Ethics Committee to Scrutinise Use Of 'Stop & Search' In Sussex

Friday, 28 May 2021 06:00

By Karen Dunn, Local Democracy Reporter

Sussex Police has been working to improve the scrutiny of its officers when it comes to the use of Stop & Search powers.

In 2020/21, more than 8,600 people were stopped, with a disproportionately high number being black.

Between October 2020 and March 2021, 3,120 white people were stopped, equating to 2.072 per 1,000 population, while 284 black people were stopped, equating to 19.935 per 1,000 population.

This disproportionality is a common factor across the country, with a report from Her Majesty’s Inspectorate of Constabulary and Fire & Rescue Services stating that ‘forces still do not fully understand the impact on individuals and communities of the use of police powers, despite Stop & Search data being available since the mid-1980s’.

In Sussex at least, though, the issue is being taken seriously.

During a meeting with Police & Crime Commissioner Katy Bourne, Deputy Chief Constable Julia Chapman said of Stop & Search:

“It is a really important tool for the police to use so that we can keep communities safe, and our drive is always to make sure that we use those powers lawfully, ethically and proportionately.

“There is a concern about disproportionality and we dedicate a lot of time to make sure we have really intensive scrutiny about our use of powers and also that we are always seeking to increase our engagement with communities to make sure that there is transparency around our processes and around our data as well.”

Ms Chapman told the meeting that a chairman had been appointed for a newly formed ethics committee which would start work in June.

Two-thirds of the committee will be members of the public.

Grounds for each Stop & Search will also be shared much earlier with an external scrutiny panel to allow its members more time to consider each incident.

Feedback from that panel – which is chaired by an independent person – is given to the officers involved as well as their supervisors.

Ms Chapman said:

“We have really improved our recording processes over the last two years and as a result of that we have a much better measure of how our powers are used and those parts of the community who experience them, which I think is really important.”

She told the meeting that the Inspectorate had found 88 per cent of Stop & Search conducted by Sussex Police in 2020 were ‘good’ – there were reasonable grounds – compared to 85 per cent the year before.

The national average is 81.7 per cent.

She added:

“We’re not resting on our laurels. We’re always looking to improve all of the time to make sure we’ve got that good scrutiny.”

Stop & Search powers were introduced 35 years ago and disproportionality has been an ongoing issue.

The Inspectorate report said: “Disproportionality persists and no force can satisfactorily explain why.”