Position Statement: the Use of Section 60 Stop and Search Authorities In
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Freedom of Information Act Document Title: Position Statement: The use of section 60 stop and search authorities in the Nottinghamshire Police force area during 2011/12, 2012/13, 2013/14, 2014/15 and 2015/16 Background Section 60 (s.60) of the Criminal Justice and Public Order Act 1994 gives police the right to search people, in a defined area, during a specific time period, when they (the police) believe, with good reason, that there is the possibility of serious violence, that a person is carrying a dangerous object or offensive weapon, or that an incident involving serious violence has taken place and a dangerous instrument or offensive weapon used in the incident is being carried in the locality. Section 60 is different to other stop and search powers: It requires the authority of a senior officer. In the case of a spontaneous incident this can be an Inspector but it must then be ratified by an Assistant Chief Constable or higher. In pre-planned authorities, the authorising officer will be an Assistant Chief Constable or higher Officers carrying out searches using this power are not required to have reasonable grounds to conduct the search. In the Home Secretary’s speech on 30 April 2014 she referred to these as “no-suspicion stop and search” Officers have to be in uniform This position statement outlines the use of s.60 authorities in Nottinghamshire over the last five financial years, 2011/12, 2012/13, 2013/14, 2014/15 and 2015/16 and any levels of disproportionality that have arisen as a consequence. Nottinghamshire and Nottingham City’s population 2011 (Over 10-year-olds) The basis of calculation of disproportionality is the number of people within the local population. Following the Census 2011, the most up-to-date population figures are used to calculate proportionality. These figures are as follows: City County Nottinghamshire Ethnicity Population Percentage Population Percentage Population Percentage White 218698 71.5% 750803 95.5% 969501 88.8% Mixed 20265 6.6% 10716 1.4% 30981 2.8% Black 22185 7.3% 5102 0.6% 27287 2.5% Asian 40039 13.1% 17139 2.2% 57178 5.2% Other 4493 1.5% 2042 0.3% 6535 0.6% Total 305680 100.0% 785802 100.0% 1091482 100.0% White 218698 71.5% 750803 95.5% 969501 88.8% BME 86982 28.5% 34999 4.5% 121981 11.2% 1 Section 60 authorities for 2011/12 During 2011/12 there were six authorities under section 60, some of which were extended beyond 24-hours: 1. The first authority took place on 19 June 2011. It was authorised to tackle incidents of serious violence and people being in possession of sharp or bladed instruments on the Bestwood Estate, focusing particularly on the police beats of Bestwood, Bestwood Park and Basford. The authority ran from 8pm on 19 June 2011 for 24-hours. It was then extended on 20 June 2011 from 8pm until 8pm on 21 June 2011, as it was reasonably believed that incidents of serious violence were imminent and that they would take place in this area and it was expedient to grant this authority to prevent their occurrence. This section 60 was authorised by a Superintendent. 2. A further authority was made on 24 June 2011 from 8pm until 8pm on 25 June 2011, defined by the outer boundary of Radford in the north, St Ann’s in the north east, the Meadows in the south east and Dunkirk and Lenton in the west, as it was reasonably believed that incidents of serious violence may take place in this area and it was expedient to grant this authority to prevent its occurrence. This section 60 was authorised by a Superintendent. 3. A third authority was made on 15 July 2011 in response to a risk of incidents of serious violence, following a section 18 wounding (assault causing grievous bodily harm) in the Old Market Square. The powers were authorised in the locality of the city centre, Canning Circus, Radford and St Ann’s between 2.20am on 15 July 2011 until 8am on 15 July 2011. This section 60 was initially authorised by an Inspector. The following authority was issued during the disorder and subsequent riots that occurred in Nottingham, mirroring what was happening around the country. 4. A section 60 was authorised on 9 August 2011 covering Sneinton and St Ann’s following public disorder in St Ann’s from 00.20am on 9 August until 00.20am on 10 August 2011. This section 60 was initially authorised by an Inspector, it was then ratified and extended by a Superintendent from 00.20am on 10 August 2011 until 00.20am hours on 11 August 2011, after further intelligence was received that identified planned continuance of disorder. This same authority was then extended in both time and geographic area due to intelligence stating that the disorder would progress outwards from Nottingham City. The new area covered the council areas of Nottingham City, Broxtowe District Council, Gedling Borough Council and Rushcliffe Borough Council to run from 5pm on 11 August 2011 until 5pm hours on 12 August 2011. 