Meeting Policing Committee Date 24 October 2017 Location PQ, Glasgow Title of Paper SPA Assurance Q3/4 Item Number 6.1 Presented By Jackie McKelvie SPA Recommendation to Members For Noting Appendix Attached Yes PURPOSE The attached paper provides an assurance assessment of Police Scotland s Stop and Search practice for Quarters 3 and 4 of 2016-17. It is the second report in a twice-yearly audit, analysis, and assessment of Stop and Search, designed to enable the Policing Committee to consider how well Police Scotland - and the SPA through its assurance role - are collectively improving the use of the tactic. 1. BACKGROUND 1.1 As Members of the Committee will be aware, Police Scotland s practice of Stop and Search has been reviewed and scrutinised, with a number of opportunities for improvement identified. Recommendations have been made within reports by Her Majesty s Inspectorate of Constabulary for Scotland (HMICS), the Independent Advisory Group (IAG) on Stop and Search, and the Scottish Police Authority itself. 1.2 A number of recommendations have focused on there being appropriate mechanisms to monitor, report on, and govern the practice of Stop and Search. These include: - [Police Scotland] should put in place a proportionate audit regime for stop and search HMICS Audit and Assurance Review of Stop and Search Police Scotland should ensure that its use of stop and search is proportionate across Scotland, focussed on successful outcomes, targeted at the right people, right place and right time. Care should be taken to ensure that: - Particular communities and groups are not being disproportionately impacted by stop and search activity; 1
- Use of stop and search is proportionate to the risk of offending, crime rate and threat - SPA s Scrutiny Review Police Scotland should provide regular reports to the Scottish Police Authority about the use of stop and search, including all relevant data on all recorded stops and searches, for the purposes of evaluating and monitoring use of the practice through public scrutiny. - the report of the Independent Advisory Group on Stop and Search 1.3 The IAG also recommended that That there should be a Code of Practice covering Stop and Search of the person in Scotland. The Code should be given effect by statute. A draft Code of Practice was produced and consulted upon, before being laid before the Scottish Parliament in January 2017. The Code came into effect on 11 May 2017. 1.4 The purpose of the Code is to: set out the principles under which stop and search is undertaken; ensure consistency in the application of stop and search; explain why, when and how stop and search is used; set the standard to which constables can be scrutinised and evaluated. The Code requires that all stop and search activity is appropriate. An appropriate search is one which is in accordance with law, necessary, and proportionate. 1.5 In response to the above recommendations, and in preparation for the Code of Practice being implemented, the Scottish Police Authority and Police Scotland s National Stop and Search Unit (NSSU) have collaborated to develop an assurance report, the first iteration of which was presented at the February 2017 Policing Committee. The report is designed to provide the SPA with evidence of improvements within Stop and Search as primarily seen through the lens of operational practice and internal review. In future, the report will also consider whether the use of Stop and Search is compliant with the Code. 2. FURTHER DETAIL ON THE REPORT TOPIC 2.1 It should be noted that whilst the Code of Practice has been in effect since 11 May this year, the reporting period for the assurance paper at hand pre-dates the Code, concluding in March 2017. Although the data and evidence has been considered from the perspective of the Code s principles to give a sense of where the practice lay prior to the 2
Code s implementation, Police Scotland s practices and procedures during the reporting period have continued to evolve in the months subsequent to the reporting period. Assurance findings should be treated as a retrospective assessment of the practice rather than definitive view of how stop and search is being conducted following the introduction of the Code. 3. FINANCIAL IMPLICATIONS 3.1 There are no financial implications in this report. 4. PERSONNEL IMPLICATIONS 4.1 There are no personnel implications associated with this paper. 5. LEGAL IMPLICATIONS 5.1 There are no legal implications associated with this paper. 6. REPUTATIONAL IMPLICATIONS 6.1 There are reputational implications associated with this paper. Through the Code of Practice, and the recommendations made regarding Stop and Search, there is an expectation that Police Scotland and the Authority will evaluate the use and the proportionality of the tactic. 7. SOCIAL IMPLICATIONS 7.1 There are no social implications associated with this paper. 8. COMMUNITY IMPACT 8.1 There are no community implications associated with this paper. 9. EQUALITIES IMPLICATIONS 9.1 There are equality implications associated with this paper. The SPA approach to assuring the practice of stop and search includes assessing the proportionate use of the tactic. The Code of Practice stipulates that a stop and search cannot be carried out solely on the basis of a person s physical appearance, with regard to those protected characteristics set out within the Equalities Act 2010. 10. ENVIRONMENT IMPLICATIONS 3
10.1 There are no environmental implications associated with this paper. RECOMMENDATIONS Members are asked to note the report. 4
ONGOING ASSURANCE OF POLICE SCOTLAND S STOP AND SEARCH PRACTICE Quarters 3 & 4 2016-17 Presented to Scottish Police Authority - Policing Committee October 2017
