HC Deb 27 July 1999 vol 336 cc267-8W
Mr. Beith

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what assessment he has made of the accuracy of police stop and search statistics; and if he will make a statement. [92889]

Mr. Boateng

Police forces submit statistics on the number of recorded stops and searches under the Police and Criminal Evidence Act 1984 (PACE) annually to the Home Office. These are published in 'Statistics on Race and the Criminal Justice System', a copy of which is available in the Library.

The Government accept that there is likely to be a disparity between the number of stops and searches made by the police under the PACE and the number of stops and searches recorded by police officers. Home Office research 'Ethnic Monitoring in police forces: A beginning' (FitzGerald and Sibbitt 1997) noted variations in the recorded use of stop and search under PACE in different police areas, with the possibility that under-recording is higher in the provincial forces than in the Metropolitan Police Service.

There is also likely to be a higher public perception of stops given that most people do not distinguish between voluntary non-recorded stops, and stops carried out under PACE which should be recorded.

Edmonton Police Division stop and search, 1994–98
1994 1995 1996 1997 1998
Total Searches (including unattended vehicles) 4,419 3,039 2,088 4,721 5,237
Percentage of people searched who were black 18.4 17.8 25.0 21.8 22.7
Percentage of people searched subsequently arrested 12.9 10.4 12.5 9.9 12.8

Enfield Police Division stop and search, 1994–98
1994 1995 1996 1997 1998
Total Searches (including unattended vehicles) 6,128 7,546 5,142 3,835 4,474
Percentage of people searched who were black 6.3 7.5 8.4 10.1 9.9
Percentage of people searched subsequently arrested 17.0 16.3 16.3 13.7 12.0

The Stephen Lawrence report recommended that a record be made of all stops and stops and searches, including "voluntary" stops. The Home Office is considering further this recommendation and has commissioned research to gather information on current practices within forces with a view to testing the practical implications of the Inquiry's recommendations. The Metropolitan Police Service has been running its own pilot projects to help develop a plan to manage the tactic fairly and effectively. The Home Office will work with the Metropolitan Police Service in testing the Stephen Lawrence Report's recommendations.

Mr. Love

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many cases of stop and search have been recorded in(a) the constituency of Edmonton and (b) the borough of Enfield in each of the past five years; what proportion of those stopped and searched were (i) black and (ii) subsequently arrested. [93606]

Kate Hoey

The Commissioner of the Metropolitan Police has provided the following summary of information on stop and search for the years 1994–1998 for Edmonton and Enfield Police Divisions. The Divisions make up an area which equates to the London Borough of Enfield plus Cheshunt (Hertfordshire) to the North.

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