Thread by @gmhales

Re. the concerns raised about the potential for a large rise in #stopsearch: it is of course quite possible that forces like the Met will choose not to do so.

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theguardian.com/uk-news/2021/j…

I personally don't foresee a return to the days of #opblunt2 and the wholesale use of s60 #stopsearch powers, which I think were used in the late 00s well beyond the original intention of Parliament (in 2007 I raised that with a Met Commander when I was working there).

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What makes me think that? Well for one thing, I know there are officers in positions of influence at the moment who express reservations about the efficacy of #stopsearch as a wholesale strategy. I think the culture has moved on (though recognise that could change).

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For another, the 'new' s60 policy is simply formalising a change that happened in 7 forces incl the Met in Mar 2019 before being extended to all 43 that Aug. That relaxed 'voluntary' changes introduced as part of the Best Use of Stop and Search Scheme. gov.uk/government/new…

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(A historical footnote: the Met police first introduced s60 restrictions in 2012, following the riots and under pressure from @EHRC regarding disproportionality. That included raising the authorisation level to Commander, which virtually stopped the use of s60 overnight.)

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At present - more than 2 years after the BUSSS restrictions were first relaxed - s60 accounts for less than 3% of searches conducted by the Met over the last 2 years

https://twitter.com/gmhales/status/1420342712507699202

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Beyond London, recall that @WMPolice chose not to lower the level of authorisation for s60 to Inspector as part of the 2019 'trial', and that many forces don't even use the powers, or do so only very occasionally.

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