1. SPA Assurance Assessment The Authority s overarching assessment is that, based on it s assurance framework for the period October 2016 to March 2017, both operational practice and the subsequent audit and reviews of stop and search encounters suggest that Police Scotland was in a good state of readiness to comply with the introduction of the Code of Practice for Stop and Search. The evidence at hand indicates that Police Scotland phased in proportionate and responsive business rules, operational practices and training, and a review and governance regime that were conducive to facilitating the transition to the Code of Practice in May 2017. Analytical findings reflected a narrowing in differences for some aspects of proportionality and effectiveness over the period (such as the rate of positive detections and difference in search rates amongst some demographic groups). However, differences in both application and success rates still existed within various demographic categories, particularly age and ethnicity. The geographical spread of stop and search practice continued to see variation in use and in resultant positive detections. Evidence did not, however, suggest any significant difference in effectiveness based on the gender of individuals searched. Initially, as we move into a post-code world, there may be challenges in fully evidencing that the principle of proportionate use as laid out within the Code has been met following its introduction 1. Police Scotland has acknowledged that until the baseline for better stop and search data can be established over time, there will be ongoing monitoring of trends. 1 Due to existing national trend data that suggests some differences in use and success of searches based on protected characteristics. There are also potential caveats and gaps within comparative data available which mean that currently it is not an easy task to determine a baseline for fair and proportionate use of stop and search.
Consensual search encounters saw further reductions and almost entirely ceased in advance of the Code of Practice being implemented (whereby consensual searches are no longer legal). A number of minor procedural matters regarding recording practices were identified by both NSSU and SPA, and evidence was provided about how these issues were being addressed. Next Steps for Stop and Search Assurance The next iteration of assurance reporting, covering Q1-Q2 2017-18, will incorporate data following the implementation of the Code. Police Scotland will present detail on their approach to analysis, monitoring, and governance for the Code of Practice at the October Policing Committee and SPA Board, and it is anticipated that outputs of these can be used to inform future iterations of the SPA Assurance assessment. Complementing the twice-yearly assurance reporting cycle is a monthly exception report, produced by the NSSU and provided to the Authority. This is designed to enable responsive oversight of the practice following the introduction of the Code, reporting on matters such as: the number of complaints linked to stop and search; the circumstances of any searches which may have taken place on a non-statutory basis; instances where particular police powers 2 have been used in relation to stop and search Furthermore, the exceptions may serve to identify where additional messaging and training for officers is required, or where legislative gaps may exist following implementation of the Code. Additionally, the Independent Advisory Group on Stop and Search is conducting an interim six month review following the introduction of the Code, findings of which may have implications for both Police Scotland and the SPA regarding the manner in which stop and search is implemented, governed, and reviewed. 2 Such as authorisations under Section 60 of the Criminal Justice and Public Order Act 1994, and stop and searches recorded under Section 43 of the Terrorism Act 2000
2. Aim of Assurance The following assurance report has been produced by the Scottish Police Authority s Strategy and Performance directorate, in conjunction with Police Scotland s National Stop and Search Unit (NSSU). The working group has proposed a set of assurance requirements for consideration by the Policing Committee. The requirements draw from the various recommendations levelled towards Stop and Search, and in particular look to the Code of Practice on Stop and Search. It is envisaged that fulfilled requirements: would provide assurance to the Authority that improvements are being demonstrated through routine operational activity; and that the wider practice of stop and search is in compliance with the Code. The assurance requirements, which the remainder of the report will consider and assess for presentation to the Policing Committee, are as follows 3 : a) To satisfy the Authority that, through its involvement in (and oversight of) the NSSU Audit and Review process: i) that Stop and Search encounters conducted through 2016-17 were moving towards full compliance with the requirements of the upcoming Code of Practice on Stop and Search; ii) any exceptional matters falling out with the twice-yearly SPA reporting cycle will be directly flagged and communicated to the Authority; 3 It should be noted that whilst it serves as a basis for assurance reporting, the Code was not yet in effect for the reporting period at hand. Consequently, while our findings may find there to be scope for improvement in the practice, the practice would not be considered in a state of noncompliance with the Code at this stage.
