice in the last 12 months, of this 38 were White and 8 were Black or Black British and provided examples of why these searches were conducted and what the outcomes were.

KB also provided an overview of Operation Safety which was an operation conducted across Sussex and designed to mitigate, prevent and deter knife crime. The police carried out multiple patrols in local parks and train stations areas where intelligence indicated knives had been carried before. The operation was also supported by a comprehensive community /schools awareness campaign to educate children on the dangers and consequences of knife crime.

Advisor feedback:

Advisors had mixed views on the data provided regarding the amount of Stop Searches that were carried out on under 18’s but were encouraged that the amount of stops were lower than expected.

Advisors asked if there were any specific policies outlining procedures relating to under 18s who were from a refugee or migrant background, where they may not necessarily speak English as their first language? KB informed the group that officers would typically have direct access to translations services, which can be facilitated using their mobile data terminals on speaker phone to communicate with someone who does not speak English as their first language. Officers will also put through a referral to the multi-agency, who work 24/7, to gain access to information that will show where the individual is being housed and who is responsible for them.

Advisors also asked whether there was any input from diverse communities, using their experiences to help inform current police training around stop and search. KB informed the group all training goes through Sussex Police’s Learning and Development department which does  cover aspects of diversity but there were always opportunities to take away learning  from other areas.  

Advisors were concerned about the effects of being stop searched disproportionately – (with less likelihood statistically of being found in possession of a searched for object(s) for Black, Asian, Minority Ethnic under 18’s.  KB understood this has a big impact on under 18’s as this could be their first interaction with the police and if it was  a negative experience then this may have a detrimental impact on their future interactions with the police. KB reassured the group that this is something Sussex Police are working towards, to make officers fully aware of the impact that a stop and search has on an individual. And this is one of the reasons why Sussex Police chose to inform parents/carers of under 18’s about the stop and search which had taken place.

Advisors questioned if officers follow up the stop and searches on under 18’s who have no object found on them to see if this is happening in a particular area or conducted by particular officers. KB reassured the group there was an oversight policy in place and officer’s stop and search records were regularly were scrutinised for signs or patterns which may suggest bias. KB informed the group that he himself looks through every stop search conducted on under 18s to ensure the correct safeguarding has been carried out.

Advisors questioned what reaction officers receive when they inform the parents of a Black, Asian, Minority Ethnic under 18 that their child has been stopped and searched?  KB felt that although more research needs to be done in this area to fully understand this question, they informed the group that in general, parents are usually thankful to officers for making them aware of developing behavioural issues and allowing them the opportunity to resolve within a family setting.

1. District Data

DT provided an update on District Data that showed the total number of stop searches conducted over the last 12 months and a percentage by ethnicity and breakdown for each district in Sussex.

DT asked the group if they would prefer to carry on looking at all the stop searches carried out in Sussex or if they are interested in the breakdown of a specific area? Advisors expressed interested into the breakdown of stop searches in Rother.

1. Complaints

MR provided the group with complaints data received to Sussex Police since the last meeting and reassured advisors that none had been related to race or ethnicity.  11 complaints were made in the last quarter, of these 2 have been resolved locally with a telephone call. 4 of these complaints were looked into and found to be unsubstantiated. 1 of the 11 complaints was withdrawn and the organisation currently has 4 complaints that are ongoing. MR informed advisors that there was a concern that people were not providing their ethnicity data on complaint forms. This made it difficult for Sussex Police to accurately present data around disproportionality MR stated, out of the 11 complaints received only 2 people disclosed their ethnicity.

Advisor feedback:

Advisors asked about ways to improve disclosure of ethnicity and suggested we proactively asked individuals to disclose this. MR informed the group this would be difficult as the majority of complaint forms received are sent through online and therefore a conversation with the individual beforehand would not happen. MR expressed this could be made a mandatory field for individuals to fill in. Advisors felt there should also be an option for individuals to not disclose their ethnicity if they do not wish to.

Action 27: DT to invite MR to next meeting to provide an insight into the grounds of complaints made.

Action 28: DT to send advisors the two slides from the presentation led by MR outlining the grounds.

1.  AOB

Advisors expressed interest into the multi-agency approach to training.

Date of next meeting: Tuesday 20 April 2021, TBC

Department/Division: CDD

Name: Stop and Search Scrutiny Panel

Location of meeting: MS Teams

Date: Tuesday 6 October 2020

Time: 17.00 – 19.00

 

1 Welcome

AB led round table introduction and welcomed new members.

