www.npia.police.uk

Improving the conduct of stop and search

Dr Paul Quinton, NPIAProf Betsy Stanko, Metropolitan PoliceCmdr Tony Eastaugh, Metropolitan Police

www.npia.police.uk

Improving stop and search?

Legitimacy

Effectiveness

Fairness Lawfulness

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Stop and search levels

Source: Bradford 2012

1.3m S&S encounters

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Stop and search arrest rates

Source: Bradford 2012

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Improving effectiveness?

• Limited & inconclusive evidence

• Arrest rate from PACE searches = 9%

S&S numbers = arrest rate

• At force level, there is no association between S&S rates & crime rates

• Focused policing activity in crime hot spots can reduce crime

• Would better targeted S&S be more effective? Would it affect fairness?

www.npia.police.uk

Improving lawfulness?

• Code A focuses on how to conduct a S&S, not when

• Reasonable suspicion is elastic & difficult to define

• The same standard is required for an arrest

• But observational research suggests some searches are based on weak grounds

• Possible reasons? – Officer discretion & low visibility to supervisors– The law not reflecting the realities of policing– Decision-making based on practical rules-of-thumb – The specificity of suspect descriptions & intelligence briefings– Traditional class room based training– Few consequences

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Improving fairness?

• Qualitative research suggests the public’s support for S&S is conditional on:– how S&S is used & targeted by the police– the attitudes & behaviour of the officers involved– the reasons for S&S being valid, genuine & credible

• Negative experiences were more common than positive experiences & more easily remembered

• Key issues for the public: – Experience of officers being patronising, arrogant, aggressive &

intimidating– Not being given a reason for an encounter– Feeling unfairly targeted

www.npia.police.uk

Why is fairness important?

• Experiences of policing shape public motivations to cooperate with police & not break the law

• Fair decision-making & respectful treatment can enhance police legitimacy, which helps to:

– build a sense of shared values – make people feel valued by & part of society – create a sense of obligation & responsibility

• Unfair treatment sends out a clear message…

Our rules do not apply to you – you’re not a valued member of society!

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Legitimacy

Why is fairness important?

Risk of sanction

Moral alignment with police

Compliance &

cooperation

Trust in police effectiveness

Trust in policefairness

Personal morality

Obligation to obey

www.npia.police.uk

Legitimacy

Why is fairness important?

Risk of sanction

Moral alignment with police

Compliance &

cooperation

Trust in police effectiveness

Trust in policefairness

Personal morality

Obligation to obey

www.npia.police.uk

Legitimacy

Why is fairness important?

Risk of sanction

Moral alignment with police

Compliance &

cooperation

Trust in police effectiveness

Trust in policefairness

Personal morality

Obligation to obey

www.npia.police.uk

Legitimacy

Why is fairness important?

Risk of sanction

Moral alignment with police

Compliance &

cooperation

Trust in police effectiveness

Trust in policefairness

Personal morality

Obligation to obey

www.npia.police.uk

Legitimacy

Why is fairness important?

Risk of sanction

Moral alignment with police

Compliance &

cooperation

Trust in police effectiveness

Trust in policefairness

Personal morality

Obligation to obey

www.npia.police.uk

Legitimacy

Why is fairness important?

Risk of sanction

Moral alignment with police

Compliance &

cooperation

Trust in police effectiveness

Trust in policefairness

Personal morality

Obligation to obey

www.npia.police.uk

Legitimacy

National survey results

Risk of sanction

Moral alignment with police

Compliance &

cooperation

Trust in police effectiveness

Trust in policefairness

Personal morality

Obligation to obey

www.npia.police.uk

The impact of S&S on trust

Types of contact Quality of contact Effect on trust in police fairness

Police-initiated Positive Neutral

Negative Negative

Public-initiated Positive Slightly positive

Negative Negative

• The effect of police contact on trust is asymmetrical

• Bad contact is very bad

• Good contact is only a little bit good (at best)

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The bottom line

• By making fair decisions, explaining them & being respectful, the police can encourage people to be more socially responsible

• This is not just about being nice!

• Fair encounters may not be enough – legacy issues & the volume of police contact

• There are significant risks of being unfair

• ‘Trust arrives on foot & leave on horseback’

• What goes around, comes around – fairness at work

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What might help?

• There are significant gaps in the evidence base

• Robust studies are needed to find out ‘what works’

• A newly formed NPIA / MPS collaboration to test an intervention aimed at improving the conduct of S&S

– Scripted encounters? Queensland random breath test experiment

– Practice based & reflective learning? Chicago quality interaction training experiment GMP / NPIA victim contact training experiment

– More active supervision?

– Better targeting towards crime hot spots?