Stop and search - potential changes must be fully debated

David Lenton on 31 January 2008 at 22:23

Tags: change, changes, gla, greater london, greater london authority, london, met, met police, metropolitan police authority, metropolitan police service, mpa, mps, news, police, police force, police officer, police service, policing, press release, press releases, review, stop and account, stop and search,

04/08
31 January 2008

Commenting on the national debate on a review of police stop and account powers, John Roberts, MPA lead member for stop and search scrutiny, said:

“Stop and search and stop and account powers are vital tools in the fight against crime and terrorism, as long as they are used with respect and sensitivity.

“The Metropolitan Police Authority closely scrutinises the use of these powers and the way in which they impinge on our communities. Any move to widen their use, eliminate the need for police to have reasonable suspicion of an offence having been committed, or scrapping the stop and account form must be fully debated and the views of our communities sought and listened to before any final decisions are taken.

“There is a lot of speculation at the moment around this issue. The MPA will await publication of Sir Ronnie Flanagan’s review and announcement of the government’s intentions before we decide upon our detailed response.

“We reply on strong community-police relations and if we are to retain public trust and support, stop and search powers must be used fairly as part of intelligence-led policing.

“We all want to see less bureaucracy to free up police to spend even more time on the streets as long as we retain full accountability of their actions.

“Police stops are one of the most contentious policing issues for London’s black, Asian and ethnic minority communities, and we therefore need to ensure that police use of these powers is acceptable to and supported by all concerned.”

Notes to Editors

In 2003-04 the MPA conducted a comprehensive review of stop and search powers used by the Met, which resulted in 55 recommendations that improved the way they were used in London and increased accountability.

The introduction of Recommendation 61 of the Stephen Lawrence Inquiry Report led to the requirement for police to give those they stopped and questioned a record of the stop.

The MPA is currently reviewing a proposed revised MPS stop and search and account form, which once approved will be piloted in a number of London boroughs before being rolled out across the capital. The revisions cut the length of the form by half. The introduction of handheld computers for police expected later in the year should also speed up the process.

Further media information

For further information, please contact the MPA press office.

Metropolitan Police Authority - January meeting

Celia Prentice on 28 January 2008 at 16:08

Tags: full authority, January 2008, meeting, mpa, news, press release, press releases,

03/08
28 January 2008

A meeting of the Metropolitan Police Authority (MPA) will be held in meeting room 1 (ground floor), 10 Dean Farrar Street, London SW1 on Thursday 31 January 2008 at 10.00 a.m.

Members of the Authority will review two reports which outline the progress made by the MPA and Metropolitan Police Service to implement the recommendations made in ‘Counter-Terrorism: The London Debate’ in the year since its publication in February 2007.

Len Duvall, chair of the MPA, said:

“These reports provide sound evidence that the recommendations made in our ground breaking report ‘Counter Terrorism: The London Debate’ are being implemented. The report outlined 46 recommendations for the MPS, which are either in place or being progressed. Recommendations concerning other bodies, such as government and police authorities, have been taken forward by MPA members and policy officers.

“The threat posed by international terrorism is significant and evolving, and the terrorist atrocities of recent years have necessitated developments in counter-terrorism strategy. It can no longer be the sole responsibility of counter-terrorism specialists but will require a sustained and collective effort from state and communities alike. The whole police family must work with partners and local authorities to help create an environment hostile to terrorists, by raising awareness and vigilance amongst their colleagues outside the police service. By working with local communities, the Met is doing much more to engage young people, faith organisations and businesses in the fight against international terrorism.

“The Met’s approach to counter-terrorism has helped to inform the government’s national strategy with new emphasis on preventative tactics and ensuring that local authorities make counter-terrorism part of core business. Police authorities also have a role to play by significantly increasing their scrutiny of counter-terrorist strategies within their police forces.“

Other items on the agenda include:

• The London Race Hate Crime Forum;
• London ‘101’; and
• MPS business group update: Directorate of Information.

Commissioner Sir Ian Blair will give an update on operational policing issues in London and present a written performance report. Please note: the Commissioner's update will take place as near to 12:00 as possible, discussion permitting.

Further media information

For further information, please contact the MPA press office 

"Tell it like it is" - MPA seeks young people's views on policing in London

Celia Prentice on 25 January 2008 at 12:14

Tags: crime, london, mpa, police, scrutiny, survey, young people, youth,

02/08
23 January 2008

The Metropolitan Police Authority wants to hear directly from young Londoners about their experiences of policing. The results of the MPA Youth Survey (www.mpa.gov.uk/issues/youth/survey.htm)  will help the Authority to make recommendations that will improve the service the Met provides to young people.

