User:Sophiehanton1/sandbox

Power in policing In this piece I will look at power in policing and specifically the tactic of stop and search.

The tactic of using stop and search, was first introduced in the 1981 to tackle high levels of crime in south london, specifically Brixton. Police stopped and searched hundreds 943 mainly black youths. The operation was a Major catalyst for the Brixton riots in April of 1981.

New rules on the way police can use the tactic have been introduced, for example generally they need reasonable evidence that the suspect has been involved in a crime or carrying illegal items. However, still today it remains one of the most controversial police tactics and is frequently referenced when talking about racism with the police.

A report by the 'Equality and Human Rights Commission' in 2010, concluded that police across the country disproportionately used the tactic against black and Asian people. It stated 'the pattern of entrenched disproportionate use of stop and search powers' correlates to 'evidence on racial prejudice and stereotyping'. This idea of racial prejudice as a driving force for how police chose who to stop and search is problematic. As the report explains, if police are making decisions based on prejudices and generalised beliefs, rather than objective evidence the tactic is not being used in a lawful way. The findings in this report are still relevant today, for example in 2018 black people were nine times more likely t stopped and searched than white people. Furthermore Theresa May's relaxation of regulation around the tactic this year has worsen the imbalance between racial groups.

Studies have shown that the disproportionate is in part caused by decision making based on racial bias. Stop and search is 60% linked to drugs, and David Lammy, the MP for Tottenham believes the discrimination is 'grounded in the fictitious narrative that drug use is especially prevalent among black and minority ethnic groups'. However the stereotype of drug use and increasing like-hood of criminality among particularity black men, is not backed by evidence-only 16% of stop and searches of black people involving knives resulted in arrest compared 21% for white people, in 2019.

However, in the context of knife rising 7% this year, police have backed the bias of stop and search against Black youths stating '