Independent report

Crime and policing

Updated 28 April 2021

Summary

One of the biggest concerns about unfair treatment of minorities lies in crime and policing.

The data consistently highlights the over-representation of ethnic minority groups – both as perpetrators and victims – when it comes to hate crime, violent crime and drug related offences. Police workforce diversity figures continue to remain low. Past injustices still loom large in perceptions of the police for some ethnic minority Britons, especially Black Caribbean people.

The Commission undertook extensive engagement and examination of data to establish causes of key disparities in crime and policing, commissioning new research and building on previous reviews led by Rt Hon David Lammy MP and Dame Elish Angiolini.

This chapter aims to demonstrate what drives these disparities and propose ways of addressing them with a focus on 4 areas:

• re-establishing mutual trust between communities and police service areas
• preventing harm and directing young people away from entering the criminal justice system
• encouraging affected ethnic minority groups to work with and support police services to improve outcomes for their local communities
• improving workforce diversity in a way that encourages those skills needed to better serve multi race and ethnic communities

In its exploration of these areas, the Commission found the following.

Ethnic minority people, and specifically Black people, are disproportionately victims of violent crime and homicide; for every White victim of homicide aged 16 to 24 in 2018/19, there were 24 Black victims^{[footnote 1]}, and that young people need a better mechanism to help them escape criminal exploitation before it is too late. Greater emphasis on the importance of community leadership and the value of role models is also required.

Class B drug offences accounted for nearly half of prosecutions for almost all ethnic groups.^{[footnote 2]} This chapter outlines a need for public health-oriented out of court diversion (OOCD) approaches to keep young people out of the criminal justice system.

Stop and search is a critical tool for policing when used appropriately, and lawfully. We found that communities are not given enough information about the drivers of police activity that lead to the initiation of stop and search activity in a specific area, and that the statistics have remained unexplained for too long. More also needs to be done, by police services and community citizens, to increase local knowledge of the legitimacy of stop and search, and improve transparency and accountability of its use.

Nearly half (49%) of all stop and searches in England and Wales were made by the Metropolitan Police in London, and this is where the majority (80%) of all stop and searches involving Black people were made. This is also where nearly 60% of all Black people in England and Wales live.^{[footnote 3]} Stop and search disparities should be analysed based on smaller geographic areas, and new Safeguarding Trust groups are proposed to align police and community priorities and to help rebuild bridges between the two.

Assaults without injury on police officers have been increasing year on year since the year ending March 2015.^{[footnote 4]} In 2017 the Police Federation of England and Wales published data highlighting that, on average, one police officer was assaulted every 4 minutes.^{[footnote 5]} The latest annual statistics from the Home Office shows that over 30,000 assaults took place in the year ending March 2020.^{[footnote 6]} During the COVID lockdown in 2020, the media reported that Metropolitan Police alone experienced an increase of nearly 40%^{[footnote 7]} of assaults on their officers.^{[footnote 8]} This increase comes despite the introduction into law of the Assault on Emergency Workers (Offences) Act in 2018.

Ethnic minority police officers are also experiencing racist abuse from citizens they serve – including from those in their own ethnic minority groups. Racist assaults against police officers in the Metropolitan Police service almost doubled between the year ending November 2019 and November 2020.^{[footnote 9]} This and the increasing assaults are issues that seem to be overlooked in public discourse, and seldom discussed with veracity when it comes to police actions or police service recruitment. Yet they both, in the Commission’s view, have an impact on addressing entrenched disparities and improving outcomes for all concerned.

No police services were fully ethnically representative of the population they serve^{[footnote 10]} although the Commission has identified some who are, independently, making substantial progress towards achieving that goal and commends them accordingly.

Police services will also need to go beyond just being representative of the ethnic minority population of an area. The Commission proposes a requirement for the police service to identify and fill the gaps in the skills required to best serve diverse communities.

Hate crime and harassment of minorities

Hate crime is a serious offence that can have long-term impacts on individual victims. It is a very personal attack. Experiencing a hate crime is particularly distressing for victims who are targeted based on their identity or how others perceive them. Research shows that victims are more likely to suffer serious psychological effects as a result of hate crime – a trauma that, by association, also easily spreads through their wider community.^{[footnote 11]}

Although it is often believed that hate crime is rising sharply, the most reliable data shows that it may be declining. There were 76,070 race-related hate crimes recorded by police in England and Wales in 2019 to 2020, up 131% since 2011 to 2012.^{[footnote 12]} But according to the more robust Crime Survey of England and Wales (CSEW), racially motivated hate crimes went down from 149,000 (in the years ending March 2010 to March 2012) to 104,000 (in the years ending March 2018 to March 2020).^{[footnote 13][footnote 14]}

Whilst the decline is significant, the figures still show that a sizeable number of incidents take place. They equate to about 142 racially motivated hate crimes per day. There is no number that is, or should be, acceptable to any civilised society. These incidents cause serious and lasting trauma in people’s lives. But we recognise that it is impossible to drive the overall figure down to zero – sadly certain types of people are what they are. That said we can and must continue to make every endeavour to reduce this number to the absolute lowest possible. While the most common offence type of racially-motivated hate crime recorded by the police in the year ending March 2020 was public order offences, such as graffiti or verbal abuse, there were also over 10,000 incidents of violence without injury and about 4,500 incidents of violence with injury.^{[footnote 15]}

Hate crime is also more likely to be experienced by people from ethnic minorities. 1.1% of Asian people experienced a hate crime in the years ending March 2018 to March 2020, as did 1.1% of Black people,^{[footnote 16]} compared with 0.2% of White people. These figures are substantially less than the percentages of people experiencing crime in general (see Figure 12).

Figure 12: Percentage of people experiencing hate crime, and all crime, by ethnicity (England and Wales, April 2017 to March 2020)

We should also note that hate crime is not just carried out by White people. The hate crime figures in England and Wales reveal an over-representation of Black people among perpetrators.^{[footnote 17]} In 2019, 80% of those proceeded against for religiously or racially motivated hate crimes were White, 9% Black and 7% Asian.^{[footnote 18]} In the USA, FBI data shows an even bigger disproportionate representation^{[footnote 19]}: of known hate crime offenders, 52.5% were White and 23.9% were Black or African American.^{[footnote 20]}

Fear of hate crime among ethnic minority communities is also greater than its likelihood of occurring. The year ending March 2018 to March 2020 CSEW shows that 16% of Asian people and 13% of Black people were ‘very worried’ about being attacked because of their race or ethnicity.^{[footnote 21]}

This perception reinforces the right of everyone to feel safe in their communities. Everyone, no matter their background, should be able to live their lives without fear of becoming a victim of a hate crime. As the data shows, this fear particularly impacts ethnic minority people, and could play a part in limiting integration between different communities, and stop individuals from being involved in wider society. There is no place for hate crime, and when it occurs, communities need to see action being taken to address it. In tandem, there needs to be consistent messaging about the prevalence of hate crime correcting the perceptions of ‘a rise in hate crime’. This can help to allay the fears of communities.

Abuse experienced ‘online’, in other words through social media sites such as Twitter, Facebook, YouTube and Instagram, also has a significant impact on victims. Whether an everyday private citizen or high-profile public figure, being unexpectedly abused in the safety of one’s own home – and having it instantly exposed to an international audience – creates a unique torment and fear for the affected individual.

The Home Affairs Select Committee has highlighted how ethnic minority female MPs are particularly vulnerable to egregious online harassment.^{[footnote 22]} Footballers, celebrities and politicians have also spoken of their experiences of being abused in this way, for no other reason than their race.

Given that platforms such as Facebook and YouTube have over 1 billion users, prominent examples of abuse can go viral quickly. These trigger a mob-like pursuit of victims, whilst the popularity of the platforms themselves also provide racists with a new, more public – and more powerful – way to inflict pain and suffering on host of new victims.^{[footnote 23]} In many cases the perpetrators use the advent of anonymity, on these platforms and others, to target those they otherwise would not – and could not – reach in the cold light of day. Ethnic minorities, in particular, are disproportionately affected by online harassment, online trolling and cyberbullying.^{[footnote 24]}

The Commission strongly urges the government to use its forthcoming online safety legislation to address abuse online, including anonymous abuse. We consider that it is very much possible to do this in a way that also protects the legitimate use of anonymity online by groups such as human rights defenders, whistleblowers and victims of abuse.

Social media companies have a social responsibility – and that means a duty of care to their users. This duty should compel them to address online abuse with effective systems and processes. The largest social media platforms currently claim to prohibit racist abuse on their services. But far too often they fail to take decisive action to tackle it. Asking these platforms to account for the transparent and consistent enforcement of their own terms and conditions is surely a minimum requirement.

Failing to comply should, in the Commission’s view, lead to substantial penalties - and public naming and shaming for their seeming intransigence to the pain racism causes its victims. To be clear, the Commission is not seeking to inhibit robust exchanges online, nor censure legitimate debate and freedom of expression in its truest sense. Indeed, it is concerning to see that those campaigning against racism online have found their sites removed for decontextualized racial slurs as evidence of racism.^{[footnote 25]}

Being anonymous online does not give anyone the right to abuse others. The police have a range of existing legal powers to identify and prosecute individuals who attempt to use anonymity to escape sanctions for online abuse, where the activity is illegal. Hate crime exists in UK law across the Public Order Act 1986, the Crime and Disorder Act 1998, the Criminal Justice Act 2003, the Malicious Communications Act 1988, the Racial and Religious Hatred Act 2006, the Communications Act 2003 and the Football (Offences) Act 1991.

The Commission calls on social media companies to work in tandem with the government to remove racially abusive content that is illegal. Government should assess current powers to see if they are sufficient to tackle abuse online – including illegal and anonymous abuse. The outcome of that work should inform the government’s future position in relation to illegal anonymous abuse online.

Primary causes and drivers of crime

The way race and crime can intersect has long been a taboo subject. The spread of well-meaning ‘society is to blame’ assumptions, and a positive desire not to further stereotype already disadvantaged groups, has created a reluctance to talk honestly about the seriously damaging criminal behaviour of a small minority of people – especially in ethnically diverse inner-city areas.

The Commission has heard views from frontline and senior police officers that communities often overestimate the level of crime in their local areas. All crime, as reported in the CSEW (excluding fraud and computer misuse), peaked in 1995 at 19.8 million crimes, and in 2018 had decreased by 68% to around 6.2 million.^{[footnote 26]} Though these trends in crime rates may differ at a local level, the Commission believes that there is a need to acknowledge and welcome that this country’s overall crime rate has reduced.

Figure 13: Number of crimes experienced by Crime Survey respondents, by type of crime (England and Wales, January 1981 to March 2018) ^{[footnote 27]}

Note: The figures for ‘All crime’ exclude fraud and computer misuse. Data for 2019 onwards is not included in the chart as it is not comparable to previous years’ data because of methodological changes in the Crime Survey.

The Commission is also well aware that criminal behaviour is found in all groups, and further states that the majority of people in the country do not commit crime. For example, when looking at the number of 10 to 17 year old first time entrants into the criminal justice system in 2019, approximately 2,447 were from ethnic minorities. This represents 0.25% of the ethnic minority population aged 10 to 17 in England and Wales. There were approximately 7,150 White first time entrants, which represents 0.16% of the White population aged 10 to 17.^{[footnote 28][footnote 29]}

In discussion about race in general, the political focus in crime and policing has been on the big disparities in the rates of stop and search between Black and White people, in every police service area in England and Wales.^{[footnote 30]} Yet it is the Commission’s view that the story in this area has not been focusing enough on the disparities in crime, and often violent crime, that lie behind stop and search. In addition, there has also been less focus on what the primary causes and drivers of suspected and actual criminal activity can be.

As David Lammy noted in his own review:

Many of the causes of BAME overrepresentation lie outside the CJS [criminal justice system], as do the answers to it. People from a Black background are more…likely to live in poverty than those from a White background. Black children are more…likely to grow up in a lone parent family. Black and Mixed ethnic boys are more likely than White boys to be permanently excluded from school and to be arrested as a teenager.^{[footnote 31]}

These are all issues that are beyond the control or remit of the police service.

The Commission heard evidence from many people, with experience from the perspectives of affected communities and the police, about the change in police attitudes on race over the last 30 to 40 years (notwithstanding the caveats in the final section of this chapter). It is important to acknowledge other factors, in addition to racism, when considering disproportionality between ethnic groups in policing. The police service is imperfect, like all major services and organisations. However the challenges they face when dealing with both victims and perpetrators of crime are complex as the causes are beyond their control. Great strides have been made towards becoming a service that can fairly police a multi-ethnic society. It is important to recognise and acknowledge this.

Understanding disparities: victims of violent crime

Ethnic minority people are more likely to be victims of crime^{[footnote 32]} and specifically victims of violent crime and homicide.^{[footnote 33]} For the average of the 10 years from 2009 to 2019, 16 to 24 year old Black people were 11 times more likely than their White counterparts to be a victim of homicide.^{[footnote 34]} Between March 2018 and March 2020, for White, Black and Asian homicide victims, the principal suspect in the case was more likely to be the same ethnicity. 83% of cases with White homicide victims had a principal suspect that was also White and 80% of homicide cases with a Black victim had a Black principal suspect (in a total of 99 homicides).^{[footnote 35]}

In England and Wales in the year ending March 2020, there were 668 victims of homicide (where ethnicity was known), of which 105 victims were Black (16% of all homicide victims, where ethnicity was known). 443 homicide victims were White (66%), 56 were Asian (8%) and 64 from Other ethnic groups (10%).^{[footnote 36]} Nearly half (48%) of all Black victims were in the 16 to 24 year old age group.^{[footnote 37]}

In the same year, there were 506 male victims and 188 female victims of homicide.^{[footnote 38]} However there are stark differences in the relationships that men and women victims have to suspects. Of female victims aged 16 and over, almost half (46%, 81 homicides) were killed by a family member or partner compared with 7% of male victims (33 homicides) ^{[footnote 39][footnote 40]} in the year ending March 2020. In the 3 years between April 2016 and March 2019, 77% of female victims were White, 12% were Asian and 5% were Black.^{[footnote 41]}

The police recorded over 1.2 million domestic abuse-related incidents^{[footnote 42]} and crime in England and Wales^{[footnote 43]}, of which 59% were subsequently recorded as domestic abuse-related crimes.^{[footnote 44]} Over half (53%) of violence against the person offences that had female victims were domestic-abuse related.^{[footnote 45]}

Women were more likely than men to be victims of domestic abuse^{[footnote 46]} and have been over time. In the year ending March 2020, 7.3% of women in England and Wales had experienced any type of domestic abuse in the last year, compared with 3.6% of men.^{[footnote 47]} People in the Mixed ethnic group were significantly more likely to experience domestic abuse within the last year than those in the Black or Asian ethnic groups in the year ending March 2020^{[footnote 48]}, and among women, White women were more likely than Asian or Black women to experience domestic abuse (in the three years April 2017 to March 2020 combined).^{[footnote 49]}

Understanding disparities: trends and drivers of homicide

A Home Office report on the trends and drivers of homicide^{[footnote 50]} found that although most victims and suspects of homicide are White, Black people are disproportionately represented among them. In the year ending March 2018, homicide rates were more than 4 times higher for Black victims than for White victims and 8 times higher for Black suspects than for White suspects. This disproportionality varies by age, sex and deprivation – it is highest among young men, and more than halves in the most deprived areas. Given that higher proportions of Black people live in more deprived areas than White people, it is likely that deprivation and the younger age profile of Black people (than average) ^{[footnote 51]} explains much of the disproportionality between the 2 ethnic groups.^{[footnote 52]}

Although the UK homicide figures are much lower than those in the US, the UK figures still make disturbing reading, especially when one considers how young so many of the victims and perpetrators are.

The data shows that knife crime in particular has been on the rise in recent years, though this increase can in part be explained by data quality and recording improvements made by most police forces over time. 43,424 knife or sharp instrument offences were recorded by the police in the year to September 2020 (excluding Greater Manchester^{[footnote 53]}), up from 30,620 in 2011.^{[footnote 54]} A disproportionate level of knife offences take place in London. In the year ending September 2020, there were 152 knife offences per 100,000 people in London, compared with a national average of 79 per 100,000.^{[footnote 55]} In 2017, over one-third of people under 25 convicted of knife offences in England and Wales were from an ethnic minority (excluding White minorities).^{[footnote 56]} In the same year half of all knife crime offenders and nearly two-thirds of offenders aged under 25 in London were from an ethnic minority.^{[footnote 57]}

The most common method of killing in homicides has been sharp instruments, including knives, for some years. Over the last decade, the percentage of homicide offences committed by a sharp instrument has been between 32% and 40%. In the most recent year of data (year ending March 2020), there were 275 sharp instrument related murders, which is 40% of all recorded homicides.^{[footnote 58]} Of these, 54% of the victims were White (149 victims) and 27% were Black (75 victims)^{[footnote 59]}. This is the highest total number of knife-related murders with Black victims in the past 10 years.

Ethnic minority over-representation in the criminal justice system

More broadly, people from ethnic minorities are overrepresented at many points of the criminal justice system. The largest disparities appear at the point of stop and search and, as the Lammy Review pointed out, at arrest, custodial sentencing and prison population. Among ethnic minority groups, Black people are usually the most overrepresented.^{[footnote 60]}

Black people were arrested at a rate over 3 times higher than White people in the year ending March 2020.^{[footnote 61]} People in Asian and Other (including Chinese) ethnic groups had the highest custody rates in 2018.^{[footnote 62]} The percentage of the prison population from ethnic minorities was 27% at 30 June 2020, almost twice the ethnic minority percentage in the population, with Black people and people in Mixed ethnic groups disproportionately represented.^{[footnote 63][footnote 64]}

Figures from the Ministry of Justice also show over-representation of all ethnic minority groups among those convicted of serious crimes such as robbery and possession of weapon offences in England and Wales in 2019^{[footnote 65]}, relative to their population shares at the last Census.^{[footnote 66]}

Figure 14: Percentages of convictions in each offence group, and percentage of the overall population, by ethnicity (England and Wales, 2019)

Research into the fairness of juries shows that jury conviction rates for ethnic minority and White groups are similar across a range of offence-types, with only small differences and no overall pattern.^{[footnote 67]} The circumstances surrounding any crime vary from group to group – which may impact upon sentencing. For instance, in April 2014 to March 2016, issues such as involvement with gangs – which can also relate to the coercion or exploitation of the convicted individual – show up in 34% of pre-sentence reports on Black young people, compared to 11% of young people in Asian and Other groups and 5% of White young people.^{[footnote 68]}

There are many reasons for the disproportionate numbers of ethnic minority people involved in violent crime as both victims and perpetrators, but the disparity casts a significant shadow over Black life, and also contributes to negative stereotypes of young Black men. Nevertheless, it is important to remember this context when we address the complex issue of stop and search.