iii) iv) an appropriate audit regime for stop and search encounters is in place; that Police Scotland s internal review criteria align with the Authority s expectations of what a reasonable, lawful, and proportionate stop and search encounter should look like; v) that encounters and subsequent recording procedures are compliant with the Code of Practice; vi) and that any encounters which are non-compliant are identified and suitably addressed by the NSSU. b) To satisfy the Authority that trends in stop and search activity primarily considered at a national level do not exhibit significant levels of disproportionality or unfairness, particularly in respect of protected characteristics and specific communities. Additionally, moving forward into the period following the implementation of the Code, the assurance framework put in place between SPA and the NSSU will also consider: any exceptional matters falling out with the twice-yearly SPA reporting cycle these will be directly flagged and communicated to the Authority; the processes and capabilities which are being developed and embedded within Police Scotland to ensure appropriate application and governance of the stop and search tactic.
3. Assurance Key Findings We have seen evidence of implementation of business rules and procedures, designed to move Police Scotland s use of stop and search towards compliance with the Code of Practice on Stop and Search. Through SPA s own dip-sampling approach and from the findings of the NSSU s own review, the majority of stop and searches recorded were found to meet conventions and achieved high levels of compliance. Police Scotland s own audit and review regime includes multiple tiers of oversight, including SPA participation and supervisory procedures within operational policing. This gives confidence that the review process can be subject to challenge and incorporates representation from a cross-section of officers and expertise. In advance of the final Code of Practice being implemented, we have seen the proportion of consensual searches fall from 4% in the first six months of 2016-17, to approximately 1% in the latter six months. A number of learning issues identified through review processes have been incorporated into training rolled out over the later stages of 16-17. Some trends in search activity, such as the rate of searches occurring on younger people and overall detection rates, do appear to demonstrate improvement following the training. However, a baseline expectation for typical stop and search activity has yet to be established. NSSU have developed additional tools to explore and report on Stop and Search at a more granular level. These include; - Monthly exception reporting to the SPA on use of specific powers or circumstances of search; - Development of a multiple interaction report to identify individuals subject to multiple stop and searches; - Production of an area command-level stop and search activity and trend report.
We welcome the enhancement of internal oversight and analytical capability to support the practice, and consider that the area command product detailed above may prove a beneficial tool in monitoring stop and searches, particularly in terms of proportionality and success. However, we are of the view that the product and feedback should be routinely reviewed to determine its effectiveness and how useful it is to area commanders; and that the development of a higher-level and contextual product could be explored. Police Scotland is in the process of developing final plans for how stop and search will be reported at a local scrutiny level; due to be shared at the October 2017 SPA Policing Committee. The sustained improvement in positive rates of search has continued over the last six months, rising from 23% in June 2015 to 29% in September 2016, and 37% as of March 2017. Overall, the Q3-Q4 2016-17 period has seen a positive search rate of 31%. Levels of search continue to show variations by geography and demography. Differences in the proportionality of searches conducted on specific groups can be partially explained through the intelligence picture, risk profiles, and crime and offender characteristics. However, data at present does not suggest that those groups seeing the most focus from searches are those most likely to see a positive detection. As we have now moved into a post- Code search landscape, there will be continued scrutiny upon the proportionality and fairness of stop and search. Present information suggests that there is room to improve upon existing differences, or for Police Scotland to develop tools to better articulate the circumstances which may help justify such differences.