Launching the MPA Youth Survey, which asks young Londoners to share the experiences they and their friends have had of policing in the capital, MPA member Richard Sumray said:

"The MPA is carrying out a detailed scrutiny to explore the causes, effects and impacts of young people's involvement in crime as victims, witnesses and perpetrators, and how this influences their interactions and relationships with the MPS.

"An important aspect of our scrutiny is our willingness to hear directly from young people - in their own words - about the problems they face and what they believe would make a real difference. What do young people think would help improve the services both the police and partner agencies offer them?

"Many adult practitioners, professionals and commentators are currently airing their views on why young people become victims or perpetrators of crime.

"But we rarely hear the views of young people themselves. That's why we're talking directly to young people in focus groups and making our survey widely available to enable many more to participate. It's anonymous, can be completed online, and will help make a positive change."

The MPA hopes, through listening to London's young people, to:

• identify ways to reduce young people's involvement in crime as victims, witnesses and perpetrators
• improve the confidence of young people to report crime and engage with the police as witnesses
• halt the decline in age of young victims and perpetrators of crime
• address the criminalisation of young people in public discourse
• improve MPS strategy, policy and corporacy with regard to young people
• analyse how the MPS uses resources in this area; and
• improve the MPS's involvement in partnership work with young people.

It is important that young people themselves have a voice in this debate.

Notes to editors

The MPA Youth Survey is being circulated to youth groups in hard copy and is also available for young people to complete online at: www.mpa.gov.uk/issues/youth/survey.htm

Further information about the MPA Youth Scrutiny is available at:
www.mpa.gov.uk/issues/youth

Further media information

For further information, please contact the MPA press office 

MPA chair welcomes latest crime figures - but still more to do

David Lenton on 16 January 2008 at 10:27

Tags: 2007, crime, figures, gla, greater london, greater london authority, london, met, met police, metropolitan police authority, metropolitan police service, mpa, mps, news, police, police force, police officer, police service, policing, press release, press releases, statistics,

01/08
16 January 2008

Len Duvall, MPA chair, commenting on the latest London crime statistics released today, said:

"These figures show crime is going down in London. But even with this fall in figures we accept that Londoners are very concerned about crime in the capital and we must work harder to bring crime down further still.

"Throughout the 2007 calendar year there was a welcome downward trend across all crime categories, apart from gun-enabled crime. Rape and robbery are at their lowest level for nine years and murder for eight years.

"Crimes against the person, including rape, racism, homophobic and domestic violence, are all down compared to the previous year, but there is an element of under reporting in these categories. Although knife enabled crime fell by 13% this figure has to be seen in the light of very tragic incidents during 2007.

"There are no simple solutions to address violence among young people. But personally I do not believe that we should be tempted into gimmicky, knee-jerk responses to tragic incidents, particularly when tackling crime involving young people who are determined to harm each other. The MPA and the Met, along with our partners in the community, need to develop comprehensive strategies that effectively deal with this type of criminality.

"Strong partnerships are key to solving some of the long-term problems we face and it is good to see that the public and communities are responding to the investment we have made in neighbourhood policing. Safer Neighbourhoods teams are working together with our principal partners in local government and I want to thank our other partners and communities across London, all of whom reinforce successful policing. We are working hard with our partners to try to reduce crime in our communities. We must provide a service that is quick to respond to incidents as well as one that is developing longer-term problem solving initiatives to prevent crime.

"We want to see continued, significant progress and even better results in the future. But in the meantime, I commend our hard-working police officers and staff, and all those who support their efforts, for another successful year."

Notes to editors

1.Total notifiable offences in 2007 fell by 6.1 percent, resulting in 56,784 fewer offences recorded between January and December 2007 (876,298), compared with the same period in 2006 (933,082).

2. Recorded rape offences were down 14.6%, a fall of 345 recorded offences over the previous calendar year. Domestic violence, racist crime and homophobic crime were all down, collectively by more than 26%.

3. The overall sanction detection rate, which identifies those crimes where the offenders have been identified and dealt with, also increased from 20.5% to 24.1%, exceeding the 24% target set for the Met by the Metropolitan Police Authority (MPA).

4. Gun enabled crime rose by 4% (132 offences), although there was no increase in the numbers of people killed by the use of firearms in crime during 2007.

5. Knife enabled crime fell by 13%, or 1,602 fewer offences in 2007, compared with 2006. In 2007 there were 10,699 reported knife enabled crimes, compared with 12,301 for 2006.

Further media information

For further information, please contact the MPA press office