Understanding the disparities: stop and search

Stop and search can be used by the police as a tactic to address a number of crimes, from counter-terrorism, burglary, illegal drug use, violent crime and anti-social behaviour. However, successive home secretaries have centred the narratives for the use of stop and search on violent crime, specifically knife crime.

In 2017, then Home Secretary Amber Rudd wrote that the purpose of stop and search was “to take as many offensive weapons, knives, guns, acid and harmful drugs out of the pockets of criminals as possible”.^{[footnote 69]} In 2019, the focus on drugs appeared to have lessened, and Sajid Javid^{[footnote 70]} emphasised the importance of the tool for “disrupting crime and taking weapons off our streets”. Most recently, the current Home Secretary, Priti Patel,^{[footnote 71]} cited tackling violence and knife crime as the reason the Home Office lifted restrictions in emergency stop and search powers.

There is, however, a disconnect between this narrative and what is seen on the ground. In engaging with the Commission, several police services cited drugs and hard drug county lines as a key driver for the use of stop and search, and the data shows that the majority of searches are based on suspicion of drugs (although other suspected crimes may also be involved, just not recorded).^{[footnote 72]} More needs to be done to bridge the gap between how the purpose of stop and search is communicated, and how this legal power is actually being used in practice.

This is a finding echoed in the recent report by Her Majesty’s Inspectorate of Constabulary and Fire and Rescue Services (HMICFRS) on the disproportionate use of police powers, which writes: “The prevalence of self-generated, possession-only drug searches, about a quarter of which find drugs, indicates that stop and search is not always being targeted at offences that are the most serious and high priority for forces, or that matter most to the public… we consider that now is the time for a national debate on the policing of controlled drugs through stop and search”.^{[footnote 73]}

Is stop and search tackling the war on drugs? Or is it removing knives from our streets? Both the government and the police’s messaging in this area needs greater consistency and clarity in order for communities to understand the drivers of police activity, and why certain areas may require a greater police presence or application of its use. The Commission’s view is that this confusion can translate into a lack of transparency, which further damages the already negative impression some communities have of the police.

Interpreting stop and search data accurately

There were 563,837 stop and searches in England and Wales in the year ending March 2020 (excluding Greater Manchester and vehicle only searches).^{[footnote 74]} There were 11 stops for every 1,000 people, down from 25 per 1,000 people in the year ending March 2010. Rates were highest^{[footnote 75]} for Black Caribbean people (39 stops per 1,000), Black African people (34 per 1,000) and people in the Asian other ethnic group (30 per 1,000). Rates were lowest for Arab (1 per 1,000) and Chinese (2 per 1,000) people. White people were stopped and searched at a rate of 6 per 1,000.

The Metropolitan Police in London had the highest rates of stop and search for every ethnic group except the White and Mixed groups. In almost every police force area, Black people had the highest recorded stop and search rate.

It is sometimes claimed that Black people are 9 times more likely than White people to be stopped and searched.^{[footnote 76]} This relative rate is reported at a national level and does not account for differences in the sizes or characteristics of local populations or the way stop and search is used at a local level. For these reasons, the national relative rate is not always accurate and stop and search rates should be analysed at smaller geographic levels.

Figure 15: Stop and search rate per 1,000 people, by ethnicity in London (Metropolitan Police) and the rest of England and Wales (England and Wales, April 2019 to March 2020) ^{[footnote 77]}

Note: Greater Manchester Police were unable to provide data for the year ending March 2020 and are excluded from the analysis.

The Race Disparity Unit outlines 3 main factors affecting the interpretation of stop and search rates and can distort the national relative disparity between Black people and White people:

• population changes
• the number of people who do not report their ethnicity
• geographic clustering (where stop and search is used as well as where people live) ^{[footnote 78]}

Figure 15 shows the rates of stop and search in London (the Metropolitan Police area) compared with the rates for the rest of England and Wales. Almost half (49%) of all stops and searches took place in London. However, even within London there are differences in the use of stop and search depending on the neighbourhood. For example, half of the stop and searches carried out in London between July and September 2020 took place in just 9% of neighbourhoods.^{[footnote 79]}

For Black people, the Metropolitan Police force area is the one which most influences the national disparity figures often quoted in the media and by public commentators. This is where 4 out of 5 stop and searches of Black people happen, and where nearly 60% of Black people live.^{[footnote 80]} For White people, it is the very low stop and search rate in police services outside the London area that most strongly influences the national disparity. In these areas, the stop and search rate for White people is 5 for every 1,000 people, and around 90% of White people live in them.

The size of local populations within different geographic areas can be a factor which affects how disparities are interpreted and sometimes reported. For example, in Dorset as a whole, the relative disparity in stops and search rates between Black and White people was 23 times in the year ending March 2020.^{[footnote 81]} Upon looking at an even smaller geographic area, the Purbeck district had the highest disparity in stop and search between Black and White people of all Dorset districts (47 times). However, Purbeck undertook just 2 stop and searches of Black individuals and 38 stops of White people that year. The area has a small Black population of 48 people and a White population of around 43,000 (as at 2011 Census), therefore the relative disparity between the two groups is skewed.^{[footnote 82]} Dorset Police has demonstrated proactive investment to understand the drivers of disparities and has launched a programme of work to address disproportionality in stop and search. This includes the establishment of a stop and search board chaired by the Deputy Chief Constable with workstreams looking at operational delivery, community engagement and commissioning research with external organisations and academics.

There clearly are big disparities in stop and search, but the relative national disparity takes national populations as its reference point – not the relevant resident populations of smaller, urban areas with relatively high crime rates where stop and search is used more. Stop and search disparities should therefore be analysed at smaller geographic areas, preferably below police force area. As such, users of stop and search data need to exercise caution when interpreting and reporting ethnic disparities based on areas with small numbers of stop and search and small ethnic minority populations.

Between April 2010 and March 2019, rates of stop and search decreased for all ethnic groups.^{[footnote 83]} In this timeframe, the stop and search rate decreased the most for White people, by 79% (from 19 stops per 1,000 to 4 per 1,000). Rates for Asian people decreased by 72% (from 39 to 11 per 1,000) and for people from Mixed ethnic groups by 69% (from 35 to 11 per 1,000). Rates of stop and search decreased the least for Black people, by 68% (from 117 per 1,000 to 38) and for people in the Other (including Chinese) ethnic group, also by 68% (from 21 to 7 per 1,000 people).

These reductions varied by police force area. For example, in the same time period, the stop and search rate for Asian people decreased in all police force areas except Durham and South Wales where it increased. The rate for Black people decreased in almost all police force areas, except Kent, West Midlands, Staffordshire, Cheshire, South Wales and Essex where it increased.^{[footnote 84]}

Numbers of stop and search have also significantly reduced since the year ending March 2010, from nearly 1.4 million to about 570,000 in the year ending March 2020. However, in recent years (between the year ending March 2019 and March 2020), the total number of stop and searches increased by 51% from around 370,000 to around 570,000.^{[footnote 85]}

Drivers of stop and search activity (a): tackling violent crime

In England and Wales in 2019 to 2020, 76% of all stops resulted in no further action and 13% resulted in arrest.^{[footnote 86]} The highest percentage of arrests resulting from stop and search was of White people (52%), followed by 19% of stops of Black people, and 9% of stops of Asian people. This equates to approximately 1 in 2 White people arrested as a result of stop and search, 1 in 5 Black people, and 1 in 10 Asian people.^{[footnote 87]} However, In a review of 9,378 stop and search records from 2019, HMICFRS estimate that there were reasonable grounds for stop and search in 81.7% of cases – the vast majority of instances in which it was used.^{[footnote 88]}

Dame Cressida Dick, Metropolitan Police Commissioner, defending the stop and search policy said that 72% of killings of youths under 25 years old involved Black victims in London.^{[footnote 89]} She said Black people were 4 times more likely to be a victim of violence than White people, and 8 times more likely to be a perpetrator in London. The knowledge that stop and search can lawfully be conducted on any individual can be, in and of itself, an effective deterrent against this – one of the most heinous of crimes.

We know that stop and search is designed as a crime prevention, indeed life saving, policing tactic but the Commission believes that issues with the way in which it is carried out need to be addressed by both police services and the communities they work with. And there is a bigger story here, behind these cold numbers, that our politics and public conversation has not been facing head on. The Commission is concerned that there has been insufficient leadership on these issues of violent crime from affected ethnic minority communities, and believes that more individual and collective agency is needed to tackle these issues directly. Even before the police need to get involved.

First, there needs to be an understanding of the many risk factors associated with people who are drawn into violent crime. These include adverse childhood experience (such as abuse, neglect, parental criminality, substance abuse, and being taken into care)^{[footnote 90]}, education attainment (school exclusion and low attainment)^{[footnote 91]}, experience of victimisation^{[footnote 92]} and living in areas of deprivation.^{[footnote 93]}

Some respondents to the Commission’s call for evidence also provided views that long-term experiences of racism can have an effect on people, arguing that consistent experiences of racism can add to feelings of disenfranchisement and cause violence, involvement in gangs or make crime to seem either more appealing or feel less serious. Additionally, respondents believed that people may be drawn towards crime in order to prosper, feel respect and a sense of identity or belonging to something. The Commission recognises that people involved in violent crime can often trace their problems back to a combination of traumas experienced in their lives.

Understanding youth involvement in serious gang activity

While narratives on gang involvement predominantly focus on young men and boys, the Commission acknowledges that gang-involvement also impacts women and girls. In a report providing analysis of Children in Need census data for the year ending March 2018, the Children’s Commissioner found that 34% of gang-associated children and young people were female. That report states: “we have been told that younger children, particularly girls, are being recruited by gangs because their profile makes them less likely to be noticed by the authorities”.^{[footnote 94]}

We also know that while some young people get drawn into county lines gangs and other forms of violence, most even from the same circumstances do not. So what is it that makes some young people more vulnerable than others? And how can they be supported to escape harm and criminality?

Poverty does not entirely explain why this type of violent crime has hit certain communities so disproportionately. Young Black males are disproportionately overrepresented on the Metropolitan Police’s ‘gang’s matrix’^{[footnote 95]} though there is a wide variety of gang types and they are not always engaged in violent crime. Many come from poorer backgrounds and areas which are more likely to be policed, for example, 69% of stop and searches in London between July and September 2020 took place in neighbourhoods that were more deprived than average.^{[footnote 96]}

The Home Office’s Serious Violence Strategy (2018) ^{[footnote 97]} identified possible risk factors for involvement in serious gang activity, including childhood abuse and neglect, past criminality, parental criminality, drug taking, truancy from school, living in high crime areas and having delinquent peers.

Evidence also shows that factors of girls’ involvement in gangs include “family breakdown, domestic violence in the home, a lack of positive role models and low self-esteem”.^{[footnote 98]}

The Commission has heard views that some gang crime is based on drug turf war conflict or money but at least as much appears to be revenge attacks based on fairly trivial incidents. A Children’s Commissioner report on improving safeguarding responses to gang violence and criminal exploitation highlights a case where a child was “stabbed in revenge for failure to repay a ‘debt’ arising from an arrest”.^{[footnote 99]}

Historically research has focused on gang membership as an expression of masculinity and the recognition and status for young men arising from rebellious behaviour and the gang as a form of alternative family.^{[footnote 100][footnote 101]} Gang leaders understand children and young people’s need for love and recognition and know how to provide it.

Ivan Congreve, a former Salvation Army leader at Springfield Lodge in south London told the BBC in 2008:

All of the guys on our programme are from a broken family of one sort or another and that leads them into gangs… We are based in between Peckham and Brixton. We have a lot of gang culture in the area. And that’s where some boys seem to be able to find the family they are looking for. They are accepted, looked after and respected in ways that they don’t feel they get from their family. Although a gang is quite a dysfunctional family, they still see it as a family.”^{[footnote 102]}

Springfield Lodge^{[footnote 103]} provides 16 to 21 year olds with a home and teaches them the skills to become independent.

More recently, research has suggested that young men’s gang involvement is linked to finding their place in a post-industrial context^{[footnote 104]}, finding “refuge in a racist society”, an expression of manhood that also considers racial dynamics and thriving in a fraternal network.^{[footnote 105]} A 2021 report by Her Majesty’s Inspectorate of Probation (HMIP) highlights the experiences of ethnic minority service users. One case study captures a service user’s experience having moved from Bangladesh to Bradford, in a predominantly Pakistani area.

Being in Bradford where most of the Asians are Pakistani, whenever me and my brother used to speak Bengali, we used to be looked at in a negative way by Pakistani boys in school. Eventually this led to us getting in fights with groups of Pakistani boys that we had to defend ourselves from… When more Bengalis moved into the area, me and my brother bonded with them. We used to stick together and make sure we were safe… Me and the Bengali boys that we used to hang with started committing crime because our families were struggling. We didn’t have the intention to start as a gang but because we were involved in crime and violence, we became a gang.^{[footnote 106]}

Evidence shows that girls’ involvement in gangs can often be attributed to ‘love’ or relationships with male gang members^{[footnote 107]}, with many girls recruited into gangs through inducements such as “the giving of gifts, praise and overtures of friendship”.^{[footnote 108]}

The Centre for Social Justice and urban youth charity XLP highlight a case study example of this:

When I was 15… I met a 20 year-old who was in a gang. He had money, a car and he said that he was going to protect me, that no one was going to touch me and that if I needed anything he would give it to me. Instead of going to school I began to sit at his house with his friends smoking weed, becoming exposed to gang violence and becoming sexually active.

How young people develop their place and identity in society will depend on their exposure to peers and role models, expectations of those in authority with whom they interact, and their link to other adults. This notion of the alternative family can extend to encompass a deeper idea of ‘community’. The African American Anthropologist Signithia Fordham has talked about ‘fictive kinship’, meaning a collective social identity that distinguishes ‘us’ from ‘them’.^{[footnote 109]} Many ethnic minority young people get trapped in this form of alternative family, where to break-out means a betrayal of deep kinship loyalties.

Community based initiatives to divert young people away from criminal activity

We need to demonstrate to all young people the value of finding respect and recognition in mainstream society without resorting to crime or violence. The Sutton Trust highlights the importance of ‘attachment’ and relationships in the development of children: “studies into drivers of youth crime and risky behaviours have found that attachment to fathers is relatively more important for boys, and attachment to mothers for girls”.^{[footnote 110]} Evidence also shows that mentorship^{[footnote 111]}, targeted social skills training including positive role models, and programmes that work with both parents and young people are effective in preventing youth violence and gang involvement.^{[footnote 112]}

The Commission believes that community leadership and role models are at the heart of helping young people redirect their energies into actions that provide opportunities for progression in society, and prevent their involvement in violent crime. We recognise the power of young people to be an instrumental part of this leadership, and heard insights from young people themselves who were calling for role models:

We need to get role models from within our communities to communicate. We need them to represent our communities. And we cannot forget about the older generations, because we need their experiences to educate the younger generations. Everyone can feel empathy. If we share people’s stories who have witnessed and experienced prejudice, they can help. We need to educate our communities to promote kindness and respect. It is never too late.^{[footnote 113]}

(Anonymous, age 15)

The Commission further recognises the wisdom and lived experience of the Windrush generation that has seen the changing shape of race relations in the UK, from which the young can learn. This knowledge needs to be framed into a message that speaks more about responsibilities, conflict resolution, and the building of bridges.

Richard Taylor OBE, father of Damilola Taylor, speaking after an event marking the 19th anniversary of his 10-year-old son’s death, emphasised this need to build bridges:

Something has gone badly wrong and I believe that only as a society can we put it right. We can start by challenging each other to be more caring.^{[footnote 114]}

Parents, teachers, social workers and policy makers, individually and collectively, need to better understand and address the complex pressures faced by young people, especially from disadvantaged backgrounds. Acting on the potential missteps between childhood and adulthood is vital to helping them to overcome disadvantage.

But, in tandem with these efforts, there are also things that can be done now to aid the sea change on violent crime needed within local communities themselves. And the Commission notes that a national approach to this work has already begun – an example of which is described here.

First launched in 2005, the Scottish Violence Reduction Units were formed in response to high rates of homicide and gang violence across the Strathclyde Police area, and particularly Glasgow. By adopting a public health approach that treats violence as a preventable disease, their approach focuses ‘on the power of relationships to help reduce violence’, giving gang members the chance to leave their past life behind, alongside increased stop and search and tougher sentencing for knife carrying in Scotland. An evaluation of the Community Initiative to Reduce Violence in Glasgow found that violent crime fell by 46% among CIRV participants, weapon carrying fell by 85%, knife carrying fell by 58%, and gang fighting fell by 73%.^{[footnote 115]} A number of respondents to the Commission’s call for evidence referenced the Glasgow approach as a successful initiative for knife crime reduction, and many suggested that a similar strategy would work in other UK cities.

This approach was emulated in England and Wales in 2019 when the Home Office announced that 18 police service areas would receive funding to ‘establish (or build upon existing) Violence Reduction Units’ (VRUs). The VRUs adopted a public health approach across their activities, commissioning a broad range of interventions to tackle serious violence. A Home Office process evaluation of the VRUs in 2020 found that ‘good progress had generally been made by the VRUs over the first year of the programme’.^{[footnote 116]}

Although these initiatives are in their early stages, the Commission commends the work of VRUs across the UK for the overall impact they are already having on addressing violent crime.

Drivers of stop and search activity (b): tackling drug-related crime

In London in the year ending March 2020, 62% of positive outcomes of stop and search were related to drug offences.^{[footnote 117]} One study found a 10% increase in stop and search during a given month decreased recorded drug offences by 1.85%^{[footnote 118]}, suggesting that drug crime patterns change when stop and search is taking place in an area. The latest available data from 2019 states that convictions for drug offences were highest for all ethnic groups in the Metropolitan Police area^{[footnote 119][footnote 120]}. Among Asian people convicted of drug offences, over half (58%) of drug convictions for Asian people were in only 2 police service areas: the Metropolitan Police area and the West Midlands. For Black people, 69% of all convictions were in the same 2 areas.

Overall the data shows that Black men were arrested for drug offences at a rate 8 times higher than White men in the year ending March 2020^{[footnote 121]} and ethnic minority groups are disproportionately convicted of drug dealing. In 2019, 42% of those convicted of dealing class A drugs and 25% of those convicted of dealing class B drugs were from ethnic minorities^{[footnote 122][footnote 123]}.