4. SPA Dip Sampling Authority officers were provided with 100 randomly selected Stop and Search records which had undergone the double-check Stop and Search review process, conducted first by the NSSU and thereafter by NSSU Inspectors. The records concerned encounters which occurred over Quarters 3 and 4 of 2016-17, and comprised a selection of records which either had been approved by the NSSU, or had been identified as requiring improvement to wholly meet NSSU business rules for stop and search. Of those 100 records, the Authority agreed with NSSU Inspector judgement for 96 of the encounters (compare to 95 during the Q1-Q2 exercise). Of those differences, all four concerned statutory searches. Differences in three of the cases arose from SPA being of the view that grounds for search lacked sufficient information and that additional detail could have been included to better justify the rationale of the encounter. There was nothing, however, to indicate, that the searches themselves were unsubstantiated. The final search where a difference arose between NSSU and SPA one concerned a statutory search which the NSSU considered lacked information regarding the grounds for search, however the Authority felt that the circumstances provided were in fact ample to justify the search. In this instance, it was noted that the NSSU had applied review criteria more strictly than the Authority. Findings were discussed with the NSSU who agreed with the views offered by the Authority. Whilst business rules have been further developed in the intervening months since the reporting period concluded, any salient points from this exercise will be considered in future applications of business rules.
5. NSSU Audit & Review Results The NSSU has provided the SPA with its findings from the various levels of internal review it has conducted across the Stop and Search landscape for the Q3-Q4 period. The NSSU s own record review is subject to scrutiny by NSSU Inspectors, from National Systems Support (NSS), and the abovementioned SPA dipsampling. This allows for multiple tiers of record review, providing checks and a layer of quality assurance in the manner in which records are reviewed. An additional layer of review is provided through a Notebook Quality Assurance audit, conducted by territorial policing divisions. This check is designed to check compliance and consistency in agreed recording standards for stop and search encounters. SPA officers have considered the outputs of the processes outlined above and can provide some broad remarks on the findings on Q3-Q4 2016-17 reviews as follows: 100% Review The majority (approximately 83%) of recorded encounters met the NSSU s recording criteria at first review. The proportion of records that did not initially meet the recording criteria at first review has seen a small increase since Q1-Q2 and is primarily related to records deemed to require additional information or that have been mis-recorded, rather than to say that a search should not have taken place.. The increase from the previous report can be attributable to both the introduction and more stringent application of internal business rules during the review process. This small rise is therefore not of significant concern. Inspector and NSS Reviews The Inspector review consisted of a sample of 600 records reviewed by the NSSU, and the subsequent NSS review drew from 100 of those records assessed by Inspectors. The purpose of these reviews was to determine any difference to the original outcomes of the initial NSSU audit. Both reviews resulted in minimal change.
