The official inspectorate has refused to back police use of powers to stop and search people without suspicion, finding that chiefs cannot explain why black people are 12 times more likely to be targeted.
Critics have claimed stops carried out under section 60 cause “more harm than good”.
The power is used when police fear that there may be serious violence, and Her Majesty’s Inspectorate of Constabulary found that the power was disproportionately used against the young – especially black males – and that some safeguards are not being followed, risking damage to trust and confidence.
It said police leaders need to take disproportionality more seriously and needed to do more to ensure children are treated as children. The Conservative government has pressed police to use stop and search more.
In a 2021 super-complaint, the Criminal Justice Alliance argued that the power to stop and search without suspicion – brought in under section 60 of the 1994 criminal justice act partly to combat raves – should be scrapped. Its use has declined among forces, as has the racial disparity.
But police believe it is a vital tool, especially for combating serious youth violence.
The report found data on ethnicity was missing in 26% of cases examined, and in some examples those stopped without suspicion were handcuffed unnecessarily.
It also found examples of good practice, citing among others the Suffolk and Northumberland forces for praise.
HMIC said: “We found that forces take different approaches when deciding whether to use section 60, taking into account the impact on the community and on their crime-fighting efforts.
“There is a lack of clarity about what constitutes success after a section 60 authorisation. They also have different approaches to evaluating its use. All these factors mean that forces don’t always know if their use of section 60 has caused more harm than good.
“This means that we do not have enough information to assess whether forces’ current use of section 60 causes more harm than good.”
The inspectorate added: “Young black men are more likely to be stopped and searched than other demographic groups. This disparity is greater for section 60 searches than powers that require officers to have reasonable grounds to search for offensive weapons. None of the forces we spoke with could fully explain why the police’s use of section 60 results in disproportionality.”
Lead inspector Wendy Williams said the findings were “concerning” and believes a re-inspection is needed to see if improvements have been made and 10 recommendations followed.
Williams said this new report adds to concerns uncovered in a previous report about stops when officers require reasonable suspicion. “This is part of a broader piece about stop and search. Policing needs to understand disproportionality and either explain it or change it,” she added.
Section 60 stops numbered 4,341 in 2021-22, with three out of every 100 leading to something potentially illegal being found. They are a small fraction of the total stops carried out by police in England and Wales, which reached 530,365 in 2021-22.
For section 60, almost two-thirds of those searched were aged under 25. One child under 10 and 1,297 children aged between 10 and 17 years were searched under the power in 2021-22, with another 1,533 young adults aged between 18 and 24 years searched.
Rules are followed in most cases reviewed by the inspectorate, but it found in too many they were not.
In one search an officer said “we are going around searching everyone”, and despite the person correctly explaining they were in the area because they worked there, they were searched. No weapons were found.
In another case, three men outside a restaurant explained to officers that they worked there. They were detained and searched, and no weapons were found.
The Criminal Justice Alliance detailed a case of Josiah, 16, stopped in south London while returning home from playing football.
He said: “They stopped me and they said I matched a description; they were stopping me under a section 60. And I said: ‘Why?’ And they said: ‘Oh, because you fit a description.’
“And then they tried to put me in cuffs, and I said: ‘No, I don’t want to go in cuffs’ … they started using force. Three, four, five of them tackled me to the ground. And then they got me to the ground eventually, and they put me in cuffs. And the feeling was … I was so angry. I couldn’t control any of my feelings.”
HMIC said: “Too many officers do not give enough importance to the safeguarding needs of children who are searched. This should not continue.”
Annette So, interim director at the CJA, said:“The report is an important step in acknowledging the failures in current policing practices … Conversations we have had recently only confirm the truly traumatising impacts these powers have.”
The National Police Chiefs’ Council lead for stop and search, Andrew Mariner, said: “We welcome the HMICFRS (His Majesty’s Inspectorate of Constabulary and Fire & Rescue Services) scrutiny of police use of stop and search and the recommendations provided within their report.
“The negative impact stop and search can have on individuals and communities, especially among Black people, has been stressed and we acknowledge that policing must do more to improve these experiences for the public.”