However, despite perceptions, drug-related crime and its consequences are not always found in large cities. For example, by 2017, drug-related deaths in Yorkshire and Humber had risen by more than 75% in 6 years.^{[footnote 124]}

The issue of drug possession with intent to supply among Asian people has also been widely reported. In an investigation into the links between Huddersfield and the national, and international drugs trade, journalist Mobeen Azhar found that in 2016 to 2017 British Pakistani people accounted for 27% of convictions for possession with intent to supply Class A drugs in Yorkshire and Humber^{[footnote 125]}; according to the 2011 Census they made up just 5% of the urban population of the region. In that same 12 month period the majority of convictions were among the White British community but this is to be expected as they make up the majority of the area’s population.^{[footnote 126]}

A 2017 report by the National Crime Agency^{[footnote 127]} on the so-called ‘county lines’ gangs delivering hard drugs around the country found that there are an estimated 720 such ‘lines’, most originating from London where it is estimated that the majority of gang members are Black. In Liverpool and Manchester, it is estimated that most gang members are White, and in Birmingham mostly Asian.^{[footnote 128]}

As outlined earlier in the chapter, criminality can stem from adverse childhood experiences as well as deprivation.^{[footnote 129]} Yet the concept of ‘personal agency’ is at the core of the Commission’s outlook, and it recognises that all individuals regardless of their ethnicity, personal attributes, or economic circumstances have the moral capacity to discriminate between different courses of behaviour. Offending behaviour should not be excused as a consequence of dire personal circumstances.

However, the Commission is also careful to note that there are exceptions to this, for example, exploitation and grooming into criminal activity, where the notion of ‘choice’ may not be as easily identifiable, and where young individuals may not always be as free to make these choices.

Improving stop and search encounters

The Commission recognises that the police can only operate with the trust, respect and consent of the people. This is the original notion of Robert Peel’s police service whose role was to prevent crime and disorder with the consent and respect of the public.^{[footnote 130]}

The police do not bear the only responsibility for preventing crime and disorder. Involvement is required from the community to prevent criminality in society. We all need the police, regardless of our ethnicity, to safeguard our lives, liberty, and property. Those most affected are those grieving parents who have just lost a child, and arguably those at risk of being drawn into crime.

Stop and search is a useful tactic, governed by legislation, and is used to investigate various forms of criminal activity including burglary and violent crime. The Police and Criminal Evidence (PACE) Act 1984 Code A states that police require reasonable grounds for suspicion before a stop and search is carried out.

Reasonable grounds refers to the fact that there “must be an objective basis for that suspicion based on facts, information and/or intelligence which are relevant to the likelihood that the object in question will be found, so that a reasonable person would be entitled to reach the same conclusion based on the same facts and information and/or intelligence.”^{[footnote 131]}

There is a tension where some communities are supportive of the use of stop and search, whilst others call for the end of the policing tactic altogether. Some respondents in the Commission’s call for evidence said that there is a need to end the use of stop and search, citing the tool as an opportunity for racial profiling. But the alternative to no stop and search would likely mean an instant arrest on suspicion in lieu, and the individual would then need to be taken to a police station to have a similar process carried out before being released - if no further action was required.

The Commission has also heard evidence^{[footnote 132]} that communities impacted by violent crime are often supportive of stop and search being used in circumstances when: a) the reasons for the use of the tool in their area are explained to them, and b) they understand the benefits of stop and search in the context of their neighbourhood. This was echoed in some responses to the Commission’s call for evidence, where respondents indicated an acceptance of the use of stop and search, as long as it is used fairly and properly.

Differing perspectives on trust: a view from both sides

The Commission recognises that stop and search is a critical tool for policing and, when used fairly and properly, it can lead to positive outcomes. This is also the view of academics, police officers and citizens (including young people) from whom the Commission has received and heard evidence. However, it is also clear that there are some ethnic minority communities who remain deeply mistrustful of both the practice and the police services themselves. The reasons for this mistrust are often steeped in a terrible legacy of historical incidents of racism and racist behaviour, carried out under the auspices of a few different police services.

These instances have, understandably cut deeply into those affected generations within ethnic minority communities. We also note that there are more recent examples of abhorrent encounters between individual police officers and citizens. Sadly, for some, these have served only to open old wounds and reinforce suspicion and legacy mistrust, which has been directed at the wider police service – not just to those few rogue elements within.

But it is also the case that there is very little research that has been conducted on the police service’s perspective of policing in the communities they serve – including intelligence-led stop and search encounters. Anecdotally, some officers have spoken confidentially of the challenges and aggressive – sometimes violent – behaviours they have to overcome in the course of carrying out their job. The Metropolitan Police Service recently reported that racist assaults on their police officers had almost doubled between the year ending November 2019 and the year ending November 2020^{[footnote 133]} and, separately, it was reported in the media that assaults on their police officers had increased by nearly 40% during the COVID-19 lockdown in 2020.^{[footnote 134]}

The Commission states unequivocally that the overwhelming majority of those who serve in police force areas across the country are decent and good people. These are men and women who work to protect and serve us all. They put themselves in harm’s way so that we don’t have to. They are the ones we turn to, sometimes when we are in the most desperate circumstances. It is an injustice in itself to portray them, or the wider police service as a whole, as anything less.

But as with all workforces cross-sector, and all corners of society as a whole, there are a minority of individuals who bring shame and dishonour to themselves and to those they represent.

That said, levels of confidence in the police service have remained high for some of the ethnic groups that have experienced higher rates of stop and search. The Crime Survey of England and Wales shows that in the year ending March 2020, 84% of people in the Asian Other ethnic group, 81% of Bangladeshi people and 69% of Black African people and had confidence in their local police.^{[footnote 135]} These 3 groups experienced among the highest rates of stop and search in the same year.^{[footnote 136]} However there is a noticeable drop in confidence for Black Caribbean people (54%), who also experienced the highest rates of stop and search in the same year.^{[footnote 137]} This lack of confidence appears to stem from different experiences, and the intergenerational memory that members of Black Caribbean communities in particular have of unfair and excessive policing in the past.

Addressing concerns that destabilise community trust

We noted earlier that HMICFRS deemed the vast majority of stop and searches they looked into met the requirement for ‘reasonable grounds’. Of the remaining in their sample, however, 22% of the recorded grounds were assessed as weak, and 14% were assessed as ‘not reasonable’.

The Commission is supportive of HMICFRS’ conclusion that “forces need to place more emphasis on ensuring that officers and their supervisors understand what constitutes reasonable grounds and how to record them accurately… Forces should work to improve their find rates by focusing officers’ efforts on searches that are based on strong grounds”.^{[footnote 138]}

Going beyond this, the Commission also believes that a greater distinction is required between ‘weak’ or ‘not reasonable’ grounds, and also a better understanding of what constitutes unlawful grounds. Where grounds for searches are legitimate, and the search is conducted fairly and appropriately, disparities that arise are more easily and justifiably explained. It is in instances where the use of the tactic is deemed unlawful that further investigation of disparities arising as a consequence would be required.

Another area that plays a role in driving mistrust between communities and the police service is the use of force and restraint and the tragic outcomes that can occur as a result.

The Angiolini Review^{[footnote 139]} found that White people make up 86% of those who died in police custody from 2012 to 2017, with 14% from ethnic minority groups. The proportion of Black people who died in police custody between April 2007 and March 2016 was lower than the proportion arrested for notifiable offences.^{[footnote 140]} However a disproportionate number of ethnic minority people have died following use of force.^{[footnote 141]}

In the 11 years to March 2009, 87 people died following police restraint. 67% were White, 16% were Black, 7% had Mixed ethnicity, 6% were Asian, and the ethnicity was not known for 5%.^{[footnote 142]} However, this does not mean there is a causal link between the use of restraint and death, restraint is typically seen as a contributing factor as opposed to a cause in its own right. The IOPC does not report the ethnicity of restraint related deaths but bespoke analysis produced for the Home Office shows that between April 2005 and March 2015, 10% of deaths in police custody were ‘restraint related’ – 3 ethnic minority people and 18 White people.^{[footnote 143]}

The Commission supports the Angiolini Review recommendations aimed at addressing disproportionality in the use of restraint and notes that, in the year ending March 2020, there were 18 deaths – 14 White people, 3 Black people and 1 person of unknown ethnicity – in or following police contact in England and Wales.^{[footnote 144]}

On the issue of racism itself, Dame Elish Angiolini makes it clear that this is not easily proven. She writes:

It is difficult to be able to prove that racism was a factor in deaths in police custody unless sufficient evidence exists and racism can be inferred from the specific facts and circumstances of that case or from a series of such cases of a similar nature arising from the conduct of the suspended officer. Racial stereotyping may or may not be a significant contributory factor in some deaths in custody.

Going further with training

Another issue is that police service areas do not appear to take a uniform approach to training their police officers on how to conduct stop and search. The College of Policing has produced comprehensive training products but it is a matter for individual police services to decide how to use them.^{[footnote 145]}

Better training is often proposed as a potential solution to tackling biases in stop and search. However, the College of Policing conducted a trial^{[footnote 146]} in which 6 police services were given pilot stop and search training. The study concluded that the problems with stop and search would not be solved by training alone.

Evidence shared during the Commission’s engagement with senior officers, frontline officers and academics highlighted good practice models for stop and search. This includes police services having a forum to inform the public of why the police are using the stop and search tactic in their area before it is employed, officers approaching stop and searches with an informed understanding of different ethnic and faith cultures, asking the right questions, and officers knowing how to disengage appropriately from members of the public when nothing is found. Both the police officer and the citizen need to be able to exit this encounter in a positive way.^{[footnote 147]}

Similarly, the Commission has heard views of what does not work in relation to stop and search from community citizens and young people. Qualitative research with young Black and Asian people showed that those who had experienced stop and search felt that grounds used to initiate stops often lacked legitimacy, and that the legal basis for stops varied. They also reported mixed experiences of stop and search, ranging from calm and friendly, to negative and hostile.^{[footnote 148]}

Evidence describing training for young people on how to handle such encounters was also considered. Some community organisations affiliated with their local police service deliver this to good effect. They teach young people what stop and search is, what their rights are, what the process that they can expect to undergo is; and how to behave, react and respond to police officers who are carrying it out. The young people undergoing this training also gave positive feedback and expressed a better understanding of the process and why it may come about.

The Commission encourages more communities to consider where and how they can work together with their local police service to better inform themselves about the law, the process they should expect during an encounter, and what their rights are.

Case Study: Stop and Search Know Your Rights, West Midlands Police and Crime Commissioner

The West Midlands Police and Crime Commissioner funds a ‘Stop and Search Know Your Rights’ project that aims to raise young people’s awareness around stop and search, to explain why police use this power and to inform them of their rights. The objective is to encourage young people to handle a Stop positively, with confidence and control.

The project is delivered in schools and within the community, with information cards distributed at events. Feedback from young people who have been part of the project includes:

• ‘We now know what a stop and search is’
• ‘We understand our rights’
• ‘We realise stop and search is monitored and police are held to account’

Stop and Search trainers work with West Midlands Police to promote trust and transparency, and also attend colleges and universities to promote and recruit for West Midlands Stop and Search scrutiny panels in order to hear youth perspectives. To date the programme has delivered over 400 workshops, reaching in excess of 15,000 people.

Other organisations have adopted a similar approach. Release and StopWatch are developing programmes to ensure that ‘young people are given the tools to interact with the police in as safe a manner as possible, equipping them with the skills and knowledge to handle situations where they are stopped and searched’. The project includes developing training and materials over a twelve-month period to help young people deal with stop and search exchanges, providing them with skills to manage a situation and reduce negative outcomes. Release describes the project as ‘a harm reduction approach to the policing of young people’.^{[footnote 149]}

Anecdotal evidence, as well as submissions to the Commission’s call for evidence, also highlighted a need for more training on de-escalation techniques, and discouraging the use of force in certain encounters.

The HMICFRS report on stop and search similarly alludes to this issue:^{[footnote 150]}

In too many forces, officers and staff are not being provided with the skills they need to understand how they come across in everyday interactions. Nor are they being shown how they can build rapport to help prevent conflict and escalation in order to secure public cooperation and reduce the need for conflict management, de-escalation and the use of force.

The Commission is supportive of the need for effective training which provides de-escalation skills, to avoid unnecessary conflict during stop and search, arrest, and police custody. There is also a need for better training on communication skills, to ensure messages are delivered accurately and effectively to the individuals concerned, their families and, as appropriate, to the wider public.

Recommendation 5: Build trust – Improve training to provide police officers with practical skills to interact with communities

The Commission recommends that the College of Policing, working alongside the NPCC and APCC, develop a strategy to improve the efficacy and implementation of stop and search, and de-escalation training, ensuring a consistent person-centred approach is taken by all police service areas.

De-escalation training will be required for all new police officers joining the service, and upscaled to include all current serving officers who are expected to interact with the public as part of their role. This would be a requirement not just at the point of initial police training, but as a key aspect of continual professional development within different stages and levels of policing.

Transparency and accountability to re-establish trust

But, as outlined above, training alone cannot address the inconsistency in police conduct during stop and search. Pace Code A highlights that:

Supervising officers must monitor the use of stop and search powers and should consider in particular whether there is any evidence that they are being exercised on the basis of stereotyped images or inappropriate generalisations… Supervisors must also examine whether the records reveal any trends or patterns which give cause for concern and, if so, take appropriate action to address this.^{[footnote 151]}

The Commission believes that senior accountability is required when monitoring how stop and search is conducted in a police service. We also acknowledge that body-worn video (BWV) cameras provide an additional means to build transparency and monitor conduct during encounters with the public, supporting the police to do their job, whilst helping to safeguard trust from the public . While there are varied findings on the effectiveness of BWV cameras for improving criminal justice outcomes, there are indications that its use can reduce the number of allegations made against officers and change behaviour relating to both police-conduct and public conduct.^{[footnote 152]}

The College of Policing Authorised Professional Practice outlines guidance on the operational use of BWV, stating:

Where available, body-worn video (BWV) should be used in accordance with force policy. The standard approach is that BWV should be activated so as to capture all relevant information in the time leading up to the person being detained for a search, the conduct of the search itself, and the subsequent conclusion of the encounter.^{[footnote 153]}

HMICFRS also points to BWV cameras as a potential means for continuous professional development, and posited 3 recommendations pertaining to the use of BWV across police services in their 2021 report on the use of stop and search and use of force. Their recommendation included a requirement for police services to ensure BWV cameras are utilised for the entirety of all stop and search encounters; a need for internal monitoring of BWV footage; and, a requirement for external scrutiny of BWV footage.^{[footnote 154]} The inspectorate has also announced the intention to examine the extent to which services use BWV footage in their internal monitoring and external scrutiny processes as part of future Police Effectiveness, Efficiency and Legitimacy (PEEL) inspections.

Recommendation 14: Promote fairness – Increase legitimacy and accountability of stop and search through body-worn video

In this context, there is a strong presumption that in all police services body-worn video (BWV) cameras will be switched on if the officer is in a situation which they believe could lead to a stop and search, or as soon as it is practicable to do so during that encounter. Building on the recommendations posited by HMICFRS, the Commission recommends that for instances where BWV cameras are not switched on during a stop and search, the officer is required to provide a written explanation as to why it was not switched on. Operational guidelines for this requirement should be developed by the College of Policing, and included in the Authorised Professional Practice for stop and search.

Officers must include this written explanation on the stop and search record slip, and it must be available for the individual who was stopped and searched to access following the encounter. The written explanation should be reviewed by a supervising officer to confirm whether the explanation provided is reasonable, and appropriate action should be taken where the rationale provided is of concern. This can, for example, be through performance or misconduct procedures.

The BWV footage of stop and searches should also be scrutinised at 2 levels through dip-sampling:

a) First, external scrutiny through community Safeguarding Trust groups (a recommendation for the formation of these groups is found in the following section) who should be able to request BWV camera footage from a specified date for review. b) Second, police services must implement an internal performance framework that includes dip-sampling review of BWV footage by supervising officers. Feedback should then be given to officers conducting stop and search, and appropriate action should be taken where interactions require improvement. For example, individual officers may be directed to further training or, in most serious instances, be referred to appropriate misconduct procedures.

Equip communities with information on the drivers of police activity

The Commission considers the key issue with stop and search is a lack of consistency, transparency and oversight that allows the perpetuation of charges of racism in public discourse and the media. A large part of this perception of over-policing, and biases in policing, may also be rooted in the lack of information provided to communities about the drivers of police activity in their local areas.

Our research set out 3 main factors informing a decision to establish reasonable grounds to initiate stop and search.^{[footnote 155]} First, long established local intelligence, including knowledge of particular crime ‘hotspots’ or patterns of crime within an area. Second, direct information regarding an alleged offender or offence, including physical description of the alleged offender(s) and/or accounts of the crime undertaken (often provided by members of the public and/or CCTV operators). Third, assessment of the situation and interaction with the alleged offender.

The Commission pays tribute to the many admirable steps already taken by the police, community representatives, advocacy groups, as well as ordinary individuals to build better relations. However, there is currently no uniform approach across the 43 police service areas to promote transparency, community involvement and scrutiny.

Build transparency and community involvement in policing

But there is guidance that can be built on. The College of Policing Authorised Professional Practice (APP) guidance highlights the fact that the police are legally required to engage with local communities, and under section 34 of the Police Reform and Social Responsibility Act 2011, Chief Officers must make arrangements in each neighbourhood to obtain the views of the public on crime and disorder in the local area, provide local information about crime and policing, and hold regular public meetings.^{[footnote 156]}

In addition, the guidance states that:

Police and Crime Commissioners (PCCs) or their equivalents must, under section 96 of the Police Act 1996 as amended by section 14 of the PRSR 2011, make arrangements for obtaining the views of communities in particular circumstances (for example, before issuing a police and crime plan) and, under section 17, have regard to the views of people in their areas on policing, when carrying out their functions.^{[footnote 157]}

The APP guidance outlines the key principles required for independent scrutiny processes introduced by police services and their PCCs, such as independent advisory groups. This includes recognition that panels need to be representative, reflecting the diversity of their local areas and independently chaired by someone independent of the police.^{[footnote 158]}

The Commission recognises that the legislation and guidance are still open to interpretation by each police service area, leading to large degrees of variance on how community scrutiny and involvement works. We also note the need for members of scrutiny groups to be well-informed and given the necessary support to scrutinise and work with policing. This is an issue that HMICFRS points to, highlighting that “some panels were ineffective because members were not given the tools they needed to perform the role. And a small number of forces either had no arrangements in place or their panels met too infrequently”.^{[footnote 159]}

In the Commission’s view, scrutiny and community engagement should be operational in all police services at 2 levels: borough or community safety partnership level, with oversight and direct lines of reporting to Police and Crime Commissioners and the Chief Constable; and at service level with ability to scrutinise the Chief Constable.

Some police services advertise scrutiny as ‘ride alongs’ with police officers, where community members can experience policing from within and provide feedback. However, others demonstrate good practice in community scrutiny and involvement. The Criminal Justice Alliance report particularly identified Bedfordshire Police as having a transparent, informed, independent and representative approach to community scrutiny.^{[footnote 160]}

Case study: Bedfordshire Police

Bedfordshire Stop Search Scrutiny Panel uses a traffic light system to ‘rate’ officers’ use of stop and search. Where a search is graded green, the officer is provided with positive feedback. If amber, the officer is given advice on how to improve. A red-graded search will be escalated to be reviewed by the Professional Standards Department and then raised with local senior management of the officer to ensure direct accountability and management action. Feedback is provided at the next panel meeting. Approximately 5% of stop and searches are scrutinised on a monthly basis.

