Summary
The report examines the role that stops and searches play in policing, considering both the evidence for the effectiveness of searches against crime, and their impact on the community. Findings indicate that, while searches play some role in tackling crime and lead to about a tenth of arrests nationally, they appear to have only a small impact on the detection and prevention of recorded or reported crime. The report also confirms that searches tend to have a negative impact on public confidence in the police. Bad feeling results, at least in part, from a perception by individuals stopped and searched that police officers are not polite and do not provide adequate explanations for stopping them. There is, however, in principle, support for both stops and searches, provided they are used properly. The report recommends ways in which police forces need to minimise the negative impacts of stops and searches on local community confidence, while maximising their effectiveness against crime. Emphasis is placed on forces making an efficient and targeted use of searches based on intelligence and high levels of suspicion, and focusing on more serious crimes and more prolific offenders. This report is the first of six to be published on stops and searches as a result of the report of the "Inquiry into the Death of Stephen Lawrence". This report highlighted the lack of trust and confidence felt by ethnic minorities in police use of stops and searches, but recommended retention of search powers as necessary for the prevention and detection of crime.
Contents
1. Introduction. -- 2. Searches in context. -- 2.1. The use of searches. -- 2.2. The focus of searches. -- 2.3. Variations between police forces. -- 2.4. Police officers' views on searches. -- 2.5. Summary. -- 3. Fighting crime. -- 3.1. How do searches work against crime? -- 3.2. Getting the best out of searches. -- 3.3. Summary. -- 4. Community impact. -- 4.1. Public attitudes to stops and searches. -- 4.2. Experiences of being stopped or searched. -- 4.3. Minimising problems with the public. -- 4.4. Summary. -- 5. Conclusions and recommendations. -- Appendix A: Statistical model of satisfaction with the police.