StopWatch welcomes the Home Secretary’s statement on the widespread misuse of police stop and search and the government’s recognition of the need to address ethnic bias amongst officers in the use of their powers. StopWatch is disappointed that the package of reforms relies on voluntary cooperation; an approach that has failed in the past, from the Scarman to Macpherson report. Without proposals that have some teeth, minority communities will continue to experience policing that is neither fair nor effective.
A summary of the responses to the public consultation and the government's proposals is available here.
A more in-depth analysis by StopWatch of these proposals will follow.