2 Eastbourne District Stop Search Data

DL provided an overview of their role as Lewes & Eastbourne District Commander and presented to the group Eastbourne District Stop and Search data for the period 1^st July 2019 to 30^th June 2020.  During this period there were 622 searches made of which 550 were unique subjects (meaning the individual had only been stopped once). 72 searches self-identified as Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic, of which 68 were unique subjects.

Advisor feedback:

Advisors were concerned that the stop search data range for 10-17 year olds was too broad to extract meaningful insight and enquired whether parents or guardians of those stop searches had been notified. DL described how Sussex Police scrutinise all stop searches of under 18’s where police powers have been used and are currently looking at reviewing the policy to ensure that a child’s parent/guardian is always contacted, including those instances where informal stop and account has taken place.

DL outlined that 55.6% of stop searches conducted by police officers were self-initiated. This is where an officer has witnessed something which then leads them to instigate a stop search. Of those people stopped, 63.4% self-identified as either Black, Asian or from a Minority Ethnic background.

Advisors expressed concern at the high level of apparent disproportionality shown by the self-initiated stop search data and shared their own experiences of culturally specific social interaction which may be misconstrued by police officers as being a sign of illegal activity. Advisors asked what training Police officers received to better understand diverse aspects of cultural interaction, in order to avoid similar misinterpretations taking place in future. DL acknowledged the advisors concern and agreed there needed to be a greater understanding and awareness by police of different cultures. DL also affirmed that grounds for search must always be recorded. DL presented data to the group which showed apparent disproportionality of Eastbourne District’s officers with the most recorded stop search. Advisors were interested to find out more about the outcomes of those searches, DL agreed to scrutinise the data further and update at future meetings.

DL then presented data showing what the outcomes were by different ethnicity of those who were found to have an object on them as a result of a stop search. Advisors expressed concern that the total number of ‘no further action’ (NFA) was 76.2% and sought further clarity around this statistic. NM provided the group with different examples of what NFA might mean for example, with regards to children being stopped and searched, depending on the item found, the outcome may be to speak informally with their parent and this would then be classed as NFA.

DL then provided an overview of the impact that the COVID pandemic had on policing and the community in Eastbourne. DL described that Operation Foresight was Sussex Police’s response for homeless people at the start of lock down who needed temporary accommodation. DL noted that Eastbourne had the highest amount of temporary accommodation sites within Sussex. The impact of this was that people from different parts of the county were being housed in Eastbourne which had seen a change in the types of offences being committed, such as anti-social behaviour and increased drug use. This operation was in place throughout the whole of lockdown and led to a number of arrests and recovery of drugs. DL stated Op Foresight had allowed Sussex Police to work closely with local stakeholders and partners in local housing, enabling the force to better understand who is being housed in the town. DL also described Operation Hyphen which resulted from Op Foresight and was in relation to drugs coming into Eastbourne from outside of the town including, from London and Southampton. DL commented on a dispersal operation that took place over the lockdown period in Gildredge Park. The park had seen large gatherings of youths and were having a negative impact on the local community and risked the potential spread of COVID. Advisors thanked DL for their time and looked forward to seeing requested updates at future meetings

• Action: SB to bring data breakdown of 10-17 year olds stop search & the grounds for the stop search at the next meeting.
• Action: DL to bring data of 10-17 year olds linked to county lines for the next meeting.
• Action: DL to provide updated Eastbourne Officer stop search outcome data to the next meeting

3 District Data

DT presented the group 12 months District Stop Search Data by recorded ethnicity across Sussex.

Advisor feedback:

Advisors were keen to see more detailed statistics to include information around stop search statistics for 10-17 year olds at the next meeting.

Complaints

Between July and October 2020 Sussex Police received one complaint regarding a stop search that took place 10 years ago, where they did not receive a copy of the record of the search.

Advisors expressed that some individuals who have been stopped and searched may lack confidence to make a complaint and were concerned that the complaint/feedback procedure was not always robust enough to acknowledge those concerns. MR informed the group that there are a number of different ways individuals can make complaints/feedback. This can be done via the QR code on the back of the stop and search paper receipt, or via the stop and search record. DT informed the group that individuals should receive a receipt when stopped and searched, which includes details on how to give a complaint or feedback.

4 AOB

Advisors were keen to hear an update about recruitment promotions. DT informed the group there will be an update at the Race Advisory Group where the group will also get the chance to meet the new Race Equality Champion. With regards to support for people interested in applying for jobs in policing Sussex Police are really hopeful that once the COVID restrictions have been reduced the force will be able to engage more with communities to encourage a greater diversity of candidates into a policing career.