The scrutiny panel has a membership pool of 50 and recruitment is independent of the police. Membership is 50% male 50% female with representation from people in Asian, Black, Mixed and White ethnic groups; there is also some youth representation with the minimum age set at 16.

The scrutiny panel also undertakes a wide range of community engagement activities to ensure its panel is open and representative of both age and demographics of the country. This includes using radio stations, sports centres, community centres, schools and colleges to raise awareness of the work of the panel. The Bedfordshire stop search scrutiny panel also works alongside the police Community Cohesion Team with the aim of engaging people with experience of stop and search.

The scrutiny panel meetings occur in a variety of locations accessible to the general public, including youth centres, local charity Youthscape and Bedfordshire Police HQ. Bedfordshire works closely with the community through a dedicated community cohesion lead who liaises with the stop and search lead and the scrutiny panel.

Chief Inspector Hob Hoque stated in October 2020:

It is of course great news that the panel were happy with how our officers used force on these occasions. We have still identified some great feedback from the panel, which we will be taking back to the officers involved as well as the wider organisation to help us improve how we do things.

Panel Chair Montell Neufville said:

It is clear that on occasions it is necessary to use force to protect people, property and officers themselves, and most do this in line with operational practices. The panel’s role is to provide that reassurance to local people that tactics are being used fairly and that force is the last resort to achieve the outcome.^{[footnote 161]}

During the COVID-19 pandemic, scrutiny panels have continued to take place, but have been coordinated through the use of virtual meetings, enabling the panel to view the body-worn video footage and review the numerical data from remote locations.

Recommendation 4: Build trust – Bridge divides and create partnerships between the police and communities

Noting the key concerns highlighted above in relation to communication, transparency and consistency in approach for stop and search, the Commission makes a two-part recommendation:

a) First, that the College of Policing, working alongside the Association of Police and Crime Commissioners (APCC), and National Police Chiefs’ Council (NPCC), develop a minimum standard framework for community ‘Safeguarding Trust’ groups that will not only have a function to scrutinise and problem-solve alongside policing, but also to ensure there is a minimum level of engagement with communities in every police service area.

The framework for the minimum standard should include, but not be limited to:

• a requirement for stop and search data to be made more granular and publicly available for groups to scrutinise
• a requirement for groups to be independently chaired and representative of their communities
• a duty for Safeguarding Trust group minutes to be published
• an ability for groups to scrutinise and hold police services to account on policing activity and disparities in stop and search, use of force, workforce mix and internal misconduct
• an ability for groups to review stop and search authorisations made under Section 60 (S.60) of the Criminal Justice and Public Order Act 1994, where police will be required to provide the Safeguarding Trust group with a rationale as to why a S.60 was authorised

Once a year, Safeguarding Trust groups should write to, and receive a response from the Chief Constable and Police and Crime Commissioner to update on progress. Police services should also be required to demonstrate how they have responded and implemented changes as a result of scrutiny or challenge by the community.

Throughout the framework development phase, there should be engagement with independent experts in community engagement and scrutiny external to policing. Consideration should be given to how members of Safeguarding Trust groups are adequately enabled to undertake their roles.

Where required, the Home Office should also provide support in identifying those areas where trustworthiness is low and set targets to close the confidence gap, with Mayors and Police and Crime Commissioners to publish delivery plans to achieve that improvement. Progress against these delivery plans should be presented and discussed at the Safeguarding Trust group meetings.

There is a strong will and commitment from police services to create these groups and work alongside communities. Through these Safeguarding Trust groups, communities will have greater agency and involvement in the policing of their local areas. But this cannot be achieved without commitment from the citizens themselves. The Commission therefore encourages citizens of all race and ethnic groups within these communities to come forward, get involved and support these police services.

b) The Commission recommends that Her Majesty’s Inspectorate of Constabulary and Fire and Rescue Services (HMICFRS) inspect each police service area against the minimum standard framework, reviewing police services on their efficacy, relationship building and a requirement for services to demonstrate the actions they are taking to build positive relationships with all communities within their police service area.

The Commission is of the view that community scrutiny needs to drive accountability and drive change in policing. The aim of these groups is to bring transparency for communities to understand what is happening in their local areas, the drivers behind the policing activity, and provide scrutiny and challenge to policing to drive action where appropriate.

However, the Commission also notes that communities themselves – particularly the citizens who reside in them – will need to exercise their own agency, individually and collectively, to play their part in making this successful. There needs to be a will on both sides to bridge current divides, and to work collaboratively to achieve better outcomes for all.

There is already a commitment among some police forces to strengthen community involvement in and scrutiny of policing tactics, with Greater Manchester Police and West Midlands Police being supportive of the Commission’s recommendation.

Superintendent Marie O’Loughlin, Diversity, Equality and Inclusion, Greater Manchester Police:

Greater Manchester Police is absolutely committed to delivering equality of service to our communities right across Greater Manchester. We know that the police have a unique role in society, in that we can be required to use powers over our fellow citizens. It is absolutely right that because of these unique powers the Police Service faces unique levels of scrutiny and accountability. Greater Manchester Police is committed to working with the College of Policing and NPCC in the development of a minimum standard for community ‘Safeguarding Trust’ groups that have a function to scrutinise and problem-solve alongside policing.

Chief Superintendent Phil Dolby, Force Lead, Diversity and Inclusion Team, West Midlands Police:

At West Midlands Police we are big believers in accountability and public scrutiny. We are a police service, not a ‘force’, and policing needs to work hard to earn the public’s trust through demonstrating legitimacy and building confidence with our communities. West Midlands Police is supportive of the proposal to develop a minimum standard for groups that will enable communities to scrutinise and problem-solve alongside policing.

Other perspectives on preventing youth crime

In addition to community leadership, the Commission considers that there are not enough countervailing mechanisms for young people who want to extricate themselves from criminal activity before it is too late.

The Commission heard the view that often, young people participating in criminal activity do not see themselves at risk. Instead, they feel like they are having a good time, being part of a surrogate family, being treated as adults by those they consider their peers.

There is an existing initiative for young people, called ‘Is This Ok?’, that was piloted for 7 months in Bradford and the London Borough of Waltham Forest. The evaluation of the initial pilot that took place in September 2019, demonstrated that it had some success in dealing with exploitation and abuse.

The pilot was funded by BBC Children in Need and delivered in partnership by Missing People and NSPCC and Childline.^{[footnote 162]}

Case study: ‘Is This Ok?’

Is This Ok? is a service for 13 to 18 year olds that provides a digital gateway to those that are at risk of, or experiencing, exploitation and or abuse. It was developed as an action in response to young people being at risk of exploitation and being groomed into gangs, drug crime and violence.

The service uses chatbot technology to direct, navigate and connect users to:

• information about services and organisations that young people can access for further information and support for a range of topic areas relating to exploitation and abuse
• a live chat function where the user can anonymously discuss their concerns and worries with a trained call handler

During the delivery period (September 2019 to March 2020) of the pilot, the chatbot was accessed 1,746 times, with 11% of these interactions being repeat users.

In addition to the chatbot there is an option to speak to a call handler through a live chat function. Of the chat transcripts, there were a number of encouraging responses from young people, with many stating that they now ‘know there is somewhere or someone I can go to if I’m worried something is not OK’.

The service is intended to provide support to young people who are vulnerable to criminal or sexual exploitation,who would not otherwise access any other forms of support. The feedback from call handlers suggests the pilot successfully reached and engaged young people with low level concerns. Further work is required to understand why the pilot was not as successful in reaching those with higher level concerns and at the greatest risk of exploitation.^{[footnote 163]}

There are also other initiatives that use digital technology as part of their work to divert and signpost young people away from damaging behaviours that may lead to the criminal justice system, including Project Axis at Hillingdon Youth Justice Service.

Case study: Hillingdon Youth Justice Service - Project Axis

Project Axis is an award-winning programme endorsed by the Mayor’s Office for Policing and Crime (MOPAC) that supports the early identification of young people at risk of criminal exploitation. By centrally collating, analysing and sharing data across agencies, it informs the wider local authority and partnership response. Project Axis disrupts county line activity and coordinated drug operations. It enables Hillingdon to work closely with the police on Child Sexual Exploitation operations, allows triangulation of data, and delivers targeted intervention and diversion exactly where it is needed.^{[footnote 164]}

An example of what has been achieved through Project Axis is outlined below:

Intelligence was shared by the allocated Metropolitan Police Schools Officer regarding a 14 year old student (A) who had recently moved to the school and had become involved with a group of known criminal peers. On receiving the information, Project Axis triangulated the information across systems and databases to establish if ‘A’ was known to other services. Due to a recent move into the area, ‘A’ did not appear on partners’ systems however using the Axis database ‘A’ was identified as being at risk based on associates.

Contact was made with ‘A’ through the school and parent, and ‘A’ undertook a comprehensive Early Help Assessment followed by the implementation of a targeted action plan.

Following a period of 12 weeks engaging on Project Axis, ‘A’:

• engaged with counselling delivered by the school counsellor
• increased their school attendance and required no further periods in alternative education
• changed peer group within school
• along with their parent, developed a greater awareness of the risks associated with peer coercion and exploitation

Building on the ‘Is This Ok?’ chatbot and Project Axis models, the Commission has heard further views from the children’s charity Coram that there is a need for a technology strategy to disrupt youth crime pathways and enable early intervention at scale.

The charity has newly formed a National Innovation Incubator for Children’s Social Care which is already taking this concept forward as part of a wider programme of innovation, partnering with local authorities including: Stoke City Council, North Yorkshire County Council, Hertfordshire County Council, Southend Borough Council, London Borough of Newham, London Borough of Redbridge, London Borough of Havering, and London Borough of Bromley.

The Commission therefore believes that a new, ‘disruptive’ solution that helps to create agency and opportunities for individuals to gain control of their lives, and also stops or prevents the exploitation of young people and children into crime is required.

Recommendation 18: Create agency – Improve safety and support for children at risk

The Commission recommends that the Youth Justice Board (YJB), working with partners across government with expertise in child criminal exploitation, develops a digital solution that can be accessed and used by children and young people before or at the point of crisis.

The government will be required to secure and deploy additional resourcing to the YJB to ensure that the YJB is appropriately resourced to deliver and implement this recommendation.

The digital solution, which for example may take the form of a mobile application, text line or chatbot will act as an entry point to signpost and refer those at risk of, or already experiencing criminal exploitation, to appropriate local organisations who can support them. The services will be driven and implemented at a local level, for example, through youth offending teams.

This recommendation will help empower young people with the agency and ability to escape criminal behaviours and exploitation without the need to go to the police. The solution, based on existing technology innovations, will need to reach young people at critical points in their journey, intervening at an early stage for those at risk of criminal exploitation and preventing those already in the criminal justice system from being drawn deeper into criminality.

Reducing the harm caused by low level drug crime

One of the themes from the Lammy Review which the Commission has aimed to build on includes the diversion of low-level drug offences outside of the criminal justice system.

For England and Wales, in 2019 to 2020, 63% of ‘reasonable ground’ stop and searches were conducted to find drugs.^{[footnote 165]}

In 2019, possession of cannabis was the most common drug offence for Black people and the second most common for all other ethnic groups. Class B drug offences accounted for nearly half of prosecutions for almost all ethnic groups: 49% of White defendants and 48% of defendants from Black, Asian and Mixed ethnic groups.^{[footnote 166]}

In the youth justice estate, in the year ending March 2020, 16% of Black and Asian children, 13% of children in Mixed and Other ethnic groups, and 8% of White children in youth custody had committed drug offences.^{[footnote 167]}

The Commission found gaps in research and understanding of the overall prevalence of illegal drug use by ethnicity. However in England, for pupils aged 11 to 15 years in 2018, 17% said they had taken drugs in the last year. When looking at ethnicity, Asian pupils were less likely than any other ethnic groups to have taken drugs in the last year at 13%, compared with 23% of Mixed ethnicity pupils, 18% of Black pupils and 17% of White pupils. Of the drugs taken, cannabis is the drug that pupils were most likely to have taken in the last year, with 8% saying that they had done so. The statistics also show that of those pupils who had taken drugs, 42% said that their early experience of drug use involved cannabis.^{[footnote 168]}

With over 2.6 million users^{[footnote 169]} during the last year alone the cannabis market is currently the single biggest illegal drug market in terms of number of consumers and has an estimated revenue of approximately £2 billion.^{[footnote 170]} For adults, cannabis represented the highest number of all types of drug use for year ending March 2020, and approximately one third of individuals who use cannabis were frequent users of the drug.^{[footnote 171]} For 16 to 24 year olds, cannabis was the most common drug used with 18.7% having reported that they had used the drug in the last year.^{[footnote 172]} Drug use also varied by household income, with those with a total household income less than £10,400 (13.2%) more likely to have used cannabis than people in higher income households.^{[footnote 173]}

Cannabis was also the most commonly seized drug by police services in the year ending March 2020, representing 74% of all drug seizures and amounting to about 125,000 seizures.^{[footnote 174]} There were approximately 40,000 convictions at all courts for all drug offences, not only cannabis.^{[footnote 175]} In 2019, 63% of convictions for drug offences were for White offenders, 20% for Black offenders and 10% for Asian offenders.^{[footnote 176]}

We know that poorer communities are more likely to experience stop and search, most stop and searches are made on suspicion of drugs,^{[footnote 177]} and that the majority of stop and searches in London were of people aged 15 to 24 years in the year ending January 2021.^{[footnote 178]} Black and Asian people were among the most likely to be living in the most deprived 10% of neighbourhoods in 2019.^{[footnote 179]}

The Commission believes that there is a double disadvantage for young people living in more deprived areas, where greater police presence leads to them being stopped, searched and consequently prosecuted for possession of Class B drugs. Once they have entered the criminal justice system, these young people, and specifically young ethnic minority men are more likely to then re-enter the criminal justice system than their White counterparts. This then has a disproportionate impact on their ability to progress in life, and can often be the gateway into a cycle of re-entry into the criminal justice system, hampering education and employment prospects.^{[footnote 180]}

The question to be posed here is: what is the best response to drug possession that will achieve society’s objectives to punish, rehabilitate and correct behaviours? Drug possession, regardless of whether Class A or Class B, is a crime and anyone who chooses to engage with illegal drugs must contend with the repercussions of their decisions. However, we question the extent to which these repercussions must fall within the criminal justice system.

The Commission believes there is a case for treating low-level Class B drug possession for personal use only through alternative pathways outside of the criminal justice system. This would enable the police to direct greater efforts and resources towards hard drugs and the violent crime with which it is associated, whilst also preventing harm through adopting public health interventions.

By focusing on possession of Class B drugs for personal use, the Commission believes it is making practical and achievable proposals that could help staunch the flow of young people into more serious crime.

The use of Class B drugs is widespread across the population of the UK, but the majority of those who use them are aged under 30; and there is some evidence that young people with heavy cannabis use have been pulled into county lines operations to pay off debts.^{[footnote 181]}

The Commission welcomes the government’s recent announcement of a £148m investment into tackling the issue of drugs, which will provide additional resources for law enforcement to tackle the supply of drugs and dismantle organised gangs. It will also deliver more money to drug treatment and recovery to help cut drug related crime and disrupt the cycle of misuse and reoffending.

Part of this investment includes the introduction of the pilot Project ADDER (Addiction, Diversion, Disruption, Enforcement and Recovery). This new, intensive approach to tackling drug misuse, combines targeted and tougher policing with enhanced treatment and recovery services.^{[footnote 182]} The pilot will run in 5 areas across the UK with some of the highest rates of drug misuse: Blackpool, Hastings, Middlesbrough, Norwich and Swansea Bay.

We note that the ethnic minority populations of the identified locations are small, particularly in Blackpool and Swansea^{[footnote 183]}, and that the project will presumably tackle all classes of drugs. But there is another troubling area that it may not address.

This is the disproportionate criminalisation of young people, often from ethnic minority and deprived backgrounds, through their personal use of cannabis and other ‘soft drugs’. The Commission does not endorse the legalisation of Class B drugs. They have a detrimental impact on an individual’s physical and mental wellbeing, with research showing links between frequent use of cannabis and risk of developing psychosis disorders.^{[footnote 184]} For young people under 18 years old, there have been links between cannabis consumption and risks of developing depression and suicidal behaviour later in life.^{[footnote 185]} In year ending March 2020, admissions for drug-related mental and behavioural disorders, and for poisoning by drug misuse, were highest for younger people, peaking between the ages of 25 and 34.^{[footnote 186]} And cannabis accounted for three-quarters of all patients in drug treatment in 2015 to 2016.^{[footnote 187]} It is also established that regular use can predispose people to later Class A drug use by, in some way, opening a ‘gateway’.^{[footnote 188]}

The tragic effects of drug abuse can also be seen downstream in the criminal justice system. Between 2008 and 2016, there were 88 drug-related deaths in prison custody^{[footnote 189]} of which 12 were counted within the definition of suicide as they were classified as self-poisoning (either intentional or undetermined intent).^{[footnote 190]} In 2017, there were 60 self-inflicted deaths among White prisoners, at a rate of 0.96 per 1,000 prisoners compared with a rate of 0.09 for Black prisoners (2 self-inflicted deaths).^{[footnote 191]} In the same year, there were 621 self-harm incidents involving White prisoners per thousand compared to 100 for Black prisoners.^{[footnote 192]}

But health-oriented Out of Court Disposals (OOCDs) can potentially address substance abuse before it becomes addictive, and may prevent criminal offenders from drifting into more serious criminal behaviours. They can also spare young people a criminal record, and the resulting blight on future opportunities for education or employment, for what could be a one-time indiscretion or phase in the thralls of youth.

A review prepared for the Commission^{[footnote 193]} found no strong evidence to suggest that reducing punishments for drug possession increases drug use. They found that many alternative measures to decriminalisation have reduced arrests and convictions for low-level drug offences. This is exemplified in the Thames Valley Police Drug Diversion programme, which “provides individuals with an opportunity to avoid the stigma of receiving a criminal record, whilst at the same time offering incentives to attend drug diversion programmes and treatment”.^{[footnote 194]}

Case study: Thames Valley Police Drug Diversion Programme

Thames Valley Police (TVP) implemented a pilot study on the West Berkshire Local Policing Area (LPA) which utilised a ‘diversion to drug service provider’ scheme used in lieu of traditional criminal justice pathways. The pilot utilised a community resolution outcome for those found in possession of illegal drugs. This involved a non-enforceable referral to a drug service provider. The intervention involved an assessment followed by 3 face-to-face intervention sessions with a member of the drug service provider.

A paper outlining the impact of the West Berkshire drugs diversion pilot between 10 December 2017 and 13 January 2019 found that 62% of the referrals came as a result of an officer initiated stop check, and contact was made with all of those referred. The majority of referrals (76%) were for possession of cannabis.

