here - United Kingdom Parliament

297WH
PACE (Stop and Search)
1 DECEMBER 2010
PACE (Stop and Search)
298WH
to compare that 76% with the ethnicity of the population
of London and the remaining 24% with the rest of the
country. When we do that, we find that the use is not so
disproportionate.
The power is used to tackle specific issues relating to
serious violence and, in particular, knife crime. The
Under-Secretary of State for the Home Department,
my hon. Friend the Member for Old Bexley and Sidcup
(James Brokenshire), who is responsible for crime
prevention, recently responded to a debate in this Chamber
on youth violence and was very clear about how we
need to protect our communities against violent crimes.
The use of section 60 as one of the many tools that
the Metropolitan police use as part of their continuing
action against knife crime receives significant support
from communities in London. The Metropolitan police
have gone to great lengths since the start of Operation
Blunt 2—their programme of action against knife crime—to
increase community engagement. An example of that is
the young Londoners engagement programme, which
explains why the powers are so important and the
dangers of carrying knives. The Metropolitan police are
in the process of reviewing their operational use of the
power, and all boroughs have been reminded that they
must be proportionate in their use of section 60.
Neighbourhood policing—such a rare thing at the
time of the Macpherson inquiry in the late 1990s—is
now embedded throughout the country in such a way as
to give the public far greater confidence in the way in
which their police service operates. The Government
are determined to do everything that they can to ensure
that neighbourhood policing is protected, despite the
budgetary challenges that confront forces. We are also
determined that the British tradition of policing by
consent should flourish, and that can happen only if the
public understand why the police do what they do and,
just as importantly, if the police understand how their
actions are perceived by the public.
My hon. Friend the Member for Bedford referred to
the role of the Equality and Human Rights Commission.
The commission has praised the “Next Steps” process
developed by the National Policing Improvement Agency,
which is being used by the police in, for example,
Merseyside and Dorset, as well as Lewisham in London.
It helps the police to understand the way in which they
use stop and search and how the population of an area
and the apparent levels of disproportionality might in
some circumstances not present a true picture. The
early feedback on “Next Steps” is positive, and we hope
to be able to expand it to other areas shortly.
I have been impressed by the way in which my hon.
Friend has raised these issues. Since the general election,
there has not been a great deal of debate in the House
about these issues or the changes that we propose to
make. There may be debate in relation to the orders that
we have laid to change the PACE codes, but I would
welcome the opportunity for further discussion with my
hon. Friend and other hon. Members. I would be happy
to convene a meeting with key representatives of the
police, including the deputy commissioner of the police
in London if he would be willing, in order to talk about
their use of stop and search, why they believe that it is
such an important tool in their fight against knife
crime, why they believe that it has public consent and
how they are alive to the important issues of
disproportionality that can be raised.
In summary, stop and search is a vital tool. The
challenge for the Government and the police is to
ensure that the powers are used fairly and with the
support of the community, and it is a challenge that I
am confident we will meet.
11.30 am
Sitting suspended.