5. Another authority was given on 30 September 2011 covering the Brewster’s Road Estate bordered by the junctions of Woodborough Road, the Wells Road and Ransom Road in Sneinton and St Ann’s to prevent incidents of violence taking place. The powers were given between 4.50pm on 30 August and 4.50pm on 1 October 2011. This section 60 was authorised by a Superintendent. 6. The final authority during this financial year was given on 23 March 2012 to exercise powers of stop and search between 9.30pm on 23 March and 9.30pm on 24 March within the city division boundary. This authority was given due to a 2 firearms incident whereby a person was shot and wounded. It was believed that further incidents and / or retaliation as imminent. This section 60 was initially authorised by an Inspector. Data Quality – the number of people searched under the section 60 authorities Briefing Note 7, published by the Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC) entitled “Race Disproportionality in Stops and Searches, 2011-12” identified that in Nottinghamshire disproportionality for searching for Black or Black British people was 16.9 and for those who are Asian 3.1. As a direct result of this report, representatives of Nottinghamshire Police met with the EHRC to explain this position. The data used by the EHRC It was identified that the data submitted to the EHRC for the compilation of this report contained an error, in that the data for searches to recover knives under s.8 Knives Act 1997 (amending s.60 of CJ&PO Act 1994) had been incorrectly included within this data submission. These are not searches under section 60 and do require reasonable grounds. This data therefore needed removing from the submission. This has been done manually and it has changed the data. The impact of this removal was explained to the EHRC, the impact on disproportionality in 2011/12 is identified below. Disproportionality for the use of section 60 powers during 2011/12 Section 60 searches during 2011/12 Reported Proportionality reported on by the EHRC Asian Not Ethnicity White Black Mixed White BME or other Stated No. of Searches 108 49 21 21 19 108 91 Rate 0.12 2.10 0.99 0.39 - 0.12 0.92 Ratio - 16.9 8.0 3.1 - - 7.4 After Resubmission and Removal of Sec. 8 Knives Asian Not Ethnicity White Black Mixed White BME or other Stated No. of Searches 51 31 16 7 8 51 54 Rate 0.06 1.33 0.75 0.13 - 0.06 0.55 Ratio - 22.7 12.9 2.2 - - 9.3 As it can be seen removing the incorrectly reported data actually raises the disproportionality rate for Black and Black British from 16.9 to 22.7 and from 8.0 to 12.9 for ‘Mixed’. However, 94 searches have been removed from the total (199 down to 105) with the total number of searches conducted during this year at 105. This figure is considered low when taking into account the number and range of the authorities which included the period of the disorder / riots. As with any low numbers they are prone to wide percentage variation. It should also be noted that some of the authorities were given for incidents where the victims and offenders were from BME populations, therefore the searches would naturally focus within these communities. 3 Taking into account the higher residential population of Black and Minority Ethnic people in the Nottingham City, it is worth identifying the impact on disproportionality bearing in mind the majority of these authorities were contained geographically within the city: City Population - Section 60s Population Rate (per Ethnicity 2011/12 Proportionality (City) 1000 pop.) White 51 218698 0.23 - Mixed 16 20265 0.79 3.4 Black 31 22185 1.40 6.0 Asian or 7 44532 0.16 0.7 Other There is an impact on the proportionality for the use of section 1 stop and search powers from amending this section 60 data. This impact is identified with the position statement on the use of that power. Section 60 authorities for 2012/13 There were two authorities during 2012/13 1 The first was on 24 July 2012 between 4.55pm and 7pm within the police beats of Victoria Centre, Market Square, Broadmarsh and the Lace Market in the City Centre. This was as a result of belief that incidents of serious violence may take place and the authority would assist in their prevention.