New agenda items:

• Grounds for why 10-17 year olds are stopped and searched with data from SB
• All district data for 10 – 17 year olds

 

Date of next meeting January 11 17.00-19.00 TBC

Title: Stop and Search Scrutiny Panel

Date: Friday 17 July 2020 1400-1530

Venue: MS Teams

ATTENDEE NAMES REDACTED

Item 1 – Welcome

AB welcomed the group, led round the table introductions and advisors agreed housekeeping rules for the meeting.

Item 2 – C19 Enforcement Notices – Disproportionality

SB provided an overview of Operation Apollo, which commenced on 23^rd March and was Sussex/Surrey Police’s joint response to policing challenges raised during the Covid-19 period, particularly data relating to disproportionality of fixed penalty notices issued during this period.

Op Apollo was classified as a critical and major incident.

• Critical incident: ‘any incident where the effectiveness of the police response is likely to have significant impact on the confidence of the victim, their family or the community’.

• Major incident: ‘an event or situation with a range of serious consequences which requires special arrangement to be implemented by one or more emergency responder agency’.

Op. Apollo coordinated the response of several public organisations including the Military, Fire and Rescue, local government & health authorities and other key partners as part of the Local Resilience Forum.

SB provided an overview of Fixed Penalty Notices (FPNs) that had been issued during the lockdown period since 23^rd March, and provided a detailed presentation looking at the 8^th May; which saw the greatest number of

FPNs issued and 12^th April; which showed the highest disproportionality. The presentation included the ethnicity, age and area traveling from by those who received fines, as well as the grounds provided by the issuing officer for scrutiny and feedback from advisors. SB also stated that the Home Office was due to publish peer reviewed national Police FPN figures taken during this period and agreed to make this available to advisors when it was released.

SB described the four step plan Sussex Police employed to policing the community during the pandemic: Engaging, Explaining, Encouraging and finally Enforcement. SB Stated it was Sussex Police’s priority to police by consent and maintain community cooperation through positive engagement during this period.

Advisors expressed concern that mixed messages from the media and government had caused confusion, with constantly changing regulations. Advisors also explained that people might have been more reassured had they known this plan for the ‘4 E’s’ was in place. SB agreed with advisors that this had been a challenging time for Sussex Police who often had to interpret and apply guidance from the government which sometimes lacked clarity, he recognised that there were lessons for Sussex Police to learn, particularly around public messaging and thanked advisors for their input.

SB explained to advisors that Sunday the 12^th of April showed the greatest disproportionality of BAME FPN recipients (46 in total of which 9 identified as BAME in Brighton alone) and invited advisors to provide feedback on the recorded grounds which were shared. Advisors were in broad agreement that the FPNs were fairly issued but would like to understand in more detail the circumstances of these engagements and the criteria employed to determine when FPN’s were issued. SB stated that it was a challenge to provide information in such granular detail due to the sheer volume of interactions that took place during this time (in the tens of thousands) but understood advisors concerns in relation to transparency and ensuring public trust in the police was maintained.

SB shared data indicating that the most FPNs were issued on 8^th May, which was VE day and a public holiday. 104 FPNs were issued across Sussex, 6% self-identified as BAME. 88 of those fines were issued to people who were not Sussex residents. SB asked advisors to consider the ethical dilemma of whether fines should be issued to every member of a group engaged or just to a nominated individual. Advisors felt the ticket should be issued to everyone present as this would reduce the opportunity for bias to take place and as the enforcement stage was the last step in the four part process, advisers felt people had already been afforded every opportunity to comply with the legislation. Advisors commented on how the negative publicity surrounding the activities of certain government officials/advisors during this period had made the police’s role of enforcement much more difficult and were concerned about how enforcement of the forthcoming face mask regulations would be accepted by the public especially if double standards were perceived to be employed. Other advisors agreed and felt consistency of approach was important in order to manage community perceptions of what is going on; they highlighted the apparent discrepancy shown between the ways beachgoers at Bournemouth or Liverpool fans were not moved on by police, whereas a pre-arranged Black Lives Matter event in London attracted police attention, and subsequent outbreak of public disorder.

Action: SB to find out how many under 18’s had their tickets issued to their parents. SB explained that 4 tickets were issued to parents over the whole force during lockdown.

