Procedure
Procedures: / Stop and Search ProceduresApproved by which board (or Chief Officer) and date: / Operations Board
14th September 2016
Owner / Inspector Community Safety
For release under Freedom of Information?
/ Yes
Supporting policy / Best Use of Stop and Search Policy
March 2015 PACE Code A
Best Use of Stop and Search Scheme
Contact for advice / Inspector Community Safety
Review date / April 2018
If changes have been made to existing procedures, you must complete the boxes below.
Amendments made / Amendments made to the document following feedback from HMIC received on 06/09/2016Date and Version Number / 06/09/2016
Stop and Search Procedures Equality Analysis
Please refer to Equality analysis attached to Stop and Search Policy.
Introduction
Code A of the Codes of Practice, issued in support of the Police and Criminal Evidence Act 1984, specifically covers the exercise of statutory powers of stop and search by police officers, and provides a legal framework around which such actions must be conducted.
For further details follow this link: March 2015 PACE Code A
These procedures should be read in conjunction with Code A and seek to provide a clear understanding of how the requirements of PACE, and the other various pieces of related legislation, will be applied by Cumbria Constabulary.
This document supports the Stop and Search Policy, which provides the context of within which these operational procedures will operate.
Public Confidence
Police powers to stop and search individuals can have a significant impact on public confidence in policing – positive, where it is effective and negative where it is not.
Cumbria Constabulary recognises that it is not enough for the exercise of such powers to simply be within the law. When used by officers, they will be used in a way that demonstrates;
· Fairness – officers should be able to answer the question, “Why did you stop me?”
· Effectiveness – the Force should be able to demonstrate the effectiveness of the powers through regular monitoring, considering the numbers, complaints, and outcomes.
· Carries public confidence – there needs to be engagement with local communities to inform them about the powers and demonstrate the effectiveness as described above. Feedback from these communities will be embraced.
1.4 CONDUCT OF THE ENCOUNTER
Recording, Ethnicity and Monitoring
In order to comply with the principles of the Best Use of Stop & Search Scheme and so ensure that the use of the powers is fair, it is vital that appropriate data is recorded and collected.
NPCC and the Home Office have agreed that 16+1 ethnicity monitoring must be utilised in this area of police activity. A failure by officers to accurately record stop and search activity will provide a false picture of the fairness and how effectively these powers are being used.
Legislation has been changed to reflect the fact that the making of such a record is not just about completing a form. It is an opportunity to develop a dialogue with the person stopped and ensure that they fully understand the process to which they have been subjected. Good quality community intelligence may also be a by-product of this exchange.
The precise details of what needs to be recorded as a consequence of a stop and search has been subject to change, and will undoubtedly continue to be subject to future changes. Officers need to refer to the current Codes of Practice and to ongoing guidance issued by the force in this regard, in order to be up to date with recording requirements. In line with BUSS (Best Use of Stop & Search) Cumbria records and publishes a full suite of stop search outcomes.
The Codes of Practice now also allow records of stop and searches to be made via mobile data solutions, as well as on paper. Cumbria Constabulary has now adopted the recording of all Stop and Search on electronic devices. The person searched should be offered a copy of the search record and an information leaflet. If they specifically request a copy of the search record, they will be handed the Information Leaflet / Z-Card containing a receipt outlining how they can obtain a copy of the search.
If such an electronic device is not available to the officer recording an encounter, for example if a device is not functioning correctly, a Form 1510 must be completed at the time and handed to the person, there and then, unless impractical to do so (e.g. person is violent, large crowds or severe weather conditions).
The stop search MUST then be entered by the officer, at the first available opportunity, on the appropriate desk top system for statistical recording on Pronto and before the end of the tour of duty. Full guidance on the completion of forms set out in Code A of PACE must be complied with.
The top copy of any paper form must be issued to the person. The second copy must be retained by the officer and used to populate the electronic record as specified above.
Where a search has been made and the officer makes a record of that search, then the person who was searched shall be entitled to a copy of the record if they ask for one within a three month period.
If the facility to print a copy of the record at scene exists, this shall be done. If there is no printer available, officers need to advise the person being searched where such a copy can be obtained from and systems are in place to deal with such requests.
The current process is highlighted below:
‘You may obtain a copy of this search record by taking this receipt and photo
verification to your local police station or by writing (and enclosing this receipt) to:
Community Safety
North Cumbria HQ
Brunel Way
Carlisle
CA1 3NQ
If you have any other queries contact:
”
Stop and Search1.2
STOP AND SEARCH
The main intention of stop and search is to allow officers to allay or confirm suspicion about people, without exercising their power of arrest. The powers are derived from many different pieces of legislation, but those most commonly used are within the Misuse of Drugs Act, Firearms Act and Police and Criminal Evidence Act 1984.
For a search an officer has genuine and objectively reasonable suspicion that they will find the prohibited article or item for use in crime.
Exceptions to this are when officers are authorised under Section 47A Terrorism Act 2000 or under Section 60 Criminal Justice and Public Order Act 1994. In these cases searches can be made without the need for reasonable suspicion and more detail on this is provided below.
