Herts police chief orders research into stop and search powers

Police stop and search powers in Hertfordshire are being investigated as part of a research project to explore if potential discrimination is evident.

David Lloyd, Police and Crime Commissioner for Hertfordshire has awarded a contract to the University of Hertfordshire to complete a six-month study into the police tactic.

The aim is to enable a better understanding of the available data, and any inequality in Stop and Search used by the police, by exploring ethnicity, age and gender and the impacts on different community groups.

The project will be led by Dr Kofi Addo, senior lecturer at the university’s law school.

Mr Lloyd said “As I set out in my police and crime plan it is imperative that we understand whether stop and search is used in a discriminatory way so that I can take any necessary actions with the constabulary to reduce this.

“I believe the crude way in which we currently measure disproportionality is highly misleading and not useful in indicating whether

discriminatory behaviour may be taking place or its extent. If we really want to find out whether there is disproportionality we need to invest in some detailed research.

“I look forward to receiving the university’s independent report and working with the constabulary to respond to the findings.”

Dr Addo said “We are delighted to be collaborating with the police and crime commissioner on this important research project. Stop and search can be an important tool in preventing and detecting crime and should be used in a targeted and proportionate manner to minimise negative impacts on individuals and communities.

“This research project seeks to better understand the full extent of disproportionality with regards to stop and search in Hertfordshire and compared to other forces in England.”

Funded by a £24, 966 award from the Community Safety and Criminal Justice budget, the results will be published later in the year.

According to the College of Policing stop and search require an officer to have reasonable grounds for suspicion that an unlawful item is being carried. They allow officers to detain a person who is not under arrest in order to search them or their vehicle for an unlawful item.