Item 3 – District Data – Times More Likely

DT provided an overview of Sussex Stop and Search disproportionality at district level. The data included ethnicity % for each district for contrasting proportionality. Advisors requested that the next meeting would scrutinise the data for Eastbourne District, with future meetings to consider Rother and Wealden district data and also to consider adding age as an aspect to stop/search scrutiny

Item 5 - AOB

DJ asked advisors for suggestions around ways Sussex Police can be better informed about developing Stop and Search issues at a more local

SB thanked all for attending the meeting.

 

Date of Next Meeting 8 October

Stop and Search Scrutiny Panel

Tuesday 14^th January 2020 18:00-20:00

Sussex Police Headquarters, Church Lane, Lewes BN7 2DZ

Attendees Names Redacted

1. Welcome

AB welcomed attendees, introductions were made and previous minutes were summarised.

2. Previous Actions

Action 22: Circulate Comparative Stop Search Statics: Sent out with previous minutes.

Action 23: Advisors requested data relating to S163 that led to a S/S or arrest at future meeting: Data was provided during the meeting.

Action 24: Disproportionality data for Gatwick to be presented at the January meeting: Arranged as agenda Item for January.

Action 25: SB to send training dates to panel members: SB awaiting confirmation from training, and will disseminate once received.

Action 26: DT to schedule future meetings 6-8pm: Actioned for future meetings.

3. Gatwick Stop and Search / Use of Force Data

MC gave an overview of Gatwick demographics and described how unlike other police districts, Gatwick has no resident population with which to compare proportionality. Gatwick airport serves customers from around the globe and in the UK; providing domestic and international flights. The Airport operator does not record the ethnicity of customers and due to the unique nature of the policing role at Gatwick, passengers are likely to face greater scrutiny from police, to counter the threat posed by terrorism, human trafficking and modern day slavery. MC presented data indicating 141 Stop Searches conducted in Gatwick over the last 12 months. Of these 62(43.97%) were conducted on BAME subjects, and of those 33.3% resulted in an item being found. MC provided verbatim examples of Stop Search grounds for discussion within the group.

Feedback and Advice

Advisors thank MC for the presentation. Advisors asked if the recorded grounds for Stop and Search were similar to those conducted across Sussex communities. MC explained that the grounds were very similar, but the secure environment meant that different legislation was used by various government departments. The complexity of this forms a key part of officer’s induction when joining the Gatwick Policing team. JI inquired why the volume of BAME Stop Searches was so high in comparison to typical district activity. MC explained that visitors to the airport included UK and Global travellers; on business and vacation, and without meaningful data regarding their ethnicity it was not possible to explore proportionality in the same way as Sussex Police does for districts. AB observed the similarity between outcomes for BAME and non BAME. JM asked whether searches are conducted in public or there is a private room. MC confirmed they typically utilise private areas for the initial Search, and any further action would involve taking an individual to the local custody centre for further searching. Advisors asked about gender presentation of police at the airport, MC explained it was almost equal in number, although there were increasing efforts to encourage more women into firearms roles.

4. Quality Assurance Body Worn Video (BWV)

SB played BWV footage of stop search activity conducted on New Year’s Eve with a group of men. The video showed the procedure the officers followed before and during the search, for panel members to assess how closely procedures were followed.

8 assessment independent assessments completed, comment included:

• Footage illustrated a chaotic situation with multiple searches at the same time and hard to hear everything going
• Officers were very polite and generally good
• Search carried out professionally in view of several other loud people. Stop and Search records

16 Stop and Search records were assessed as follows:

Grounds

• 1 x Very good, clear grounds noted
• 12 x Sufficient grounds
• 3 x Vague detail in grounds

Other comments

• 6 x No BWV indicated
• 1 x ‘Receipt not required’ did not say if offered

5. District Disproportionality Data

DT provided an overview of Sussex Stop and Search disproportionality at district level. The data included ethnicity % for each district (based on census 2011) for contrasting proportionality. Panel members requested data relating to Roads Policing for detailed presentation and scrutiny at the next meeting.

6. Complaints

There were three complaints received since the last meeting. Details were provided for each, including outcomes, and panel members shared views on how they had been resolved.

