Vox Pop: Should the police halt the use of stop and search?

NO
Shauneen Lambe, director, Just for Kids Law

No – but the discriminatory use of stop and search and the use of stop and search where there is little or no cause for suspicion should be stopped.

There should be greater accountability as to when and why stop and search is used. Currently, young people are stopped because they allegedly “fit the description” – this is far too open to abuse, is completely arbitrary and hands too much power to the police.

The young people we work with at Just for Kids Law are given this reason time and again and there is very little they can do to object.



YES
Gaelle Tavernier, co-ordinator, The Right Track Project

Research has shown that stop and search “racial profiling” by police is on the increase.

Following the riots last year in Hackney we interviewed young people to understand the underlying causes. The anger at the police was highlighted as a cause of young people going to the streets.

We would like the police to protect young people from gangs and prevent criminality rather than conducting searches that humiliate teenagers. Stop and search simply builds up young people’s anger against the system rather than making them feeling safe in the street.



NO
Deputy Commissioner Craig Mackey, lead on stop and search, Association of Chief Police Officers (Acpo)

Chief officers support the use of stop and search as these powers are critical in our efforts to tackle knife, gun and gang crimes.

It is important that there is a debate about the effectiveness of these police tactics as we seek to balance the impact of powers, like section 60 of the Criminal Justice and Public Order Act, on our communities with the need to protect communities from crime.

Chief officers, through Acpo, have been working for some time with the Equality and Human Rights Commission, as well as partners within the police service, including the National Policing Improvement Agency, to ensure that stop and search is used proportionately and with the full support of the communities we serve.



YES
Symeon Brown, 24, Haringey Young People Empowered

Police decision making must be evidence-led and at present the data is not showing that stop and search is uncovering significant numbers of weapons.

The best way to make our streets safer is for communities to work with the police. However, if stop and search is polarising large groups of young people and their communities, preventing them from doing so, then we need to consider why it is not working.

If the consequence of stop and search is increased tension, why use it?