In the case of the Inspector review, 2.5% of records examined saw a difference from the NSSU review (reducing from 4% in Q1-Q2); the NSS review resulted in a 4% difference. This represented 19 out of 600 records. The majority of these differences were as a consequence of the external reviewers determining that there was insufficient information available on the records to demonstrate reasonable grounds for search, and that additional detail would have better justified the reason for the encounter. None of the searches were deemed to be unsubstantiated. Notebook Quality Assurance Over the reporting period, all territorial policing divisions were subject of at least one NSSU notebook quality assurance inspection. The minimal sample size was 10 records, although this rose to 50 for G division. During the audit, supervisors are asked to respond to a series of seven questions which check for compliance in how the search was conducted, and subsequently recorded. Quarter 3 Against the notebook checks conducted, recording compliance for the interaction was found to be 97%. In terms of provision of search grounds, there was a lower rate of compliance across divisions, although this did vary, ranging from 70% to 100%. Quarter 4 Quarter 4 saw a 100% compliance rate in recording stop and search information, whilst recording the grounds ranged from 90 to 100% for five of the six divisions, and 50% for the final division. Following extensive stop and search training which reiterates the need to record the grounds for search, this figure (albeit from a tiny sample size of 10) may seem surprising. The same division has since received additional stop and search guidance.
6. SPA Analysis For the period Q3-Q4 2016-17, 18,262 stop searches were recorded. This value was 15% lower than the previous six month figure, and 30% lower than the equivalent period in 2015-16. The rate of positive searches over Q3-Q4 sat at 31%, equal to the 31% detection rate seen in Q1-Q2, but 5 percentage points higher than for Q3- Q4 2015-16. The absolute and relative volumes of consensual searches has continued to shrink, with the vast majority of searches conducted in Q3-Q4 (99%) being statutory, compared to 96% over Q1-Q2. In practice, Police Scotland has worked to a presumption to statutory search since March 2015. Whilst initially seeing significant declines in both types of search, volumes had appeared to level at the beginning of 2016-17. However, a subsequent decline demonstrated in both statutory and consensual searches throughout Q3-Q4 may be partially attributable to nation-wide stop and search training, led by NSSU, emphasising the move away from consensual searches and a focus on engagement. Figure 1: Stop and Search by Type and Detection, Q2 2015 16 onwards
Individuals may refuse to consent to a consensual search being conducted. During the Q3-Q4 period, five refusals were recorded (equivalent to 2% of all consensual searches). From data available, these all appear to relate to incidents involving youths within the same community and at a similar time. Whilst the Stop and Search database holds 12 recordable reasons for search, four of these account for 99% of encounters; the fourth of these, alcohol, predominately occurs through consensual searching and therefore has seen a large fall and is unlikely to factor in 2017-18 trends. Drugs searches can be seen in the chart below to comprise the majority of search encounters, with this proportion increasing year on year. Weapons searches have fallen in both absolute and relative terms and also see a smaller detection rate potentially due to the higher perceived risk resulting in a lower threshold for an officer to engage in a statutory search. Figure 2: Stop and Search by Reason, 2016 17
Geography Variation in use of stop and search and success in the tactic at a local authority level remains evident throughout the 2016-17 year. As in previous years, search activity focuses on the West of Scotland, predominately due to the volumes of searches in Glasgow City, which account for upwards of one third of all encounters in Scotland for the 2016-17 year. This equates to a rate of search three times the Scottish average taking place within Glasgow albeit the calculation of this rate does not factor in the notionally increased population the city experiences from a leisure and employment perspective. Even caveating for this, the significantly higher rate of search may be more obviously justifiable if the rate of positive search was comparable to that seen throughout Scotland, however, the figure below demonstrates positive detections falls below the national rate of 31%, and is the fourth lowest in Scotland. Despite the potential disparity evidenced, there have been improvements in narrowing this difference. Comparing Q3-Q4 16-17 with the equivalent period in the previous year, searches in Glasgow City reduced by 32% and the positive detection rate rose by 4%. Figure 3: Stop and Search by Local Authority Rate and Positive Detections, 2016 17
