Over a decade after Stephen Lawrence inquiry, how has stop and search changed?

Shauneen Lambe, Hughes Cousins-Chang and Nicky Gavron at last month’s City Hall debate

The death of Stephen Lawrence is once again back in the news – this time because of alleged police attempts to smear the Lawrence family.

But over a decade on from the judicial inquiry into Lawrence’s death which condemned the disproportionate use of stop-and-search, how has police use of such powers changed?

Just last year The Equality and Human Rights Commission reported that black people are 28 times more likely than white people to be stopped and searched by police.

Only one in 10 barristers is of black or minority ethnic origin.

Add to that the recent cuts to legal aid, and remedying the distrust many young people are said to feel towards the legal system looks like a long, hard slog.

Hence, advocacy groups are playing the long game, and initiatives have been launched with an eye to demystifying the law.

Hackney Community Law Centre and Hackney Council for Voluntary Service (HCVS) have partnered with The JusticeGap and University College London to launch a project for young people aimed at explaining to them their legal rights.

Called Mind the JusticeGap, the project connects young people from Hackney with law students to build an online advice guide.

As part of the project a panel discussion called Next Generation – Rights and Responsibilities cracked open the debate on stop and search.

At the event last month one young man said he had been stopped and searched seven times in one day; another 100 times in a year.

These testimonies are not uncommon. But while stop and search may be routine for some, the experience leaves its mark.

“Getting stopped and searched by armed police three times in one day will change your life,” said one participant.

“You feel violated,” added another.

Sandie Okoro, an ambassador for the Law Society Diversity Access Scheme, said: ‘The police are a public service. They shouldn’t be doing what they’re doing. We need a public campaign to stop them getting away with it.”

HCVS is on the case.

The Young People’s Stop and Search Monitoring Group was founded in 2012 in response to the 2011 riots.
This independent advisory group addresses how the police engage with young people.

Under the scheme, twelve young people meet monthly with the Hackney’s Superintendent, Chief Inspector and officers to hold them to account around stop and search.

“The first few sessions were quite tense because young people didn’t trust the police, and the police didn’t’ trust them,” says Deji Adeoshun, who runs the Monitoring Group at HCVS.

But as the dialogue continued, relationships improved.

Two main topics dominated the conversation: use of force by police officers and inappropriate language during stop and search.

The police said there was “a lot they could learn” from the young people.

The group has produced a training DVD, to be released this month, to advise the police about how to engage young people, and to educate young people about their rights.

For police to stop and search someone, they are legally required to have reasonable suspicion that that person may be carrying a weapon or something illegal.

But a big part of the discontent in Hackney resulted from the overuse of Section 60s, explains Adeoshun.

Section 60s can be issued by police commanders to allow police to stop anybody – without reasonable suspicion.

Since September 2012, just after the Olympics and the Hackney Weekender Festival, not a single Section 60 has been issued.

Last year, stop-and-search success rates increased from a “pitiful” 8 per cent in 2012, up to 25 per cent.

There has been a drastic improvement. The number of stop and searches in Hackney has decreased by 50 per cent since 2011.

But if you really want to reach young people, it’s best done through their phones.

Last year, three friends from South London piloted a stop and search app for Blackberry via Apps for Good.

The product provides a means for young people to easily access their rights, and evaluate their experiences with stop and search.

It was downloaded 2,500 times in its first three months.

Deji Adeoshun hopes London boroughs can work together to further develop smartphone technology stop and search awareness projects.