Real Policing

The stop & search form was introduced in the 1990s as a result of recommendations made by Sir William Macpherson in his report on the inquiry into the 1993 murder of Stephen Lawrence.  Sir William recommended that all “stops” and “stop and searches” be recorded with the record including the reason for the stop, the outcome, and the self-defined ethnic identity of the person stopped.  The stopped person must also be provided with a copy of the record.  The form itself differs in length from one force to another.  In terms of time it can take at least ten minutes to complete a single form on the street and a further 20-30 minutes to complete the rear of the form back at the station.  The rear serves as an intelligence report which is forwarded to the local intelligence team for updating of the intelligence database although in some forces officers are able to update the intell database directly.  The stop & search form is widely considered to contain some valuable information but is particularly bureaucratic and takes too long to complete.  Therefore, it rather begs the question exactly what information is necessary to record in respect of a stop & search and whether a form is the best (or only) way to record such information.

The stop & search form provides a record to a person detained for the purpose of a search based on a suspect description, suspicious behaviour or actions, or other intelligence.  The information and analysis of a force’s stop & search records is reviewed by police authorities and Her Majesty’s Inspectorate of Constabulary.  The form is also understood to safeguard ethnic minorities against discriminatory police tactics and prevent the stopping and searching of individuals on the basis of race alone.  In truth, completion of an obligatory form will not prevent a police officer from stopping and searching an individual on the basis of race although it does compel the officer to state which statutory power he/she has used to justify the stop & search and the grounds for doing so.  Such grounds may be the subject of dispute if a complaint against the officer is made.  Therefore, the grounds for search are important considerations regardless of the searched person’s race.  

It is worth noting that a person is under no obligation to provide their name and address to a police officer for the purpose of a search.  During completion of the stop & search form the detained person classifies their ethnicity alongside the officer’s perception of their ethnicity.  The detainee is then asked to confirm the descriptive details and sign the record to verify they have received a copy although they are under no obligation to do so.  If, as in the majority of cases, the detained person chooses not to take a copy of the search record they can present themselves at the officer’s station within a year of the date of search to obtain their copy.  In such cases it is not uncommon for officers to take details to complete the form back at the station for intelligence purposes with no real likelihood that the searched person will present themselves within a year for their copy.  Where the form is completed at the roadside there are those who will gleefully tear it up in front of the officer or screw it into a ball and throw it in the nearest bin.  The fact that corners have begun to be cut, particularly when searching large groups of people (which presents practical problems completing several forms on the street, see “When Tricks Are No Treat, November 2007) suggests that a more efficient form of good practice must be established. 

It is also worth noting that other developed countries of a mixed ethnic composition have no equivalent of a stop & search form.  As a result, it is a question of some debate whether ethnic minorities in those countries feel more vulnerable and less protected as a result and whether, conversely, ethnic minorities in the United Kingdom feel less vulnerable and better protected for the form’s existence.  The question remains whether it is necessary that the information gathered during a stop & search procedure should result in a foot long form which takes too much time, both on and off the street, to complete.  Furthermore, it is entirely feasible that the information can be captured using more efficient means which will not result in a loss of information.  As for the Government’s initiative of palm pilots or similar devices of technological wizardry it is still wide of the mark, overlooks the technology which officers already have and leaves one wondering from where will the money come?

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml;jsessionid=THU21044LKVNHQFIQMGSFFOAVCBQWIV0?xml=/news/2008/01/30/nsearch330.xml