Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what assessment he has made of the impact of Stop and Search on the relationship between police officers and young BAME people.

The impact of stop and search on relations between officers and those searched, including those from BAME communities, is a priority for this Government. Reforms introduced by the Government and delivered by the police have led to significant improvements in this regard.
Code A of the Police and Criminal Evidence Act 1984, which governs conduct around searches, clearly states that officers must show “courtesy, consideration and respect” when carrying out searches, and that grounds for suspicion must be explained. Introduced in 2014, the Government’s “Best Use of Stop and Search” scheme also requires forces to adopt public observation schemes and complaints policies, so that individuals can observe stop and search in action and issues in the conduct of searches can be raised.

These reforms have worked. The arrest rate for searches is now the highest on record, and reports from HMICFRS show significant improvements in the conduct of searches in the last 5 years. We do, however, remain aware of concerns related to the impact of searches on communities, and will continue to work with the police to embed improvements, including around professionalism and community trust.