The evaluation found that 84% of those who were sent for treatment would have received a sanction that would not have addressed the reasons for their drug use, had they not been referred to the programme. There was a proven re-offending rate of 8.7% for adults in the pilot cohort when compared with a national proven re-offending rate of 25.7%.

I did the drug diversion sessions when I was stopped by the police in the wrong place at the wrong time with a joint of cannabis on me…. But I actually found the sessions to be really useful and I learnt a lot from them… I think it’s really important that Thames Valley Police offer this so that we don’t just get a criminal record.

(Male, 17, completed the drug diversion programme in Oct/Nov 2020.)

Five police services have implemented specific drug diversion schemes in the UK: Durham Police, Avon and Somerset, North Wales, Thames Valley Police, and West Midlands Police - whose particular approach is exemplified below.^{[footnote 195]}

Case study: West Midlands Police pre-arrest drug diversion

Announced in October 2020, the process for pre-arrest drug diversion in West Midlands Police involves applying a community resolution. This is a non-statutory, out of court disposal (OOCD) for officers to utilise. Community resolutions do not lead to a criminal record. This diversion is for ‘simple’ possession of controlled drug offences only, and ‘any possession with intent to supply’ offences are excluded from this scheme.

The annual cost of drug misuse to the West Midlands Police force area is around £1.4bn. 1 in 5 crimes reported to West Midlands Police are believed to be drug related, with around 50% of burglaries, theft, shoplifting and robbery committed by Class A drug users. The purpose of this pilot is to adopt a Public Health approach to the use of controlled drugs.

Monitoring and evaluation of the project is ongoing, however, in the first 3 months of the PCC commissioned scheme, West Midlands Police made 527 referrals onto the scheme, with 270 of those being assessed, and 127 people attending the intervention so far. The vast majority of these referrals are for people under the age of 30, and almost 90% of individuals stated cannabis as their drug of choice. 34% of people (with known ethnicity) assessed for the programme so far are White British, 23% are Pakistani (the 2 largest groups).

Currently, to be eligible for an OOCD, the offender must admit guilt and agree to the ‘disposal’. The Commission has heard views that people from ethnic minorities, and specifically Black men are less likely to receive a diversionary option, such as an OOCD, as the requirement to admit guilt acts as a potential barrier to be diverted. This is reflected in the youth justice estate; between 2017 and 2019, Black, Asian and Mixed ethnicity children were substantially less likely than White children to receive an out of court disposal.^{[footnote 196]} The Lammy Review also points to this barrier in the context of custodial sentences, where ethnic minority defendants were consistently more likely than White defendants to plead not guilty in court. At the heart of this remains the question of trust, and we urge police services, criminal justice agencies, and ethnic minority communities to work together to understand and address this reluctance to admit guilt.

For example, a multi-agency National Youth Justice Board project was launched in 2020 seeking to understand the disproportionality in the OOCD system, specifically in relation to Community Resolutions. The Commission considers that the findings from this work will help to inform the approach for a diversion route that mitigates against the risks of disproportionality in the uptake of diversionary routes.

We consider examples such as the Thames Valley and West Midlands Police drug diversion pilot models as effective and proportionate means through which young people may be appropriately diverted from addiction and crime, whilst also trying to address the root cause of their personal drug use. It’s about implementing fair practices in policing that will provide improved outcomes for those young people, and their wider communities.

Recommendation 12: Promote fairness – Prevent harm, reduce crime and divert young people away from the criminal justice system

The Commission therefore recommends a multi-agency approach bringing together the College of Policing (CoP), National Police Chiefs’ Council (NPCC), Home Office (HO) and Ministry of Justice (MoJ) to develop an evidence-based pilot to divert offences of low-level Class B drug possession into public health services.

It is suggested that the pilot is trialled in 4 of the 6 police force areas where almost half (48%) of all arrests for drug offences took place in the year ending March 2020; the Metropolitan Police, Merseyside, West Yorkshire, and Humberside (noting that Thames Valley and West Midlands are already undertaking police drug diversion pilots). The aim is that following evaluation of the pilot by the College of Policing, a consistent approach is adopted nationally.

Under this diversion scheme, individuals committing the offence of ‘possession of a Class B drug’ will automatically be considered for a drugs referral in lieu of traditional criminal justice routes. In accordance with current OOCD guidance, individuals committing the offence must admit guilt to be eligible for this referral mechanism. The Commission also notes that information about those referred into this programme should not be disclosed to potential employers, education providers or voluntary sector organisations, in order to preserve opportunities for young people - once they have completed their course - to pursue further or higher education or employment without being held back by a criminal record.

The responsibility for developing operational guidance for the new drug diversion approach should sit with the CoP, working alongside the NPCC, Home Office and MoJ, and drawing from the evidence of what has worked from models such as the Thames Valley Police pilot approach.

^{[footnote 197]}

The implementation of this recommendation will go further to ensure fairness in treatment of all those in possession of illegal substances across all communities and prevent the mass criminalisation of young people found in possession of small quantities of Class B drugs. The Crown Prosecution Service has indicated support for such an approach:

The Crown Prosecution Service recognises the importance of using a range of interventions to tackle the disproportionate impact the criminal justice system can have on young people, and we are very interested in the outcomes of this project.

(Gerry Wareham, National Youth Justice Lead, Crown Prosecution Service)

How to achieve a more diverse police service

A key element in building trust with communities is fostering the belief among all groups that policing is a respected career, that the police service is theirs and over time can come to look more like the communities it is policing. Respondents to the Commission’s call for evidence echoed this sentiment; many said that by having a more diverse workforce, police services would be able to build better relationships and trust with the communities they work with. Some progress has been made in recent years, as we registered above, but relative to the big strides that minorities have made into the professions elsewhere, noted in the employment chapter, policing remains a cold spot, especially at higher levels.

No police services are fully ethnically representative of the population they serve^{[footnote 198]}, with the exception of Lincolnshire where the workforce was 2.3% ethnic minority (excluding White minorities) in 2020 compared with a population that was 2.4% ethnic minority.^{[footnote 199]}

Figure 16: Percentage of police officers from ethnic minorities, and percentage of the overall population from ethnic minorities (at 2011 Census), by police force area (England and Wales, 31 March 2020)

Note: based on full-time equivalent police officers

In England and Wales as a whole:

• 3.1% of police officers were Asian, compared with 6.8% of the population
• 1.3% of police officers were Black, compared with 3.3% of the population
• 92.7% of officers were White, compared with 86.0% of the population
• the Mixed ethnic group was representative, making up 2.2% of police officers and 2.2% of the population^{[footnote 200]}

In the year ending March 2020, 2,756^{[footnote 201]} police officers were promoted. This included 2,558 White officers, 57 Asian officers, 52 officers from Mixed ethnic groups, 12 Black officers, and 10 officers from Other (including Chinese) ethnic groups.^{[footnote 202]} However, the Commission was concerned to note that the data does not include the Metropolitan Police, which is the largest and most ethnically diverse service in England and Wales. Consequently this may alter the number of promotions significantly.

Based on this data, and noting the omission of the Metropolitan Police, it showed that only White officers were promoted to the highest rank of Chief Officer (which includes Assistant Chief Constables, Deputy Chief Constables and Chief Constables). A total of 25 promotions to this rank were made. At a Chief Superintendent rank, there were 58 promotions in total, of which there was one promotion of an officer in each of the Mixed, Asian and Other ethnic groups and no promotions of Black officers (where ethnicity was known).

The Commission recognises that this can be explained by the lack of diverse candidates in the pipeline for senior positions. But creating that pipeline is an operational imperative. It makes it easier to gather intelligence and evidence from those who might be unwilling to come forward otherwise, to bring people to court, to protect people, and to be able to respond to incidents with more sensitivity and understanding.^{[footnote 203]} We do not believe that a White police officer is unable to police areas with large ethnic minority communities, or show empathy and understanding with people from minority groups, but a more diverse police service overall could help to rebuild trust with communities at the local level.

Understanding barriers to recruitment: culture of policing

The challenge of community perceptions

The Commission heard evidence that people from ethnic minority backgrounds are often put off joining the police by the doubts, criticism, and fears of friends or family, with some even having a sense that they are betraying their community and joining the ‘other side’.^{[footnote 204]}

On closer inspection of this evidence, what was also revealed was the shocking racial abuse that ethnic minority police officers can be subjected to by other ethnic minority citizens in the communities they serve. Social media platforms highlighted disturbing comments which will not be repeated here. Printable examples, already publicly commented on, include the following from one such citizen:

You respect Black police officers?? Really??? Are you guys even Black talking like that do you hear yourselves rn!? Ain’t no Black man got any place working for the police u guys ain’t serious man smfh^{[footnote 205]}

And the following from political and race relations activist, Lee Jasper:

…You’re White or some kind of wretched ass kissing uncle tom. You call out my racism instead of the Met?^{[footnote 206]}

A Black, female police officer described how she actively avoided working at the BLM protests last year:

I’ve spoken to numerous colleagues of different ethnic backgrounds; some have been heckled and had racist abuse thrown at them. Others have been asked, ‘Why are you standing there when you should be with us?’ As a Black person in uniform you can be portrayed as a traitor. But that’s not what it’s about. I don’t want to be a part of people hurling abuse, it [this movement] should be about education and better representation – and sometimes, you have to be the change you want to see yourself.^{[footnote 207]}

It is notable that little is said in public discourse about this particular barrier to diverse recruitment. Yet in the Commission’s view it is a pertinent and contributing factor towards the reluctance of ethnic minorities – particularly of Caribbean or African heritage – to apply to join the police service. It also sits at odds with the claims that are made by representatives of ethnic minority communities, including public figures who demand greater representation in the workforce and at senior levels. Under-represented communities cannot reasonably expect to call for change, but then fail to call out those from within who treat individuals taking that crucial step forward in this appalling way.

The Commission encourages communities to support and promote the aspirations of those from diverse backgrounds who wish to join the police service. To not do so is a retrograde step and will limit the pace of change that we all wish to see.

The risks of doing the job

Assaults without injury on police officers have been increasing year on year since the year ending March 2015.^{[footnote 208]} In 2017, the Police Federation published data highlighting that, on average, a police officer was assaulted every 4 minutes.^{[footnote 209]} In 2018 the Assault on Emergency Workers (Offences) Act came into law but, despite this, the figures have continued to climb.

The latest annual statistics from the Home Office show that over 30,000 assaults took place in the year ending March 2020^{[footnote 210]} – the equivalent of 85 police officers every day.^{[footnote 211]} The Metropolitan Police recorded the highest instances, followed by West Yorkshire police. And even with the COVID lockdowns in 2020, the Metropolitan Police alone experienced an increase of nearly 40%^{[footnote 212]} of assaults on their officers – likely attributable to various protests, demonstrations and breaches of the law that took place in London. These assaults included spitting and coughing on officers.

The rise in assaults has, unsurprisingly, had a great impact on police officers, both physically and mentally. This in turn has led to a loss of policing days as those affected need time off to recuperate. But perhaps most disturbingly, these assaults have led to a new trend by perpetrators – who are shown to be from all race and ethnic backgrounds – to film the attacks and then post them online. Invariably this indicates that assaults are not happening on a one to one basis, rather it suggests that groups of perpetrators are involved. Commenting on media reports highlighting the issue last year Ken Marsh, Chair of the Metropolitan Police Federation, stated that police officers had become ‘society’s punching bag’.^{[footnote 213]}

This is wholly unacceptable, and has rightly been condemned on all sides. That said, this troubling issue appears to remain live – and also has a chilling effect on those individuals who are considering a career in the police service. Again, members of communities need to reflect on the role they play in affecting the change in policing that they would wish to see.

The need to maintain progress on organisational change

While the Commission has found no available data on charges of racism in the police workforce, views shared during engagement with frontline officers highlighted a need for ‘cultural change’ within the police service:

There is a culture of making everyone the same when you come into policing as opposed to utilising and listening to the different skills they have. It would be a good cultural change to move forward on to embrace cultural differences^{[footnote 214]}

(Anonymous, Frontline Police Officer)

The National Sikh Police Association submitted evidence to the Commission from a survey carried out in August 2020 on ‘racial disparities in the UK police force’ which found that of the people who participated, almost half (47%) had considered leaving their career due to their treatment. The majority (62%) of people reported suffering some form of racism at work, and 59% felt they had been overlooked for opportunities some or most of the time due to racism or unconscious bias.^{[footnote 215]}

However, as outlined earlier in the chapter, the Commission has also heard overwhelming views that there has been a dynamic shift in police attitudes on race over the last few decades. Issues of cultural change and commitment to fostering a fair police service were emphasised by all senior officers that the Commission engaged with.

Yet, how the police are perceived can be shaped by a small minority whose prejudiced behaviour attracts media attention. The Commission notes that while senior officers may appropriately sanction or act on such behaviour, these examples not only impact public perception of the police but also the likelihood individuals would choose to pursue a career within policing.

Internal police misconduct procedures

Another aspect of the internal culture of policing relates to complaints and misconduct. As outlined in the Employment chapter, this is an issue that appears to be pertinent across different sectors. In 2019, the NPCC conducted its own research^{[footnote 216]} into disproportionality in police complaints and misconduct cases against ethnic minority officers and staff. It found that there were significant differences between White and ethnic minority officers in the amount of internal conduct allegations received and the severity assessments made by professional standards departments (PSDs).

Findings in the NPCC report reveal that:

some BAME officers have been disproportionately subjected to a misconduct investigation by a PSD, when the matter should have been dealt with by their supervision at the earliest opportunity. Thus preventing an unnecessary, lengthy investigation period which subsequently has a significant negative impact on that BAME officer’s health, reputation, career progression, family and community of that BAME officer.^{[footnote 217]}

The NPCC research^{[footnote 218]} found that PSDs do not have a consistent approach to misconduct cases and that a lack of supervision and leadership within police forces contributed to creating disparities in misconduct cases and outcomes. It noted that the journey of ethnic minority officers when facing conduct allegations often involves being referred to the Professional Standards Department (PSD) by their supervisor for low level allegations, which would ordinarily be dealt with by that supervisor and at an earlier opportunity.

This is either out of fear of being called racist or not having the knowledge to deal with the matters raised appropriately… The internal culture within the service is feeding the levels of disparity due to fear of reprisals or being labelled. Inadvertently the avoidance of dealing with low-level matters at the earliest opportunity is magnifying those levels of distrust and resulting in the exact consequences those supervisors are seeking to avoid.^{[footnote 219]}

The Commission supports ongoing work by the NPCC to further address the existing disparities, including: work to enhance diversity in the PSD workforce representation, the implementation of reforms that compel PSD decision makers to discharge matters of low level conduct to local line managers, and the bar being raised for both the investigation of a disciplinary investigation in order to focus the system on the most serious of cases.

Achieving meaningful and sustainable diversity in policing

A diverse workforce that is equipped with the necessary skills to work effectively with the communities it serves is dependent on a welcoming, inclusive culture where all of its members are comfortable and confident. Culture changes require a sustained effort and increasing representation alone is not enough to achieve this, although they are linked. The focus in this area needs to be rooted in fairness, openness and respect for all groups.

The Commission believes that evidence based initiatives that encourage personal development are key; from mentorship and support for junior members of staff, to improved complaint mechanisms. Every police officer should be comfortable to be themselves and given the same opportunities to succeed as their peers.

There is merit in utilising former police officers and current police staff associations or networks to support and encourage both personal development within the force, and recruitment efforts to reach underrepresented communities. Though, as outlined in the Employment and Enterprise chapter, it cannot be assumed that someone’s ethnic background will necessarily change a culture. A concerted effort is also required to ensure that management can be involved in both championing the development of ethnic minority officers within the force and harnessing a culture of fairness across the police service.

The College of Policing, NPCC and APCC recognise that reaching the milestone of a workforce that mirrors the local community they serve may not always be a meaningful measure. For many local services, achieving meaningful diversity, which includes addressing the skills gap, will require going beyond just being representative of the ethnic minority population of the area.^{[footnote 220]}

The Commission heard evidence from a number of key organisations in the policing community who were keen to see section 159 of the Equality Act 2010, preventing positive discrimination in recruitment, suspended to enable Police Forces to recruit specifically to improve ethnic diversity in the workforce. The idea of the law being used as a means of ‘ensuring’ such diversity is a compelling one – however it is not without significant consequences to wider society.

Following the Patten Report, the Police Service Northern Ireland (PSNI) became perhaps one of the most well-known examples of how legislation has been used as a means of addressing a similar (faith-based) challenge to achieve proportionate representation. As such the Commission undertook a deep-dive with them to learn about how they were able to do this. PSNI implemented a 50:50 recruitment policy to make the police service representative of the predominant faiths in their communities. Following the implementation of the policy, and increase in numbers of Catholic officers in the service, levels of confidence in the local police were similar between both Protestant and Catholic communities in 2017/18.^{[footnote 221]}

However, the Commission also heard evidence from police officers and citizens that, although the legislation had positive outcomes for Catholic and Protestant communities, as their wider communities became more diverse over time this same success was not replicated for minority groups.

This suggests that legislation may not be the best way to address the issue. Indeed, the Commission found strong evidence of where and how effective work has already been undertaken by some police services and the partners they work with across the country^{[footnote 222]}, to dispel negative perceptions, promote fairness and improve equality - even in the most challenging of circumstances.

The Commission commends Nottinghamshire Police as a model which has recruited a higher proportion of officers from ethnic minority backgrounds than any other force in England and Wales. They achieved this through a campaign of engagement with different parts of the community, not just those of different faiths and ethnicities, but also across the local public sector, to raise awareness of the opportunity to apply.

Case study: Nottinghamshire Police - Recruitment Approach^{[footnote 223]}

In 2012, Nottinghamshire’s PCC set a long term ambition to improve ethnic minority experiences of policing and the recruitment, retention and progression of both ethnic minority officers and staff. This is also a strategic priority for the Chief Constable.

Nottinghamshire’s recruitment approach includes: Citizens in Policing, dealing with youth engagement including mini police, cadets, youth outreach, schools intervention officers, force careers advisor, the HR force positive action strategy, and learning and development that includes core and crime student training.

Even during the COVID-19 crisis, Nottinghamshire Police continued to engage potential applicants through a webinar series, allowing future officers to record fitness tests on video from home during lockdown, and social distancing officers in school classrooms to ensure education can go ahead.

Prior to Operation Uplift, Nottinghamshire Police had an ethnic minority officer representational figure of 3.8%. As of December 2020, this figure stood at 7.0%, representing huge organisational change, and the most representative force within the country, of any area with a significant ethnic minority population of over 10%.

In Nottinghamshire Police, each new cohort is averaging 25% ethnic minority recruits and 45% female (average cohort 24 officers). The Force moved from under 4% ethnic minority to 7.01% within 16 months (total officer workforce), and retention remains high with uplift years 1 and 2 already achieved.

