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You can find the current article at its original source at https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2016/oct/27/police-officers-must-be-aware-of-biases-says-england-training-college
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| Police officers must be aware of biases, says training college | |
| (about 11 hours later) | |
| Every police officer is guilty of some sort of bias, according to their professional standards body, and acknowledging as much is necessary to help stamp out discrimination in the use of controversial stop and search powers. | Every police officer is guilty of some sort of bias, according to their professional standards body, and acknowledging as much is necessary to help stamp out discrimination in the use of controversial stop and search powers. |
| The College of Policing on Thursday launches new guidelines for police on stop and search and also warns that an officer should consider if a bias is affecting his or her decision every time before making a stop. If they think prejudice is playing a part, they should not use the power. | The College of Policing on Thursday launches new guidelines for police on stop and search and also warns that an officer should consider if a bias is affecting his or her decision every time before making a stop. If they think prejudice is playing a part, they should not use the power. |
| Richard Bennett, of the College of Policing said: “Our assumption is that every single person has biases. But the important thing if you’re someone acting on behalf of the state and exercising your powers is to recognise those biases and to ensure they do not impact on your decision-making around things like stop and search and other operational decision.” | Richard Bennett, of the College of Policing said: “Our assumption is that every single person has biases. But the important thing if you’re someone acting on behalf of the state and exercising your powers is to recognise those biases and to ensure they do not impact on your decision-making around things like stop and search and other operational decision.” |
| Stop and search has been blighted by overuse against black people – known as disproportionality. Police have been found by their watchdog to be exercising the power unlawfully, and the vast majority of uses end up stopping the innocent. | Stop and search has been blighted by overuse against black people – known as disproportionality. Police have been found by their watchdog to be exercising the power unlawfully, and the vast majority of uses end up stopping the innocent. |
| Theresa May, while home secretary, threatened to pass new laws to stop alleged abuses by the police, with black people four times more likely than white people to be stopped even after sustained government pressure. | Theresa May, while home secretary, threatened to pass new laws to stop alleged abuses by the police, with black people four times more likely than white people to be stopped even after sustained government pressure. |
| Against that backdrop, policing – which is still disproportionately white – is trying to reform itself, and stave off the threat of legislation. The College of Policing, set up by the government to professionalise the service, says the bias training has already been tried by 1,300 officers. | Against that backdrop, policing – which is still disproportionately white – is trying to reform itself, and stave off the threat of legislation. The College of Policing, set up by the government to professionalise the service, says the bias training has already been tried by 1,300 officers. |
| The college released three examples of a stop where there were clear grounds, where the situation was ambiguous and where there was no justification at all. In the example where there were no grounds at all, it describes a situation where an officer sees a convicted burglar in a high crime area at 3am. | The college released three examples of a stop where there were clear grounds, where the situation was ambiguous and where there was no justification at all. In the example where there were no grounds at all, it describes a situation where an officer sees a convicted burglar in a high crime area at 3am. |
| “The officer stops and speaks to the subject who refuses to speak with the officer (there is no legal requirement to do so). There is no information or intelligence to say that this person, at this time, is likely to be in possession of a stolen or prohibited article. The person says they are on their way home and lives nearby,” it continues. | “The officer stops and speaks to the subject who refuses to speak with the officer (there is no legal requirement to do so). There is no information or intelligence to say that this person, at this time, is likely to be in possession of a stolen or prohibited article. The person says they are on their way home and lives nearby,” it continues. |
| Insp Garth Stinson, from the College, accepted that concerns about racial discrimination by officers that led to the focus on stamping out bias in the new training. He added biases also affected the use of the power against young and east Europeans, for instance, in the Midlands. | Insp Garth Stinson, from the College, accepted that concerns about racial discrimination by officers that led to the focus on stamping out bias in the new training. He added biases also affected the use of the power against young and east Europeans, for instance, in the Midlands. |
| Stinson said: “What we want to do is give the officers confidence. If they’ve got reasonable grounds and they’ve got the power that they can search people, they must do it. There’s a massive step between ‘I’ve got a gut instinct he’s a wrong ‘un’ through to ‘that gives me the evidence to get in their pockets”. | Stinson said: “What we want to do is give the officers confidence. If they’ve got reasonable grounds and they’ve got the power that they can search people, they must do it. There’s a massive step between ‘I’ve got a gut instinct he’s a wrong ‘un’ through to ‘that gives me the evidence to get in their pockets”. |
| Stop and search was linked to stoking discontent that fueled the 2011 riots that spread across England. Its use has been cut in recent years but there are still concerns that it may be damaging community relations. | Stop and search was linked to stoking discontent that fueled the 2011 riots that spread across England. Its use has been cut in recent years but there are still concerns that it may be damaging community relations. |
| Steve Otter, who recently retired as a senior inspector with Her Majesty’s Inspectorate of Constabulary, found in a report released in February there were continued abuses by officers and failures by forces. He warned police legitimacy was being drained, one in seven stops may be unlawful and added: “Every single major report into disorder in this country since 1970 places stop and search as one of, if not the most important contributing factor, and those lessons need to be learned.” | Steve Otter, who recently retired as a senior inspector with Her Majesty’s Inspectorate of Constabulary, found in a report released in February there were continued abuses by officers and failures by forces. He warned police legitimacy was being drained, one in seven stops may be unlawful and added: “Every single major report into disorder in this country since 1970 places stop and search as one of, if not the most important contributing factor, and those lessons need to be learned.” |
| Examples of stop and search scenarios given to officers: | Examples of stop and search scenarios given to officers: |
| Clear grounds for a stop | Clear grounds for a stop |
| An officer on patrol is told by a shop owner that the person running away has stolen some goods and points to the person in question. The suspect continues to run from officers and refuses to answer questions when stopped clearly concealing an item under their jacket. The CCTV in the shop shows the person concealing something under their jacket before running out when challenged by the shop keeper. | An officer on patrol is told by a shop owner that the person running away has stolen some goods and points to the person in question. The suspect continues to run from officers and refuses to answer questions when stopped clearly concealing an item under their jacket. The CCTV in the shop shows the person concealing something under their jacket before running out when challenged by the shop keeper. |
| Ambiguous grounds for a stop | Ambiguous grounds for a stop |
| Officer is directed to the scene of a recent knife-point robbery involving a young male described as being dressed in black and running away. The officer reaches the area within seconds to see a young male dressed in black running towards an approaching bus. There are numerous other people in the area. | Officer is directed to the scene of a recent knife-point robbery involving a young male described as being dressed in black and running away. The officer reaches the area within seconds to see a young male dressed in black running towards an approaching bus. There are numerous other people in the area. |
| No grounds for a stop | No grounds for a stop |
| Officer sees a convicted burglar in a high crime area at 3am in the morning. The officer stops and speaks to the subject who refuses to speak with the officer (there is no legal requirement to do so). There is no information or intelligence to say that this person, at this time, is likely to be in possession of a stolen or prohibited article. The person says they are on their way home and lives nearby. A subsequent PNC check reveals the person is not currently wanted nor have there been any reported crimes in the immediate area that evening. | Officer sees a convicted burglar in a high crime area at 3am in the morning. The officer stops and speaks to the subject who refuses to speak with the officer (there is no legal requirement to do so). There is no information or intelligence to say that this person, at this time, is likely to be in possession of a stolen or prohibited article. The person says they are on their way home and lives nearby. A subsequent PNC check reveals the person is not currently wanted nor have there been any reported crimes in the immediate area that evening. |