Elsewhere, examples include; - South Lanarkshire experienced a halving of searches alongside an 11% improvement in detections. - Shetland Islands, which see the lowest rate of positive detections, saw a search reduction of 36%, albeit a 1% fall in the rate of positive searches. - Conversely, searches in East Renfrewshire more than doubled, and rate of detection fell by 7%. - Despite the West historically being associated with higher rates of search and lower rates of detection, for 2016-17 North and South Ayrshire and North Lanarkshire all exhibit a rate of search under the Scottish average, and are the three areas with highest proportion of positive detections in Scotland. There are doubtless unique drivers behind these patterns, some of which may manifest from an organisational or practitioner perspective, and others reflecting the crime and intelligence picture. At a divisional or local authority level we should expect to see some divergence from the national picture at least in terms of rate and proportionality the rationale for which could be best answered through divisional-level analysis and conveyed through local scrutiny fora. Age During scrutiny of stop and search practices, a recurring theme raised had been on the number of searches occurring on younger people. Historic (and un-validated) data from the previous iteration of the stop and search database suggested that around 24% of searches were taking place on individuals aged 17 or less during the 2014-15 year. Across 2016-17, this proportion has fallen to 18% of all searches, although it should be noted that these two figures are not directly comparable. 99% of searches take place on individuals between the ages of 12 and 59. The chart below therefore compares the rate of search based on
both the overall national population, and for improved comparability, the rate search based on the national population for this age range. The chart demonstrates that the rate of search for those aged 16-19 and 20-24 sits above both calculated national rates by a considerable margin. Anecdotally, it may be surmised some of this is to be expected given the profiles of individuals who may be more likely to gather in public spaces and encounter the police, or be involved in the types of crime and offence stop and search typically targets. However, Police Scotland does not presently hold this data at a national level to triangulate with stop and search records and census data limiting the ability to determine fairness. Despite 20-24 years old seeing a higher rate of search, it is notable that this group also sees a higher than average proportion of positive detections. This is an indication that searches falling within this demograph are as effective, if not more so, than the overall Scottish population and does not suggest this group is being targeted any more unfairly than another. Conversely, positive detections for those aged between 12-15 and 16-19 fall under the detection rate curve. Whilst both show a relative improvement between the start and end of 2016-17, with a narrowing in rate of search and increase rate of positive searches, the gap in success rates persists with older age groups. Figure 4: Stop and Search by Age Group and Positive Detections, 2016 17
Figure 5: Stop and Search by Age Group and Positive Detections, Q1 Q2 v Q3 Q4 2016 17 Ethnicity For ethnic grouping, we have used Police Scotland s IC classification codes to aggregate into six categories and aligned these with data released through the 2011 Census. At an absolute level, the overwhelming majority of searches carried out (over 90%) fall upon White individuals, with the remainder of ethnic groups seeing less than 1400 searches in total over the Q3-Q4 16-17 period. However, if comparing to census data, there is variation amongst the rates of search occurring within minority ethnic groups, which at face value suggests the rate exceeds that of White individuals. This may be partially explained through rates being extrapolated based on the small populations represented by minority groups, some of which will have changed since 2011 due to inward and internal migration. The available data used to compare rates, from the 2011 census, may therefore not be the best baseline and caution is required before drawing any conclusions due to the potential for degrees of error. Consequently, additional contextual consideration requires to be made when considering the proportionality of searches based on ethnicity, as outlined below. Caribbean or Black ethnic group, for instance, sees a rate which at face value appears six times that of White individuals, but is based on just 241 searches for all of Scotland throughout 2016-17. These 241
searches occurred over 100 different multi member ward areas, only seven of which saw ten or more searches of Caribbean or Black individuals across the year. Framed this way, the data does not suggest that a pattern of repeat and persistent targeting of this ethnic group is occurring. However, for other ethnic group almost half of the 357 searches occurred in one ward in Glasgow alone. This may indeed be based on the existing intelligence picture of the area, or multiple searches taking place on the same individuals. The stop and search dataset in isolation will be unable to provide this context, demonstrating the need for a more qualitative approach to Police Scotland s own oversight of stop and search and the importance of feedback loops between local and national policing. Figure 6: Stop and Search by Ethnic Grouping, Q3 Q4 2015 16 v Q3 Q4 2016 17
Figure 7: Stop and Search by Ethnic Grouping Rate of Search and Positive Detections, 2016 17 SPA Strategy and Performance Team October 2017