7. AOB

Next Meeting: Tuesday 7^th April 2020 18:00-20.00, Sussex Police HQ, Lewes

Stop and Search Scrutiny Panel

Tuesday 23 July 2019 18:00-19:30

Sussex Police Headquarters, Church Lane, Lewes BN7 2DZ

Attendees

AB                               Chair

JH                                Deputy Chair

SC                                Panel member

LS                                Panel member

MA                              Panel Member

TS                                 Panel Member

SL                                 Prevention Inspector

MR                             Local Policing Support Team

RB                                Local Policing Support Team

DT                                Diversity Team, Sussex Police

MS                              Diversity Team, Sussex Police Names will be redacted when published on the internet Apologies: HH, CY, DH, IAST,AN,JM,CW, JM,ML

1. Welcome

AB welcomed attendees, introductions were made and previous minutes were summarised.

2. Previous Actions

Action 14: DJ/DT to circulate recruitment poster examples to Advisors. Attached to minutes

Action 15: DJ/DT to arrange for contact centre to provide an input at the RAG meeting on how they respond to 101 contact from people where English is not their first language. This was an agenda item at the June RAG meeting.

Action 16: SB/DT include district ethnicity % in future district overview reports. Data now included.

Action 17: Advisors requested that disproportionality data for Horsham district should be scrutinized at the July meeting. July agenda.

Action 18: DJ to arrange with Sgt Peter Allan for S/S data for next TNBI ERG. This was an agenda item at the July TRANS ERG meeting.

Action 19: MLeF/DJ to send e-poster to be distributed to wider networks. Sent with previous minutes.

3. Horsham District Stop and Search /Use of Force Data

SL provided an overview of the 386 Stop Searches (S/S) conducted in Horsham District between April 2018 and March 2019. 27% resulted in an item being found and in 49% of those interventions police found what they were looking for. SL added that of the 23 subjects identified as black, only two were local Horsham residents, none were repeat subjects. SL outlined two case studies which showed different grounds for intervention when S/S was carried out. SL gave an overview of Supervisor Scrutiny and the District focus was to improve the volume of supervisor comments.

Feedback and Advice: Advisors thanked SL for the presentation. Some advisors expressed their concern about the breakdown of the figures shown in the charts used throughout the presentation, as a considerable percentage of the S/S conducted was categorised under “unknown” with no further details .Advisors requested more clarification and more accurate measures to be taken into consideration for the future records.

Action 20: MR, to clarify at the next meeting.

JI emphasised the importance of clearly recording legitimate grounds before conducting S/S.

The advisors asked whether the presentation could be prepared earlier so they could look at it in advance.

4. Quality Assurance:

Stop Search Records

MR returned the following results from the panel’s scrutiny of 13 S/S records during the meeting: 12 x sufficient grounds 1 x insufficient grounds

Detail in records

8x Body Worn Video,

5x indicated they did not record on BWV.

4 x Indicated ‘no receipt offered’ because of arrest.

1 x Had no detail after a Stanley knife was found and indicated NFA. Upon further investigation everything was recorded in detail on another force system relating to call.

1 x Questioned due to lack of grounds. This was a section 60 authorisation search which allows an officer to stop without suspicions on a particular individual.

5. District Disproportionality Data

DT provided an overview of Sussex S/S disproportionality at district level between July 2018 and June ’19. The data included ethnicity % for each district (based on census 2011) for contrasting proportionality. There were a number of districts which showed levels of disproportionality for S/S conducted on BAME subjects as a proportion of overall population. It was noted that the presented data did not distinguish between S/S that were conducted on individuals who lived outside of the district and those who were local residents.

Hastings recorded 384 S/S in the last year, 46 of those were black subjects, resulting in ratio of black subjects being 11 times more likely to be S/S that white subjects.

Action 20: Advisors requested that disproportionality data for Hastings district at the October meeting and Worthing in January should be scrutinized.

6. Complaints, Stop Search

MR updated on two complaints that had been submitted to Sussex Police since last meeting. The two complainants were both white males.

• The first complainant wasn’t happy that he was S/S by a number of officers which he deemed to be excessive and that he was S/S in front of his children and whilst wearing his company’s
• The second complainant was exiting a field that he had been carrying out pest control in when he was S/S by officers who had reports from the public of shots being fired .He explained to the officers that he had a firearms licence and permission from the land owner but the officers searched his vehicle the complainant considers that they didn’t have legitimate grounds to either search his vehicle or inspect his

7. AOB:

TS recounted a personal experience of a S/S, which was conducted on him in a manner that suggested he was singled out because of his ethnicity.

Action 21: DT to liaise the matter with the relevant team - MR and AL. Next Meeting:

Date of Next Meeting: Tue 22 October 18:00-19.30, Sussex Police HQ, Lewes