Key Changes to PACE Code A / College of Policing NPCC Definitions
Two key changes summarised focus on Reasonable Grounds for Suspicion & Misuse:
Reasonable Grounds for Suspicion
Two Key Parts
1. "The officer must have formed a genuine and objectively reasonable suspicion in their own mind that they will find the object for which the search power being exercised allows them to search"
not he might have something on him, I'll go on a fishing trip
2. "The suspicion that the object will be found must be reasonable. This means that there must be an objective basis for that suspicion based on facts, information and/or intelligence which are relevant to the likelihood that the object in question will be found, so that a reasonable person would be entitled to reach the same conclusion based on the same facts and information and/or intelligence"
would a member of the public, with the same info as you, think it likely that you'd find what you're looking for!
The below highlights that we should not conduct searches on personal factors alone i.e. stop search grounds should not read "Known Drug User" this is not considered a reasonable ground to search.
"Reasonable suspicion can never be supported on the basis of personal factors. This means that unless the police have information or intelligence which provides a description of a person suspected of carrying an article for which there is a power to stop and search, the following cannot be used, alone, or in combination with each other, or in combination with any other factor, as the reason for stopping and searching any individual, including any vehicle which they are driving or are being carried in"F STOP AND SEARCH
5ILDREN, YOUNG PEOPLE AND OTHER VULNERABLE PEOPLE
Power to Detain for the Purpose of Search
FOR THE PRPOSE F SEAR
A person can be detained for the purpose of a search and reasonable force can be used if required. Before carrying out the search, officers may question the person to confirm or eliminate reasonable suspicion for grounds for the search.
The detention must take place at or near the place where the person was first stopped; the time of detention should be kept to a minimum and they should be informed of the grounds for the search.
If a more thorough search is required, for example, removing items of clothing more than jacket, outer coat and gloves, this must take place out of public view. This could be in a police vehicle or at a police station if there is one nearby. As soon as the grounds for search cease to exist, the person must be released.
Removal of more than jacket, outer coat and gloves will be recorded on the stop & search form. This information will be reported to the OPCC on an annual basis, as well as the Force Independent Advisory Group.
Should the search involve exposing intimate parts of the person’s body, it must take place at a police station or other suitable location. In either case, the location must be within reasonable travelling distance, either on foot or in a vehicle.
It must also be out of public view and must not be in a police vehicle. Taking a person to a police station for this purpose does not constitute a detention in custody and does not require the associated procedures to take place. The location within the police station where the search is conducted should be appropriate for the purpose.
The officer conducting the process cannot use the responses given by the person, or their failure to respond, as retrospective grounds for the reasonable suspicion.
However, reasonable grounds for suspicion may emerge during an encounter and in these circumstances a lawful search may take place.
Gender of Searching Officers
Any officer, regardless of gender, can search the outer coat, jacket, gloves, headgear, footwear whether or not it is removed, or any other item concealing identity, or outer garment of any individual who is being searched.
They can also carry out any search that includes searching pockets in outer clothing, or feeling round the inside of collars, socks and shoes if this is necessary in the circumstances to look for the object of the search (Code A Sections 3.5 and 3.6 refer).
Any search that goes beyond that specified above must be conducted by a person of the same gender as the person stopped, and not in the presence of a person of the opposite gender, unless the subject of the search specifically requests their presence.
However, the gender of the officer conducting searches undertaken by virtue of Section 43 Terrorism Act 2000 must be conducted by a person of the same gender as the person stopped in order to comply with that specific Act and Section.
Whilst PACE states that ANY officer may search outer clothing it should also be acknowledged that persons from particular cultural backgrounds or diverse groups might feel uncomfortable being searched by persons of the opposite sex.
If a person to be searched expresses a wish to be searched by a person of the same sex then every practicable effort will be made to comply with that request. If it is not practicable, then the officer shall explain to the person being searched why it is not practicable.
Mouth Searches
Legal advice suggests that mouth searches go beyond a search of outer clothing and will, therefore, be unjustified under Section 1 PACE (see R-v-Hughes). However, under Section 32(1) PACE, officers may search when they have reasonable grounds to believe that the arrested person may be a danger to themselves or others. There is also a power to search to the extent that is reasonably required to find evidence of an offence following an arrest under Section 32(2) PACE.
In circumstances where it is reasonably suspected that a person has concealed something in their mouth (and for which possession constitutes an offence) it is recommended, therefore, that they are arrested for that offence prior to the search taking place. The person can then be de-arrested if the evidence is not located and such a course of action is appropriate.
Voluntary searches
As detailed in this procedure, officers will not undertake any search unless the power exists to do so. Even if a person ‘voluntarily’ consents to a search, the mere presence of a police officer making a request should be seen as a form of compulsion in itself. There is still the requirement for a record to be made in these circumstances.
Persons entering private premises, such as a football ground, may find that consent to search is a condition of entry. This is a matter for the owner of the premises.1.3