Her Majesty’s Inspectorate of Constabulary (HMIC) has revisited
19 forces shown by a 2015 inspection as not complying with one or
two elements of the Best Use of Stop and Search (BUSS) scheme.
The HMIC report published today sets out that 15 forces were
conforming with the scheme; of the four forces not compliant at
the time of revisit, two have demonstrated that they now meet the
terms of the scheme.
Although too late to be reflected in the report findings, HMIC is
aware that Northamptonshire has also now taken steps to publish
their stop and search data, while Derbyshire is in the process of
doing so.
Her Majesty’s Inspector Mike Cunningham, who led the inspection,
said:
“I am pleased that the vast majority of forces are now meeting
the standards set out in the BUSS scheme. At the time of
the revisit, four forces were still to implement one aspect of
the scheme. As our report shows, two of those forces have
since demonstrated that they have taken steps to remedy this.
The latest information from Northamptonshire Police
indicates that it has now also taken steps to do so, while
Derbyshire Constabulary is yet to be fully compliant.
“Stop and Search powers are some of the most intrusive
powers the police have, and, used correctly, are a legitimate
form of combating crime. However, used incorrectly, they
can erode the relationship between police officers and the
communities they serve. That’s why it’s so important that
all forces scrupulously demonstrate that they use these powers
appropriately.”
The BUSS scheme was introduced by the Home Office in 2014 to
improve transparency and community involvement, in order to help
increase public confidence and trust in the powers and all 43
forces voluntarily signed up to it . As part of PEEL inspections
in 2015, HMIC assessed the compliance with the scheme of each of
the 43 police forces across England and Wales. Subsequently, 13
forces found to be non-compliant with the scheme were suspended
from the scheme by the Home Secretary in February 2016 and a
further 19 forces were put on notice. In July 2016 we revisited
the 13 suspended forces and reported our findings in September
2016. In November 2016 we revisited the 19 on-notice forces.
HMIC will continue to consider the use of stop and search powers
more widely as part of our 2017/2018 PEEL legitimacy inspections.
Notes to editors
- In 2014, the Home Office and College of Policing launched
the Best Use of Stop and
Search (BUSS) scheme, with the aims of achieving greater
transparency, community involvement in the use of stop and
search powers and to support a more intelligence-led approach,
leading to better outcomes.
- In 2015, HMIC assessed the 43 forces’ compliance with each
feature of the scheme, as part of our 2015 PEEL Legitimacy
inspection. That inspection identified that only 11 forces
were complying with all five features of the scheme; 19 forces
were not complying with one or two features of the scheme and
13 forces were not complying with three or more features.
- In November 2016, HMIC reviewed force websites,
the police.uk website and
documents submitted to us by forces, to reassess each force’s
compliance with the feature(s) of the scheme with which they
were non-compliant in 2015.
- 4. The 19 forces subject to a
revisit inspection in 2016 were: City of London;
Cleveland; Derbyshire; Devon and Cornwall; Dorset; Durham; Essex;
Greater Manchester; Hertfordshire; Humberside; Kent; Merseyside;
Metropolitan; Northamptonshire; North Wales; North Yorkshire;
South Yorkshire; Surrey; and West Midlands. HMIC revisited these
forces in the summer of 2016. 13 forces were not complying with
three or more features of the scheme.
- The 13 forces that were not complying with three or more
features were revisited in July 2016 and a report was published in
September 2016.
Full
report