Reforming Police Powers of Stop And Search: Voluntary Action
| Author | Neil Parpworth |
| Published date | 01 December 2014 |
| Date | 01 December 2014 |
| DOI | http://doi.org/10.1350/pojo.2014.87.4.677 |
| Subject Matter | Articles |
Police Journal: Theory, Practice and Principles Volume 87(4) (2014)
234
Reforming Police Powers of Stop And Search:
Voluntary Action
Neil Parpworth*
Leicester De Montfort Law School
Keywords: stop and search; reforms; voluntary nature; legislative threat
Introduction
30 April 2014 may in hindsight prove to be a significant date in the history of statutory stop and search powers,
since it was on this day that the Home Secretary, Theresa May MP, made a statement to the House of Commons
in which she set out what she claimed was a ‘comprehensive package of reform’1 in relation to such powers. The
subject matter of her statement was not new, the issue of the use of stop and search powers by police officers being
a continuing controversy which has beset all of her predecessors at the Home Office since the Police and Criminal
Evidence Act 1984 (PACE) was enacted. Indeed, the present incumbent had cause to make a statement to MPs on
the same subject less than a year earlier.2 For present purposes, it is both necessary and appropriate to put to one
side the political jousting which accompanied the statement as the Home Secretary and her shadow sought to blame
one another’s party for the present state of the law and practice relating to stop and search. We shall focus instead on
what the Coalition Government intends to do to improve a situation which has persisted for far too long, and which
one MP described as ‘a stain on British policing’.3
Background
The Home Secretary’s statement was made in conjunction with the publication of a summary of responses to a public
consultation on stop and search powers (Home Office, 2014b). It also followed a nationwide inspection on this aspect
of policing carried out by Her Majesty’s Inspectorate of Constabulary (HMIC) across the 43 police forces in England
and Wales (HMIC, 2013). Although not directly mentioned in Parliament on this occasion, the statement was also
made against the backdrop of work undertaken by the Equality and Human Rights Commission with a number of
police forces, including the Leicestershire Constabulary and the Metropolitan Police, where the police’s own statistics
relating to stop and searches suggested that in some forces the powers were being used in a racially disproportionate
way (Equality and Human Rights Commission, 2012, 2013).
Abstract: The police use of statutory stop and search powers is an ongoing cause for concern. Research
evidence dating back a number of years suggests that the misuse of such powers is commonplace. It has long
been recognised that the important relationship between the police and the communities which they serve
can be severely damaged where innocent people are routinely stopped and searched for no good reason. The
Home Secretary has recently announced in Parliament a package of reforms aimed at reducing the overall use
of stop and search powers, ensuring that stops and searches are more intelligence-led, and improving the ratio
between the number of encounters and arrests made. Significantly, the proposed reforms are largely voluntary
in nature. Their content is therefore particularly important, as is their potential take-up by police forces. There
are sound reasons for believing that they may be a prelude to legislative reform in this area of policing.
* njp@dmu.ac.uk
DOI: 10.1350/pojo.2014.87.4.677
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