Nottinghamshire is 63% representative of the diverse communities it serves, and has an ambition to achieve 11.18% as per the Census.

Police Now, an independent social enterprise, is an example of a successful national scheme that is helping to improve diversity and retention across several police services in England and Wales.

Case study: Police Now

Police Now runs 2-year graduate schemes that recruits and trains ‘outstanding’ graduates to be placed as neighbourhood police officers and trainee detectives across England and Wales.

Police Now has partnered with over 33 forces in England and Wales using their recruitment and training programmes to supply police forces with graduates. The programme includes a residential training academy, 2 years of in-force training, and continuous professional and personal development with an assigned Police Now Leadership Development Officer.

Police Now focus on attracting individuals who have not previously considered a policing career. To attract these individuals, the marketing focuses on community transformation and the leadership skills a policing career can provide. In 2020, Police Now attracted over 18,374 applications, and to date, Police Now has recruited over 1,800 police officers across England and Wales.^{[footnote 224]}

Police Now also uses positive action initiatives in order to target and support underrepresented groups within policing.

Police Now’s recruitment trends suggest that the graduate market has the potential to help address the under-representation of officers who are women and those from an ethnic minority group. In 2020, 17% of participants on the National Graduate Leadership Programme identified as from a Black, Asian or minority ethnic background, 54% identified as women, and 7% identified as women from a Black, Asian or minority ethnic background, with 35 unique languages spoken across the cohort. Of those who started the National Detective Programme in 2021, 24% identify as from a Black, Asian or minority ethnic background, 66% identify as women, and 16% identify as women from a Black, Asian or minority ethnic background, with 29 unique languages spoken across the cohort.^{[footnote 225]}

Analysis indicates that there has been an increase in young people’s confidence in the police, in the communities where Police Now participants have been deployed.

Independently peer-reviewed analysis suggests that the targeted problem-solving work of Police Now participants alongside their colleagues is translating into ‘green shoots’ of impact in relation to anti-social behaviour. This analysis shows an 11.7% reduction in anti-social behaviour in the communities where Police Now participants were posted, and a 7.2% reduction in communities without a Police Now participant.^{[footnote 226]}

The work of Police Now participants and their colleagues aligns closely with the traditional aims of neighbourhood policing, namely for the police to work in partnership with the local community to solve problems and prevent crime.

Additionally, previous analysis comparing locations with a Police Now participant found significant improvements in young people’s (16 to 24 year olds) confidence in police (up by 17%), exceeding improvements in comparison communities (up by 3%) over the same period.^{[footnote 227][footnote 228]}

Another measure that seems to have had a positive impact is a ‘locals only’ recruitment policy. In 2014, as Mayor of London, Boris Johnson announced a ‘residence-based’ approach for recruitment to the Metropolitan Police which would see Londoners only fill the ranks of new police constables.^{[footnote 229]} The policy meant only those who had lived in London for 3 of the previous 6 years would be eligible to apply at entry level. After just one year, the new approach doubled the number of ethnic minority recruits to 26% of the total service and female recruits increased from a quarter to a third.^{[footnote 230]}

At the time the Metropolitan Police described how a ‘high rate of interest has also been matched by a high quality of candidates’ with 40% of those expressing interest at the time having a first degree or higher qualification, for example.

Despite these encouraging examples progress remains frustratingly slow. The Commission’s view is that the gap in achieving the right workforce mix has been driven by a lack of consistent political and policing leadership focus on these issues over the last 40 years. Strong measures are required to maintain a consistent focus on the workforce mix, and make a significant change quickly. Operation Uplift, which will see the unprecedented push to recruit 20,000 additional police officers across England and Wales over a 3-year period, provides a unique opportunity to drive that change.

We also consider that a focus solely on achieving a higher ethnic minority presence in Police Services will not solve the problem in a sustainable way if the new recruits do not have the competence and life skills needed to appropriately work and engage with the community they serve.

The Commission emphasises a need for a recruitment approach that includes recognition of the life skills that candidates can offer, such as a working knowledge of local issues, familiarity with the community languages in the areas covered, and an understanding of different religious and cultural sensitivities.

As such, the Commission makes 2 recommendations to achieve a more diverse police workforce and promote genuine, positive integration between communities and the police.

Recommendation 21: Achieve inclusivity – Create police workforces that represent the communities they serve

First, introduce a local residency requirement for recruitment to each police force area The Metropolitan Police recently returned to the ‘residency requirement’, outlined previously in this chapter, to help them to achieve their target of 40% ethnic minority representation in the workforce. The Commission recommends that this policy to recruit locally is upscaled across all police force areas in England and Wales, with the College of Policing developing guidance for police services on the implementation of the residency requirement.

The Commission notes that the residency requirement will likely drive more significant change in specific services where both the workforces and the populations are larger. For example, in September 2020 the Metropolitan Police employed around 25% of all police officers (full time equivalent) in England and Wales, and around 15% of the population reside there (based on the 2011 Census). This compares to police service areas such as Warwickshire or Dyfed-Powys, who employed less than 1% of all police officers and have around 1% of the population of England and Wales living there.

Therefore, the guidance produced by the College will need to take into consideration the different nuances of each police service area, including circumstances where the prospective local candidates eligible to apply for a role in policing is reduced – for example, due to the age demographic of the area’s population.

The Commission also suggests that police services address the pipeline of candidates applying for policing through extensive engagement and outreach with communities, for example through cadet programmes. Due consideration should also be given to incentivise new recruits to remain with their police service for a minimum period of time, to establish their careers.

The progress and efficacy of the residency requirements should be monitored and evaluated at a national level by the Home Office, working in partnership with the CoP, APCC and NPCC. There is also a need for reporting mechanisms to be incorporated within this process, with HMICFRS inspecting services on their progress in regular periods.

^{[footnote 231]}

Recommendation 22: Achieve inclusivity – Equip the police service with skills to serve the needs of their communities

Second, the Commission recommends that the College of Policing (CoP) work with police services to design and evaluate recruitment pilots that match candidates’ life skills with the needs of the communities they serve in their local areas.

By September 2021, the CoP working alongside services should identify a lead for the project, and outline timelines for the progression of these pilots. Following the evaluation of the pilot, the CoP should then introduce evidence-based guidance for police services about how to include questions about life skills and local understanding into the post-assessment centre recruitment process. This guidance should include the introduction of questions into the bank of post-assessment centre questions for each police force to adapt to local circumstances.

In an instance where, based on the evaluation results, the CoP is not able to progress with this recommendation, the College will be required to write to the Home Secretary and the Home Office to outline the reasons why the pilots cannot be upscaled.

1. Kumar, S. et al., (2020), ‘Racial Disparities in Homicide Victimisation Rates’, Accessed January 2021. Available at: https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s41887-020-00055-y ↩

2. Ministry of Justice, (2020), ‘Criminal justice system statistics quarterly: December 2019: prosecutions and convictions data tool’. Available at: https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/criminal-justice-system-statistics-quarterly-december-2019 ↩

3. Race Disparity Unit, (2021), ‘Stop and Search data and the effect of geographical differences’. Available at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/stop-and-search-data-and-the-effect-of-geographical-differences ↩

4. Assaults without injury only. Assaults with injury began to be recorded separately in 2017. It is likely assaults against police officers are under-reported and caution should be exercised when comparing this figure (2019/20) with the estimates reported for 2015/16 and 2016/17, which were less complete data from a smaller number of forces.. Home Office, (2020), ‘Statistics on the number of police officers assaulted in 2019/20, England and Wales’. Available at: https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/904523/police-officers-assaulted-201920-england-wales.pdf ↩

5. Police Federation of England and Wales, (2017), ‘Police Assaults’. Available at: https://www.polfed.org/campaigns/protect-the-protectors/police-assaults/ ↩

6. Home Office, (2020), ‘Statistics on the number of police officers assaulted in 2019/20, England and Wales’. Available at: https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/904523/police-officers-assaulted-201920-england-wales.pdf ↩

7. Francis, S., (2020), ‘Met Police assaults: Attacks on officers up 40% during lockdown’, BBC News. Available at: https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-london-53812587 ↩

8. Based on a 3 month period of 2020 when compared with the same 3 months in 2019 ↩

9. Mayor of London, (2021), ‘Racist assaults against Met police officers’ [excel file 4747_Racist assaults against Met police officers]. Available at: https://www.london.gov.uk/questions/2020/4747 ↩

10. With the exception of Lincolnshire which was broadly representative. Based on full-time equivalent police officers and population figures from the Census 2011. Ethnicity Facts and Figures, (2021), ‘Police Workforce’. Available at: https://www.ethnicity-facts-figures.service.gov.uk/workforce-and-business/workforce-diversity/police-workforce/latest#by-ethnicity-and-area-police-officers ↩

11. Her Majesty’s Inspectorate of Constabulary and Fire and Rescue Services, (2018), ‘Hate crime: what do victims tell us?’. Available at: https://www.justiceinspectorates.gov.uk/hmicfrs/wp-content/uploads/hate-crime-what-do-victims-tell-us.pdf ↩

12. Home Office, (2020), ‘Hate Crime, England and Wales, 2019 to 2020’ Table 2.1. Excluding figures for Greater Manchester. Available at: https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/925257/hate-crime-1920-hosb2920-tables.ods ↩

13. The CSEW is a household population survey so the number of hate crimes in a single survey year is too small to report on. Therefore, 3 annual datasets have been combined in order to provide a larger sample which can be used to produce more robust estimates for hate crime and compare over time ↩

14. Home Office, (2020), ‘Hate Crime, England and Wales, 2019 to 2020 appendix tables’, Appendix Table 7. CSEW measures 2009/10 to 2011/12 and 2017/18 to 2019/20. Available at: https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/925258/hate-crime-1920-hosb2920-appendix-tables.xlsx ↩

15. Home Office, (2020), ‘Hate Crime, England and Wales, 2019 to 2020: data tables’, Table 2.1 and Figure 2.5 in Data Tables. Available at: https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/hate-crime-england-and-wales-2019-to-2020/hate-crime-england-and-wales-2019-to-2020 ↩

16. Home Office, (2020), ‘Hate Crime, England and Wales, 2019 to 2020: appendix tables’, Appendix Table 11. Available at: https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/hate-crime-england-and-wales-2019-to-2020 ↩

17. Compared with Census 2011 population estimates ↩

18. Ministry of Justice, (2020), ‘Criminal justice system statistics, year ending December 2019: court outcomes by police force area data tool’. Available at: https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/criminal-justice-system-statistics-quarterly-december-2019 ↩

19. In 2019, approximately 76% of the US population were White and 13% were Black or African American. U.S. Census Bureau, (2020), QuickFacts: United States. Available at: https://www.census.gov/quickfacts/fact/table/US/IPE120219 ↩

20. All hate crimes not only racially or religiously motivated crimes .FBI National Press Office, (2020), ‘FBI Releases 2019 Hate Crime Statistics’. Available at: https://www.fbi.gov/news/pressrel/press-releases/fbi-releases-2019-hate-crime-statistics ↩

21. Home Office, (2020), ‘Hate Crime, England and Wales, 2019 to 2020’. Available at: https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/hate-crime-england-and-wales-2019-to-2020/hate-crime-england-and-wales-2019-to-2020 ↩

22. House of Commons: Home Affairs Committee, (2017), ‘Hate crime: abuse, hate and extremism online’. Available at: https://www.publications.parliament.uk/pa/cm201617/cmselect/cmhaff/609/609.pdf ↩

23. Mason, G, Czapski, N., (2017), ‘Regulating Cyber-Racism’. Available at: https://law.unimelb.edu.au/__data/assets/pdf_file/0007/2494339/08-Mason-and-Czapski.pdf ↩

24. Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, (2019), ‘Rapid Evidence Assessment: The Prevalence and Impact of Online Trolling’. Available at: https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/811449/DCMS_REA_Online_trolling_.pdf ↩

25. Xindex, (2019), ‘Index on Censorship submission to Online Harms White Paper consultation’. Available at: https://www.indexoncensorship.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/07/Online-Harms-Consultation-Response-Index-on-Censorship.pdf ↩

26. Office for National Statistics, (2021), ‘Crime in England and Wales: Appendix Tables, year ending March 2020’, -Table A1. Available at: https://www.ons.gov.uk/peoplepopulationandcommunity/crimeandjustice/datasets/crimeinenglandandwalesappendixtables ↩

27. 2019 and 2020 estimates are not included in the chart because they are not directly comparable to previous years due to a change in data collection methods on the Crime Survey. ↩

28. Evidence submitted to the Commission on 07.01.2021: Ministry of Justice,(2020),‘Youth Justice Statistics: 2019 to 2020, Ch 2 - First time entrants to the Youth Justice System’ Table 2.7. Available at: https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/youth-justice-statistics-2019-to-2020 ↩

29. Percentages calculated by dividing the number of FTEs by the estimated number of 10 to 17 year olds in England and Wales by ethnic group at the 2011 Census, and multiplying by 100. Census estimates by ethnic and age group available at: https://www.ethnicity-facts-figures.service.gov.uk/uk-population-by-ethnicity/demographics/age-groups/latest#download-the-data ↩

30. (excluding Greater Manchester because they were unable to supply data in the year ending March 2020). Ethnicity Facts and Figures, (2021), ‘Stop and Search’. Available at: https://www.ethnicity-facts-figures.service.gov.uk/crime-justice-and-the-law/policing/stop-and-search/latest#by-ethnicity-and-area ↩

31. The Lammy Review, (2017), ‘Lammy Review: final report’. Available at: https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/643001/lammy-review-final-report.pdf ↩

32. Office for National Statistics, (2020), ‘Crime Survey for England and Wales year ending March 2020’, Table D3. Available at: https://www.ons.gov.uk/peoplepopulationandcommunity/crimeandjustice/datasets/crimeinenglandandwalesannualtrendanddemographictables ↩

33. With the exception of the Asian group who have lower violent crime victimisation rates than the White group. Office for National Statistics, (2020), ‘The nature of violent crime: appendix tables’. Available at: https://www.ons.gov.uk/peoplepopulationandcommunity/crimeandjustice/datasets/thenatureofviolentcrimeappendixtables ↩

34. Kumar, S. et al., (2020), ‘Racial Disparities in Homicide Victimisation Rates’. Available at: https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s41887-020-00055-y ↩

35. Office for National Statistics, (2020), ‘Homicide in England and Wales year ending March 2019’, Table 28. Available at: https://www.ons.gov.uk/file?uri=/peoplepopulationandcommunity/crimeandjustice/datasets/appendixtableshomicideinenglandandwales/current/homicideinewyemar20.xlsx ↩

36. Based on officer-identified ethnicity ↩

37. Office for National Statistics, (2021), ‘Appendix tables: homicide in England and Wales’, Table 5b. Available at: https://www.ons.gov.uk/peoplepopulationandcommunity/crimeandjustice/datasets/appendixtableshomicideinenglandandwales ↩

38. Including all ages and those with unknown ethnicity. Office for National Statistics, (2021), ‘Appendix tables: homicide in England and Wales’, Table 4. Available at: https://www.ons.gov.uk/peoplepopulationandcommunity/crimeandjustice/datasets/appendixtableshomicideinenglandandwales ↩

39. by a son or daughter, parent, other family member, partner or ex-partner – including adulterous relationship, boyfriend or girlfriend, common-law spouse or cohabiting partner, ex-spouse, ex-common-law spouse or ex-cohabiting partner, ex-boyfriend or ex-girlfriend, spouse (including civil partner) ↩

40. Office for National Statistics, (2021), ‘Appendix tables: homicide in England and Wales’, Table 12a and b. Available at: https://www.ons.gov.uk/peoplepopulationandcommunity/crimeandjustice/datasets/appendixtableshomicideinenglandandwales ↩

41. Office for National Statistics, (2020), ‘Domestic abuse prevalence and victim characteristics - Appendix tables’ Table 22., Available at: https://www.ons.gov.uk/peoplepopulationandcommunity/crimeandjustice/datasets/domesticabuseprevalenceandvictimcharacteristicsappendixtables ↩

42. An example of an incident rather than a crime would be two family members having a loud argument, a third party calls the police and the police attend to calm the situation but no crime has taken place ↩

43. Excluding data from Greater Manchester police who were unable to provide data ↩

44. Office for National Statistics, (2020), ‘Domestic abuse prevalence and victim characteristics - Appendix tables’ Tables 9 and 10 combined. Available at: https://www.ons.gov.uk/peoplepopulationandcommunity/crimeandjustice/datasets/domesticabuseprevalenceandvictimcharacteristicsappendixtables ↩

45. Office for National Statistics, (2020), ‘Domestic abuse prevalence and victim characteristics - Appendix tables’ Table 12. Available at: https://www.ons.gov.uk/peoplepopulationandcommunity/crimeandjustice/datasets/domesticabuseprevalenceandvictimcharacteristicsappendixtables ↩

46. All domestic abuse is not limited to physical assault but includes stalking, sexual assault including rape and non-sexual abuse such as financial and emotional abuse or threats of violence ↩

47. Office for National Statistics, (2020), ‘Domestic abuse prevalence and victim characteristics - Appendix tables’ Table 1. Available at: https://www.ons.gov.uk/peoplepopulationandcommunity/crimeandjustice/datasets/domesticabuseprevalenceandvictimcharacteristicsappendixtables ↩

48. Office for National Statistics, (2020), ‘Domestic abuse prevalence and victim characteristics - Appendix tables’ Table 6. Available at: https://www.ons.gov.uk/peoplepopulationandcommunity/crimeandjustice/datasets/domesticabuseprevalenceandvictimcharacteristicsappendixtables ↩

49. 3 years of Crime Survey data was combined to increase sample sizes and provide more robust estimates for ethnic groups. Ethnicity facts and figures, (2021), ‘Domestic abuse’. Available at: https://www.ethnicity-facts-figures.service.gov.uk/crime-justice-and-the-law/crime-and-reoffending/domestic-abuse/latest#by-ethnicity-and-sex ↩

50. Home Office, (2020), ‘Trends and drivers of homicide: Main findings’. Available at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/trends-and-drivers-of-homicide-main-findings ↩

51. Ethnicity Facts and Figures, (2018), ‘Age groups’.Available at: https://www.ethnicity-facts-figures.service.gov.uk/uk-population-by-ethnicity/demographics/age-groups/latest#black-ethnic-groups-age-profile ↩

52. Home Office, (2020), ‘Trends and drivers of homicide: Main findings’. Available at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/trends-and-drivers-of-homicide-main-findings ↩

53. Greater Manchester police (GMP) reviewed their recording of knife or sharp instrument offences in 2017 which revealed they were under-counting these offences. Following this review, there has been a sharp increase in the number of knife or sharp instrument offences recorded by GMP. Due to this, data from GMP have been excluded. ↩

54. Office for National Statistics, (2021), ‘Crime in England and Wales: other related tables, Year ending September 2020’ - Table F3a. Available at: https://www.ons.gov.uk/peoplepopulationandcommunity/crimeandjustice/datasets/crimeinenglandandwalesotherrelatedtables ↩

55. Office for National Statistics, (2021), ‘Crime in England and Wales: year ending September 2020’. Available at: https://www.ons.gov.uk/peoplepopulationandcommunity/crimeandjustice/bulletins/crimeinenglandandwales/yearendingseptember2020#knife-or-sharp-instrument-offences ↩

56. Full Fact, (2018), ‘Are a majority of youth knife offenders minority ethnic?’. Available at: https://fullfact.org/crime/are-majority-youth-knife-offenders-minority-ethnic/ ↩

57. Mayor of London Office for Policing and Crime, (2018), ‘Justice Matters: Disproportionality’. Available at: https://www.london.gov.uk/sites/default/files/mopac_justice_matters_13_march_2018_disproportionality_slides.pdf#page=11 ↩

58. Office for National Statistics, (2020), ‘Appendix tables: homicide in England and Wales’, Table 7b. Available at: https://www.ons.gov.uk/peoplepopulationandcommunity/crimeandjustice/datasets/appendixtableshomicideinenglandandwales ↩

59. Office for National Statistics, (2020), ‘Appendix tables: homicide in England and Wales’, Table 9. Available at: https://www.ons.gov.uk/peoplepopulationandcommunity/crimeandjustice/datasets/appendixtableshomicideinenglandandwales ↩

60. Ministry of Justice, (2019) ‘Statistics on Race and the Criminal Justice System 2018’. Available at: https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/race-and-the-criminal-justice-system-statistics-2018 ↩

61. Home Office, (2020) ‘Police Powers and Procedures, England and Wales, year ending 31 March 2020’, Table A_04. Available at: https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/police-powers-and-procedures-england-and-wales-year-ending-31-march-2020 ↩

62. For indictable offences. Ministry of Justice, (2019) ‘Statistics on Race and the Criminal Justice System 2018’, Available at: https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/race-and-the-criminal-justice-system-statistics-2018 ↩

63. Ministry of Justice and HM Prison Service, (2020), ‘Offender Management Statistics quarterly: January to March 2020’ Table 1.4. Available at: https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/offender-management-statistics-quarterly-january-to-march-2020–2 ↩

64. These are counts of prisoners and have not been adjusted for age and deprivation ↩

65. Ministry of Justice, (2020), ‘Criminal Justice system statistics quarterly, December 2019: court outcomes by police force area ’. Available at: https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/criminal-justice-system-statistics-quarterly-december-2019 ↩

66. Ethnicity Facts and Figures, (2020), ‘Population of England and Wales’. Available at: https://www.ethnicity-facts-figures.service.gov.uk/uk-population-by-ethnicity/national-and-regional-populations/population-of-england-and-wales/latest ↩

67. Thomas, C., (2010), ‘Are juries fair?’. Available at: https://www.justice.gov.uk/downloads/publications/research-and-analysis/moj-research/are-juries-fair-research.pdf ↩

68. Where young people are aged 10 to 17 years old. Ministry of Justice, (2017), ‘Exploratory analysis of 10-17 year olds in the youth secure estate by black and other minority ethnic groups’. Available at: https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/exploratory-analysis-of-the-youth-secure-estate-by-bame-groups ↩

69. Home Office, (2017), ‘Amber Rudd writes about stop and search in The Times’. Available at: https://homeofficemedia.blog.gov.uk/2017/08/09/amber-rudd-writes-about-stop-and-search-in-the-times/ ↩

70. Home Office, (2019), ‘Home Secretary statement on stop and search’. Available at: https://homeofficemedia.blog.gov.uk/2019/06/05/home-secretary-statement-on-stop-and-search/ ↩

71. Home Office, (2019) ‘Government lifts emergency stop and search restrictions’.Available at: https://www.gov.uk/government/news/government-lifts-emergency-stop-and-search-restrictions ↩

72. J. Brown, (2020), ‘Police powers: stop and search House of Commons Briefing Paper. Available at: https://commonslibrary.parliament.uk/research-briefings/sn03878/ ↩

73. Her Majesty’s Inspectorate of Constabulary and Fire and Rescue Services, (2021) ‘Disproportionate use of police powers: A spotlight on stop and search and the use of force’. Available at: https://www.justiceinspectorates.gov.uk/hmicfrs/wp-content/uploads/disproportionate-use-of-police-powers-spotlight-on-stop-search-and-use-of-force.pdf ↩

74. Greater Manchester police were unable to provide complete data in the year ending March 2020. Ethnicity Facts and Figures, (2021), ‘Stop and search’. Available at: https://www.ethnicity-facts-figures.service.gov.uk/crime-justice-and-the-law/policing/stop-and-search/latest ↩

75. the Black Other group had the highest rate overall (157 stop and searches per 1,000) – but this group likely includes people who may have been Black African or Black Caribbean but did not disclose it or were not recorded as such, so is not considered in comparisons ↩

76. V. Dodd, (2020) ‘Black people nine times more likely to face stop and search than White people’, The Guardian. Available at: https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2020/oct/27/black-people-nine-times-more-likely-to-face-stop-and-search-than-white-people ↩

77. Ethnicity Facts and Figures, (2021), ‘Stop and Search’. Available at: https://www.ethnicity-facts-figures.service.gov.uk/crime-justice-and-the-law/policing/stop-and-search/latest ↩

78. Race Disparity Unit, (2021), ‘Stop and search data and the effect of geographical differences’.Available at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/stop-and-search-data-and-the-effect-of-geographical-differences ↩

79. Ashby, M., (2020), ‘Stop and Search in London July to September 2020’, Institute for Global City Policing at University College London. Available at: https://discovery.ucl.ac.uk/id/eprint/10115766/1/2020-Q3.pdf ↩

80. Race Disparity Unit, (2021), ‘Stop and Search data and the effect of geographical differences’., Available at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/stop-and-search-data-and-the-effect-of-geographical-differences ↩

81. Ethnicity facts and Figures, (2021), ‘Stop and search’. Available at: https://www.ethnicity-facts-figures.service.gov.uk/crime-justice-and-the-law/policing/stop-and-search/latest#by-ethnicity-and-area ↩

82. Evidence submitted to the Commission on 16.12.2020: Lyne, S., (2020), ‘Dorset Police Response to Commission on Race and Ethnic Disparities’, Dorset Police. ↩

83. Including British Transport Police. In the year ending March 2020, the ethnic categories used in stop and search data were updated to the Census 2011 Ethnic groups. This means that data for previous years are not comparable. Ethnicity Facts and Figures, (2021), ‘Stop and search : download the data’. Available at: https://www.ethnicity-facts-figures.service.gov.uk/crime-justice-and-the-law/policing/stop-and-search/latest#download-the-data ↩

84. Ethnicity Facts and Figures, (2021), ‘Stop and search: download the data’. Available at: https://www.ethnicity-facts-figures.service.gov.uk/crime-justice-and-the-law/policing/stop-and-search/latest#download-the-data ↩

85. Including British Transport Police and excluding Greater Manchester in all years. Ethnicity Facts and Figures, (2021), ‘Stop and search : download the data’. Available at: https://www.ethnicity-facts-figures.service.gov.uk/crime-justice-and-the-law/policing/stop-and-search/latest#download-the-data ↩

86. Home Office, (2020), ‘Police Powers and Procedures, England and Wales, year ending 31 March 2020’. Available at: https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/police-powers-and-procedures-england-and-wales-year-ending-31-march-2020 ↩

87. Home Office, (2020), ‘Police Powers and Procedures, England and Wales, year ending 31 March 2020’ - Table ss.16. Available at: https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/police-powers-and-procedures-england-and-wales-year-ending-31-march-2020 ↩

88. Her Majesty’s Inspectorate of Constabulary and Fire and Rescue Services, (2021), ‘Disproportionate use of police powers: A spotlight on stop and search and the use of force’. Available at: https://www.justiceinspectorates.gov.uk/hmicfrs/wp-content/uploads/disproportionate-use-of-police-powers-spotlight-on-stop-search-and-use-of-force.pdf ↩

89. F. Hamilton, (2020), ‘Cressida Dick launches handcuffing review after Bianca Williams race row’, The Times.Available at: https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/met-chief-announces-review-of-handcuffing-policy-after-athlete-row-tdnjb5d7c ↩

90. McNeill, A., Wheller, L.., (2019), ‘Knife crime Evidence Briefing’. Available at: https://whatworks.college.police.uk/Research/Documents/Knife_Crime_Evidence_Briefing.pdf ↩

91. Haylock, S., Boshari, T., Alexander, E.C., Kumar, A., Manikam, L., and Pinder, R., (2020), ‘Risk factors associated with knife crime in the UK among young people aged 10-24 years: A systemic review’. Available at: https://bmcpublichealth.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s12889-020-09498-4 ↩

92. Home Office,(2019), ‘ An analysis of indicators of serious violence: Findings from the Millennium Cohort Study and the Environmental Risk (E-Risk) Longitudinal Twin Study’. Available at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/an-analysis-of-indicators-of-serious-violence-findings-from-the-millennium-cohort-study-and-the-environmental-risk-e-risk-longitudinal-twin-study ↩

93. Sutherland, A., Brunton-Smith, I., Hutt, O., and Bradford, B., (2020),’ Violent crime in London: trends, trajectories and neighbourhoods’. Available at: https://whatworks.college.police.uk/Research/Documents/Violent-crime-in-London.pdf ↩

94. Children’s Commissioner, (2019), ‘Keeping kids safe: Improving safeguarding responses to gang violence and criminal exploitation’. Available at: https://www.childrenscommissioner.gov.uk/wp-content/uploads/2019/02/CCO-Gangs.pdf ↩

95. Metropolitan Police, (2021), ‘Gangs Violence Matrix’. Available at: https://www.met.police.uk/police-forces/metropolitan-police/areas/about-us/about-the-met/gangs-violence-matrix/ ↩

96. Ashby, M., (2020), ‘Stop and Search in London July to September 2020’, Institute for Global City Policing at University College London. Available at: https://discovery.ucl.ac.uk/id/eprint/10115766/1/2020-Q3.pdf ↩

97. Home Office, (2018), ‘Serious Violence Strategy’. Available at: https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/698009/serious-violence-strategy.pdf ↩

98. The Centre for Social Justice and XLP, (2014), ‘Girls and Gangs’. Available at: https://www.centreforsocialjustice.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2018/03/Girls-and-Gangs-FINAL-VERSION.pdf ↩

99. Children’s Commissioner, (2019), ‘Keeping kids safe: Improving safeguarding responses to gang violence and criminal exploitation’.Available at: https://www.childrenscommissioner.gov.uk/wp-content/uploads/2019/02/CCO-Gangs.pdf ↩

100. Sewell, T., (1997), ‘Black Masculinities and Schooling. How Black Boys Survive Modern Schooling’; and Mac an Ghaill, M., (1994), ‘The Making of Men: Masculinities, Sexualities and Schooling’. ↩

101. McClean, R. and Holligan, C., (2018), ‘The Semiotics of the Evolving Gang Masculinity and Glasgow’. Available at: https://www.mdpi.com/2076-0760/7/8/125/pdf-vor ↩

102. BBC News, (2008), ‘Gangs are ‘alternative to family’’. Available at: http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/london/7494754.stm ↩

103. The Salvation Army, ‘Southwark Young People Service: Springfield Lodge’. Available at: https://www.salvationarmy.org.uk/springfield-lodge ↩

104. Fraser, A., (2015), ‘Urban legends: Gang identity in the post-industrial city’, Oxford: Oxford University Press. Available at: https://oxford.universitypressscholarship.com/view/10.1093/acprof:oso/9780198728610.001.0001/acprof-9780198728610 ↩

105. Armstrong, G. and Rosbrook-Thompson, J., (2017), ‘Squashing the beef: Combatting gang violence and reforming masculinity in East London’. Available at: https://bura.brunel.ac.uk/bitstream/2438/16505/1/Fulltext.pdf ↩

106. Her Majesty’s Inspectorate of Probation, (2021), ‘Experiences of Black, Asian and minority ethic service users on probation: A report summarising service user perspectives’. Available at: https://www.justiceinspectorates.gov.uk/hmiprobation/wp-content/uploads/sites/5/2021/03/Final-EPIC-Black-Asian-and-Minority-Ethnic-Report.pdf ↩

107. The Centre for Social Justice and XLP, (2014), ‘Girls and Gangs’. Available at: https://www.centreforsocialjustice.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2018/03/Girls-and-Gangs-FINAL-VERSION.pdf ↩

108. Children’s Commissioner, (2019), ‘Keeping kids safe: Improving safeguarding responses to gang violence and criminal exploitation’. Available at: https://www.childrenscommissioner.gov.uk/wp-content/uploads/2019/02/CCO-Gangs.pdf ↩

109. Fordham, S., (1986), ‘Black students’ school success: Coping with the “burden of ‘acting white’”’. Available at: https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/BF01112192 ↩

110. Moullin, S., Waldfogel, J., Washbrook, E., (2014), ‘Baby Bonds: Parenting, attachment and a secure base for children’. Available at: https://www.suttontrust.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/12/baby-bonds-final-1.pdf ↩

111. Jolliffe, D., Farrington, D.P., (2008), ‘The Influence of Mentoring on Reoffending’. Available at: https://www.bra.se/download/18.cba82f7130f475a2f1800024229/1371914733834/2008_influence_of_mentoring_on_reoffending.pdf ↩

112. Home Office, ( 2013), ‘Preventing youth violence and gang involvement: practical advice for schools and colleges’. Available at: https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/418131/Preventing_youth_violence_and_gang_involvement_v3_March2015.pdf ↩

113. Evidence provided to the Commission on 29.01.21 ↩

114. France, A., (2019), ‘Damilola Taylor’s father: Youth violence is now normalised in society’. Available at: https://www.standard.co.uk/news/crime/damilola-taylor-s-father-youth-violence-is-now-normalised-in-society-a4298936.html ↩

115. Firman,S. (2019), ’Case Study: Social Violence Reduction Unit. Available at: https://shiftdesign.org/case-study-svru/ ↩

116. M Craston, R Balfour, M Henley, J Baxendale, S Fullick, (2020), ‘Process evaluation of the Violence Reduction Units’. Available at: https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/910822/process-evaluation-of-the-violence-reduction-units-horr116.pdf ↩

117. Metropolitan Police, (2021), ‘Stop and search dashboard’ tab ‘Positive Outcomes Summary’. Available at: https://www.met.police.uk/sd/stats-and-data/met/stop-and-search-dashboard/ ↩

118. Tiratelli, M. et al., (2018), ‘Does stop and search deter crime? Evidence from 10 years London-wide data’. Available at: https://academic.oup.com/bjc/article/58/5/1212/4827589#119992443 ↩

119. Caution should be taken when interpreting trends by Police force area as particular courts may be allocated all the single justice procedure offences for the entire region ↩

120. Ministry of Justice, (2020), ‘Criminal justice system statistics quarterly, December 2019: Court Outcomes by Police Force Area data tool’. Available at: https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/criminal-justice-system-statistics-quarterly-december-2019 ↩

121. Home Office, (2020), ‘Police Powers Procedures England and Wales, year ending March 2020’ Arrests open data tables. Available at: https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/police-powers-and-procedures-england-and-wales-year-ending-31-march-2020 ↩

122. Where ethnicity was known. These figures are measuring ‘Production, supply and possession with intent to supply a controlled drug’ offences for Class A and B drugs. ↩

123. Ministry of Justice, (2020), ‘Criminal Justice system statistics quarterly: December 2019: Court Outcomes by Police Force Area data tool’. Available at: https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/criminal-justice-system-statistics-quarterly-december-2019 ↩

124. Office for National Statistics, (2020), ‘Deaths related to drug poisoning: England and Wales’ Table 6. Available at: https://www.ons.gov.uk/peoplepopulationandcommunity/birthsdeathsandmarriages/deaths/datasets/deathsrelatedtodrugpoisoningenglandandwalesreferencetable ↩

125. Azhar, M (2019) ‘How did my sleepy hometown become a violent hotspot?’ Available at: https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/extra/595fH2sGQh/How_did_my_hometown_become_a_violent_crime_hotspot ↩

126. ibid. ↩

127. National Crime Agency, (2017), ‘County Lines Violence, Exploitation and Drug Supply 2017’. Available at: https://www.nationalcrimeagency.gov.uk/who-we-are/publications/234-county-lines-violen-ce-exploitation-drug-supply-2017/file ↩

128. Data on county lines are estimates and due to limitations on data provided by the police, the ethnicity of people involved is difficult to determine ↩

129. Home Office, (2018), ‘Serious Violence Strategy’. Available at: https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/698009/serious-violence-strategy.pdf ↩

130. Boyd. E, Skelton. B, (2020), ‘Policing 2020: What kind of police service do we want in 2020?’. Available at: https://policyexchange.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2016/09/policing-2020-1.pdf ↩

131. Home Office, (2015), ‘PACE Code A 2015’. Available at: https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/903810/pace-code-a-2015.pdf ↩

132. Evidence provided to the Commission on 08.01.21 ↩

133. Mayor of London, (2021), ‘Racist Assaults against police officers’ [excel attachment 4747_Racist assaults against Met police officers]. Available at: https://www.london.gov.uk/questions/2020/4747 ↩

134. Analysis of a 3 month period of 2020 compared with the same 3 months in 2019. BBC News, (2020), ‘Met Police assaults: attacks on officers up 40% during lockdown’, Available at: https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-london-53812587 ↩

135. Office for National Statistics, (2020), ‘Crime in England and Wales: Annual supplementary tables: year ending March 2020’ Table S5. Available at: https://www.ons.gov.uk/peoplepopulationandcommunity/crimeandjustice/datasets/crimeinenglandandwalesannualsupplementarytables ↩

136. Ethnicity Facts and Figures, (2021), ‘Stop and search’. Available at: https://www.ethnicity-facts-figures.service.gov.uk/crime-justice-and-the-law/policing/stop-and-search/latest#by-ethnicity ↩

137. With the exception of the Black Other ethnic group which is not considered for analysis because it likely includes people in the Black Caribbean and Black African groups who did not identify or were not recorded as such ↩

138. Her Majesty’s Inspectorate of Constabulary and Fire and Rescue Services, (2021), ‘Disproportionate use of police powers: A spotlight on stop and search and the use of force’. Available at: https://www.justiceinspectorates.gov.uk/hmicfrs/wp-content/uploads/disproportionate-use-of-police-powers-spotlight-on-stop-search-and-use-of-force.pdf ↩

139. Home Office, (2017), ‘Report of the independent review of deaths and serious incidents in police custody’. Available at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/deaths-and-serious-incidents-in-police-custody ↩

140. Arrests for notifiable offences are for more serious offences and will not include all the reasons that people are detained by the police ↩

141. Home Office, (2017), ‘Deaths in police custody: A review of the international evidence’. Available at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/deaths-in-police-custody-a-review-of-the-international-evidence ↩

142. Home Office, (2017), ‘Report of the independent review of deaths and serious incidents in police custody’ p.90. Available at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/deaths-and-serious-incidents-in-police-custody ↩

143. Where ethnicity and cause of death was known. Home Office, (2017), ‘Deaths in police custody: A review of the international evidence’ p.35. Available at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/deaths-in-police-custody-a-review-of-the-international-evidence ↩

144. Independent Office for Police Conduct, (2020), ‘IOPC publishes figures on deaths during or following police contact for 2019/20’. Available at: https://www.policeconduct.gov.uk/news/iopc-publishes-figures-deaths-during-or-following-police-contact-201920 ↩

145. Evidence submitted to the Commission on 15.01.21: College of Policing, (2021), ‘Training Practices’. ↩

146. Evidence submitted to the Commission on 02.11.2020: Quinton, P. and Packham, D., (2016), ‘College of Policing stop and search training experiment’. Available at: https://whatworks.college.police.uk/Research/Documents/SS_training_OVERVIEW_Final_report.pdf ↩

147. Evidence submitted to the Commission ↩

148. Evidence commissioned by the Commission received on 18.12.2020: Barton-Crosby, J. and Hudson, N., (2020), ‘Qualitative consultations with police officers and Black and South Asian young men in England’, NatCen. Available at: www.natcen.ac.uk/CRED-qualitative-consultations ↩

149. Release, (2020), ‘Stop and search project with young people’. Available at: https://www.release.org.uk/stop-and-search-project-young-people ↩

150. Her Majesty’s Inspectorate of Constabulary and Fire and Rescue Services, (2021), ‘Disproportionate use of police powers: A spotlight on stop and search and the use of force’. Available at: https://www.justiceinspectorates.gov.uk/hmicfrs/wp-content/uploads/disproportionate-use-of-police-powers-spotlight-on-stop-search-and-use-of-force.pdf ↩

151. Home Office, (2015), ‘Code A Revised, Code of practice for statutory powers of stop and search and requirements to record public encounters by police officers and staff’. Available at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/pace-code-a-2015 ↩

152. College of Policing et al, (2015), ‘Police, Camera, Evidence: London’s cluster randomised controlled trial of Body Worn Video’. Available at: https://whatworks.college.police.uk/Research/Documents/Police_Camera_Evidence.pdf ↩

153. College of Policing (2020), ‘Authorised Professional Practice, Stop and Search, Using body-worn video to record information’. Available at: https://www.app.college.police.uk/app-content/stop-and-search/transparent/?highlight=BWV?s=BWV#using-body-worn-video-to-record-information ↩

154. Her Majesty’s Inspectorate of Constabulary and Fire and Rescue Services, (2021), ‘Disproportionate use of police powers: A spotlight on stop and search and the use of force’. Available at: https://www.justiceinspectorates.gov.uk/hmicfrs/wp-content/uploads/disproportionate-use-of-police-powers-spotlight-on-stop-search-and-use-of-force.pdf ↩

155. Evidence commissioned by the Commission received on 18.12.2020: Barton-Crosby, J. and Hudson, N., (2020), ‘Qualitative consultations with police officers and Black and South Asian young men in England’, NatCen. Available at: www.natcen.ac.uk/CRED-qualitative-consultations ↩

156. College of Policing (2020), ‘Authorised Professional Practice: Stop and Search’. Available at: https://www.app.college.police.uk/app-content/stop-and-search/transparent/ ↩

157. ibid. ↩

158. College of Policing (2020), Authorised Professional Practice: Stop and Search Community Scrutiny’. Available at: https://www.app.college.police.uk/app-content/stop-and-search/transparent/#community-scrutiny ↩

159. Her Majesty’s Inspectorate of Constabulary and Fire and Rescue Services, (2021), ‘Disproportionate use of police powers: A spotlight on stop and search and the use of force’. Available at: https://www.justiceinspectorates.gov.uk/hmicfrs/wp-content/uploads/disproportionate-use-of-police-powers-spotlight-on-stop-search-and-use-of-force.pdf ↩

160. Criminal Justice Alliance, (2019), ‘Stop & Scrutinise: How to improve community scrutiny of stop and search’. Available at: http://criminaljusticealliance.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/02/CJA-Stop-and-Scrutinise-2019.pdf ↩

161. Guinn, J (2020), ‘Independent panel scrutinises Bedfordshire Police’s use of force’. Available at: https://cranfieldandmarstonvale.co.uk/crime/independent-panel-scrutinises-bedfordshire-polices-use-of-force/ ↩

162. Evidence submitted to the Commission on 16.12.2020: Missing people, Childline, and Children’s Commissioner, (2020), ‘Is This OK? ‘Case for Support: A ground-breaking digital early intervention for young people at risk of abuse and exploitation, powered by chatbot technology’. ↩

163. Evidence submitted to the Commission on 16.12.2020: Bright Purpose, (2020), ‘Evaluation of Is This Ok: Executive summary of final report’. ↩

164. Catalyst IT, (2019), ’’Overview for Youth Justice Convention’. Available at: http://www.youthjusticeconvention.co.uk/headline-sponsors/catalyst-it ↩

165. J. Brown,(2020), ‘Police powers: stop and search’, House of Commons Briefing Paper. Available at: https://commonslibrary.parliament.uk/research-briefings/sn03878/ ↩

166. Ministry of Justice, (2020), ‘Criminal justice system statistics quarterly: December 2019: prosecutions and convictions data tool ’. Available at: https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/criminal-justice-system-statistics-quarterly-december-2019 ↩

167. Ministry of Justice, (2020), ‘ Youth Justice Statistics: 2019-20 supplementary tables’ Chapter 4 Table 4.3. Available at: https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/youth-justice-statistics-2019-to-2020 ↩

168. NHS Digital, (2019), ‘Smoking, Drinking and Drug Use among Young People in England 2018 [NS]’. Available at: https://digital.nhs.uk/data-and-information/publications/statistical/smoking-drinking-and-drug-use-among-young-people-in-england/2018/part-8-drug-use-prevalence-and-consumption ↩

169. Office for National Statistics, (2020), ‘Drug Misuse in England and Wales: year ending March 2020 - Appendix table’, Table 1.05. Available at: https://www.ons.gov.uk/peoplepopulationandcommunity/crimeandjustice/datasets/drugmisuseinenglandandwalesappendixtable ↩

170. Black, C., (2020), ‘Review of Drugs Executive Summary’. Available at: https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/897786/2SummaryPhaseOne+foreword200219.pdf ↩

171. Office for National Statistics, (2020), ‘Drug Misuse in England and Wales: year ending March 2020 - Appendix table’, Table 2.03. Available at: https://www.ons.gov.uk/peoplepopulationandcommunity/crimeandjustice/datasets/drugmisuseinenglandandwalesappendixtable ↩

172. Office for National Statistics, (2020), ‘Drug Misuse in England and Wales: year ending March 2020 - Appendix table’, Table 1.08. Available at: https://www.ons.gov.uk/peoplepopulationandcommunity/crimeandjustice/datasets/drugmisuseinenglandandwalesappendixtable ↩

173. Office for National Statistics, (2020), ‘Drug Misuse in England and Wales: year ending March 2020’. Available at: https://www.ons.gov.uk/peoplepopulationandcommunity/crimeandjustice/articles/drugmisuseinenglandandwales/yearendingmarch2020#household-and-area-characteristics ↩

174. Hertfordshire, Kent, Lincolnshire, Sussex and Greater Manchester were unable to supply complete records of their drug seizures. Drug seizures in these forces have been estimated.Home Office, (2020), ‘Seizures of drugs in England and Wales, year ending March 2020: data tables’. Available at: https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/seizures-of-drugs-in-england-and-wales-financial-year-ending-2020 ↩

175. Ministry of Justice, (2020), ‘Criminal Justice Statistics quarterly: March 2020, Overview tables’ Table Q3.3. Available at: https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/criminal-justice-system-statistics-quarterly-march-2020 ↩

176. For the calendar year January 2019 to December 2019, where ethnicity is known. Ministry of Justice, (2020), ‘Criminal Justice Statistics quarterly, December 2019: court outcomes by police force area data tool’. Available at: https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/criminal-justice-system-statistics-quarterly-december-2019 ↩

177. Home Office, (2021), ‘Best Use of Stop and Search Statistics: Police Powers and Procedures, England and Wales, year ending March 31 2020’. Available at: https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/police-powers-and-procedures-england-and-wales-year-ending-31-march-2020 ↩

178. Metropolitan Police, (2021), ‘Stop and Search dashboard’. Available at: https://www.met.police.uk/sd/stats-and-data/met/stop-and-search-dashboard/ Accessed 22/02/21 ↩

179. Ethnicity Facts and Figures, (2020), ‘People living in deprived neighbourhoods’. Available at: https://www.ethnicity-facts-figures.service.gov.uk/uk-population-by-ethnicity/demographics/people-living-in-deprived-neighbourhoods/latest#most-deprived-10-of-neighbourhoods-by-type-of-deprivation-and-ethnicity ↩

180. Evidence submitted to the Commission on 14.09.2020: Borysik, B., (2020), ‘Racial bias is pulling Black young adults into the revolving door’. Available at: http://www.revolving-doors.org.uk/file/2484/download?token=If0mA6Ox ↩

181. Black, C., (2020), ‘Review of Drugs Executive Summary’. Available at: https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/897786/2SummaryPhaseOne+foreword200219.pdf ↩

182. Home Office, Department of Health and Social Care, (2021) ‘£148 million to cut drugs crime’. Available at: https://www.gov.uk/government/news/148-million-to-cut-drugs-crime ↩

183. based on Census 2011 estimates. Available by ethnic group and local authority at: https://www.ethnicity-facts-figures.service.gov.uk/uk-population-by-ethnicity/national-and-regional-populations/regional-ethnic-diversity/latest ↩

184. Di Forti, M., Quattrone, D., Freeman, T., Tripoli G., Gayer-Anderson, C., Quigley, H., et al., (2019), ‘The contribution of cannabis use to variation in the incidence of psychotic disorder across Europe (EU-GEI): a multicentre case-control study’. Available at: https://www.thelancet.com/journals/lanpsy/article/PIIS2215-0366(19)30048-3/fulltext ↩

185. Gobbi, G., Atkin, T., Zytynski T., (2019), ‘Association of Cannabis use in adolescence and risk of depression, anxiety and suicidality in young adulthood’. Available at: https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jamapsychiatry/article-abstract/2723657 ↩

186. NHS Digital, (2021), ‘Statistics on Drug Misuse, England 2020’. Available at: https://digital.nhs.uk/data-and-information/publications/statistical/statistics-on-drug-misuse/2020/part-1-hospital-admissions-related-to-drug-misuse ↩

187. Drug and Alcohol Findings, (2017), ‘Cannabis is worth bothering about’. Available at: https://findings.org.uk/PHP/dl.php?f=cannabis_treat.hot ↩

188. Home Office, (2002), ‘the classification of cannabis under the Misuse of Drugs Act 1971’. Available at: https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/119126/cannabis-class-misuse-drugs-act.pdf ↩

189. As defined using ONS National Statistics Definitions ↩

190. ONS, (2019), ‘Drug related deaths and suicide in prison custody in England and Wales: 2008-2016’. Available at: https://www.ons.gov.uk/peoplepopulationandcommunity/birthsdeathsandmarriages/deaths/articles/drugrelateddeathsandsuicideinprisoncustodyinenglandandwales/2008to2016#results ↩

191. Ministry of Justice,(2018), ‘HM Prison and Probation Service offender equalities annual report: 2017 to 2018’ Chapter 4 tables: deaths in prison. Available at: https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/hm-prison-and-probation-service-offender-equalities-annual-report-2017-to-2018 ↩

192. Ethnicity Facts and Figures, (2019), ‘Self-harm in prison custody’. Available at: https://www.ethnicity-facts-figures.service.gov.uk/crime-justice-and-the-law/prison-and-custody-incidents/self-harm-in-prison-custody/latest ↩

193. Evidence submitted to the Commission on 15.12.2020: The Centre for Social Justice, (2020), ‘The potential virtue of decriminalising cannabis in the UK’. ↩

194. Evidence submitted to the Commission on 18.01.2020: Thames Valley Police, (2021), ‘Drugs Diversion Pilot Comparisons’. ↩

195. Evidence submitted to the Commission on 30.11.20: Release, 2020, Release’s Response to the Commission on Race and Ethnic Disparities’ Consultation: Ethnic Disparities and Inequality in the UK. Available at: https://www.release.org.uk/sites/default/files/pdf/publications/Release%20Response%20-%20Ethnic%20Disparities%20in%20the%20UK%2C%20December%202020.pdf ↩

196. Youth Justice Board, (2021), ‘Ethnic disproportionality in remand and sentencing in the youth justice system’. Available at: https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/952483/Ethnic_disproportionality_in_remand_and_sentencing_in_the_youth_justice_system.pdf ↩

197. Excluding British Transport Police and Greater Manchester Police. Home Office, (2020), ‘Police Powers Procedures year ending 31 March 2020: Arrests open data tables’. Available at: https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/police-powers-and-procedures-england-and-wales-year-ending-31-march-2020 ↩

198. Based on full-time equivalent police officers and population figures from the Census 2011 ↩

199. Ethnicity facts and figures, (2020), ‘Police Workforce’. Available at: https://www.ethnicity-facts-figures.service.gov.uk/workforce-and-business/workforce-diversity/police-workforce/latest#by-ethnicity-and-area-police-officers ↩

200. Ethnicity facts and figures, (2020), ‘Police Workforce’. Available at: https://www.ethnicity-facts-figures.service.gov.uk/workforce-and-business/workforce-diversity/police-workforce/latest ↩

201. Of which, 67 were unknown ethnicity. Data does not include the Metropolitan Police Service who were unable to supply data ↩

202. Home Office, (2020), ‘Police workforce, England and Wales: 31 March 2020: data tables third edition’ Table P2. Available at: https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/police-workforce-england-and-wales-31-march-2020 ↩

203. Evidence submitted to the Commission ↩

204. Evidence submitted to the Commission ↩

205. Hobbs, C., (2020), ‘Black Police Officers: Selfless heroes or traitors’. Available at: https://www.thelondoneconomic.com/opinion/black-police-officers-selfless-heroes-or-traitors-177217/ ↩

206. ibid. ↩

207. Savin, J., (2020), ‘What it’s like being a Black female police officer today’. Available at: https://www.cosmopolitan.com/uk/reports/a33500356/black-police-officer-uk/ ↩

208. Assaults with injury only began to be recorded separately in 2017. Home Office, (2021) ‘Statistics on the number of police officers assaulted in 2019/20, England and Wales’. Available at: https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/904523/police-officers-assaulted-201920-england-wales.pdf ↩

209. Police Federation, (2017), ‘Police Assaults’. Available at: https://www.polfed.org/campaigns/protect-the-protectors/police-assaults/ ↩

210. Excluding Greater Manchester Police. Home Office, (2021) ‘Statistics on the number of police officers assaulted in 2019/20, England and Wales’. Available at: https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/904523/police-officers-assaulted-201920-england-wales.pdf ↩

211. Evans,M., (2020), ‘Police condemn sickening ‘hobby’ of people filming officers being assaulted’, The Telegraph. Available at: https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2020/06/10/sickening-police-assault-east-london-condemned-priti-patel/ ↩

212. Francis, S., (2020), ‘Met Police assaults: Attacks on officers up 40% during lockdown’, BBC News. Available at: https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-london-53812587 ↩

213. Evans,M., (2020), ‘Police condemn sickening ‘hobby’ of people filming officers being assaulted’, The Telegraph. Available at: https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2020/06/10/sickening-police-assault-east-london-condemned-priti-patel/ el/ ↩

214. Evidence submitted to the Commission ↩

215. Evidence submitted to the Commission on 15.01.2021: National Sikh Police Association, (2020), ‘NSPA UK report on racial disparities in the UK police force’. ↩

216. Cain, P., (2019),’Understanding Disproportionality in Police Complaint and Misconduct Cases for BAME Police Officers and Staff’, National Police Chiefs’ Council. Available at: https://www.npcc.police.uk/documents/NPCC%20Understanding%20Disproportionality%20in%20Police%20Complaint%20Misconduct%20Cases%20for%20BAME%20Police%20Officers%20and%20Staff%202019.pdf ↩

217. ibid. ↩

218. ibid. ↩

219. Evidence submitted to the Commission on 21.09.20: National Police Chiefs’ Council, (2019), ‘Understanding Disproportionality in Police Complaint & Misconduct Cases for BAME Police Officers and Staff’. ↩

220. Evidence submitted to the Commission on 22.01.2021: National Police Chiefs’ Council and College of Policing, (2021) ‘Response from NPCC/College of Policing Inclusion and Race Programme team to The Commission on Race and Ethnic Disparities - Workforce Diversity’. ↩

221. 68% of Catholic and 69% of Protestant people had confidence in their local police in the year ending March 2018. Northern Ireland Department of Justice, (2019) ‘Perceptions of policing and justice: Findings from 17-18 NI Crime Survey’. Available at: https://www.justice-ni.gov.uk/publications/perceptions-policing-and-justice-findings-17-18-ni-crime-survey ↩

222. Evidence submitted to the Commission on 4.12.2020: Verma, S., (2020), ‘Promise and Progress’. Nottinghamshire Police Force. ↩

223. ibid. ↩

224. Evidence submitted to the Commission on 23.02.2021: ‘Police Now Impact and Insights Report 2020/2021’. Available at: https://www.policenow.org.uk/impact2021/ ↩

225. ibid. ↩

226. The crime, anti-social behaviour and public confidence results should be interpreted with caution due to limitations with the data and methodology. It is not possible to confirm a firm causal relationship between crime statistics and the presence of a Police Now participant. ↩

227. Police Now, (2020), ‘Impact and Insights Report 2019/2020’. Available at: https://www.policenow.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2020/03/Police-Now-Impact-Report.pdf ↩

228. The crime, anti-social behaviour and public confidence results should be interpreted with caution due to limitations with the data and methodology. It is not possible to confirm a firm causal relationship between crime statistics and the presence of a Police Now participant. ↩

229. The Mayor’s Office for Policing and Crime (MOPAC), (2014), ‘Press release: Met police to recruit exclusively from London residents’. Available at: https://www.london.gov.uk/press-releases-6213 ↩

230. Gasgarth, G., (2016), ‘Commuter Cops: helping our police to live in the city they serve’. Available at: https://policyexchange.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2016/09/commuter-cops-august-16-1.pdf ↩

231. Home Office, (2021), ‘Police workforce, England and Wales, 30 September 2020: data tables’. Available at: https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/police-workforce-england-and-wales-30-september-2020 ↩