The Relationship Between Stop and Search, Community Safety, Procedural Justice and Police-Youth Relationships in Scotland

The Relationship between Stop and Search, Community Safety, Procedural Justice and Police-Youth Relationships in Scotland

Conducted by:

Professor Ross Deuchar Chief Investigator

Dr Johanne Miller Research Assistant

Report of a study funded by the British Academy

June 2016

CONTENTS Page 1. Executive summary 3

2. Introduction to the background context and nature of the research study 8

3. Emerging themes: police officer interviews and participant observation 15 3.1 Proactive prevention, intelligence gathering and crime indicators 15 3.2 Stop and search, procedural justice and engagement with young people 18 3.3 Commonly searched groups and frequency of engagements 24 3.4 Changes to stop and search, political and media scrutiny and police morale 29 3.5 Police emotions, culture change and training 43

4. Emerging themes: interviews with young people and participant observation 48 4.1 Setting the context: a rights agenda 48 4.2 Changing perceptions of and changing relationships with police 49 4.3 Positive and negative experiences of stop and search 51 4.4 Impact of negative stop and searches 58 4.5 Moving forward: the impact of change and young people’s idealized views of stop and search 63

5. Discussion of findings 68

6. Conclusions and recommendations 73

7. References 84

1 Executive Summary

Against the backdrop of an unprecedented level of scrutiny and policy change within Police Scotland in relation to the use of stop and search, the current research - funded by the British Academy between April 2015 and March 2016 - was focused on exploring the following key research questions:

- To what extent do stop and search procedures help to prevent anti-social behaviour and violent crime through enabling officers to withdraw offensive weapons and/or alcohol and drugs from young people’s possession?

- To what extent to – and in which ways – are stop and search procedures, street engagements and the police culture associated with proactive policing units underpinned by a focus on procedural justice values such as fairness, impartiality, respect, support, legitimacy and trust?

- In light of the above, what impact do stop and search procedures and wider street engagements by proactive teams have on building or depleting positive relationships between officers and young people in local communities?

Data was collected in both the east and west of Scotland, where the research team focused on neighbourhoods that had been identified as high risk in terms of increased levels of reported incidents of youth disorder and/or crime through careful data zone analysis conducted by the Licensing and Violence Reduction Division (LVRD) within Police Scotland. An ethnographic approach, drawing upon participant observation, was used. The research team firstly shadowed officers from flexible, proactive teams, observing over 50 interactions, engagements and interventions with young people and citizens out on the streets which included the implementation of stop and searches. Secondly, the team contacted a cross section of the patrol officers they worked with and their immediate superior officers as well as command-level officers at the National Stop and Search Unit (NSSU), and arranged to conduct semi-structured interviews with them. A total of 23 semi-structured interviews with officers were conducted, which explored their perceptions about the relationship between stop and search procedures and the prevention of violent crime / anti-social behaviour, as well as their views about the impact the procedures have on police/youth relationships and their perceptions about, and

3 reactions to, the intense levels of scrutiny and change that had recently taken place within Police Scotland in relation to stop and search. Thirdly, the research team also conducted semi- structured interviews and focus groups with young people in each of the focus communities who had had recent experience of engaging with the police and/or had been recently stopped and searched. In total, 46 young people took part, and all of the interviews explored the young people’s perceptions about the police, their experiences with officers and the implementation of stop and searches and the impact these had on their views about the police. Once fully transcribed, fieldnotes and interviews provided a rich data set that was analysed to detect salient patterns. Keywords that were prominent across all data sets were used as the basis of initial open coding, and emerging codes were then assimilated with the insights from earlier research and the resulting axial codes were ascribed to subsequent data as it was analysed.

In summary, the following conclusions and recommendations emerged from the research:

The phasing out of the use of non-statutory or ‘consensual’ stop and search in Scotland, although fully embraced as a strong policy priority within Police Scotland, was impacting negatively on officers in the west to a far greater extent than the east of Scotland. There was a strong feeling among some officers in some teams in the west of Scotland that non-statutory stop and search had had a very valuable part to play at a specific time and in a specific context, that context being the entrenched problem of violent crime, particularly knife crime, mainly in Glasgow (AGSS, 2015). However, it was evident these positions and perspectives had emerged against an unnatural and unhealthy backdrop whereby young people out on the street had grown accustomed to being stopped and searched due to a long-standing style of what was regarded as ‘robust’ policing and that had prioritised non-statutory approaches (AGSS, 2015). The beliefs that the officers in the west of Scotland had also did not appear to relate to statistics concerning young people and stop and search: as previous research has identified, although they are the most commonly stopped group, they also have the lowest detection rate (Murray, 2015). In addition, it was evident that the use of stop and search was not directly related to the detection of offensive weapons among young people, and that the use of the tactic for attempting to detect and withdraw the common trappings of youth leisure activities (most commonly alcohol and cigarettes) sometimes led to the increase (rather than prevention) of anti-social behaviour, violence and crime among Scottish young people. In the spirit of building community safety, any attempt to extend police powers to search children and young people for alcohol should therefore be resisted.

Recommendation 1: That any future targeted continuing professional development training for police officers should include direct reference to the low detection rates for young people and the lack of robust quantitative or qualitative evidence to prove a causal relationship between the level of stop search activity, the use of consensual searching and the prevalence of knife carrying and/or violent crime.

Recommendation 2: That future targeted professional development training (particularly in the west of Scotland) should also focus on supporting officers to re-define the concept of ‘robust’ policing to be synonymous with the implementation of procedural justice.

Recommendation 3: Given the evidence that suggests that stop and search does not act as a deterrent for carrying alcohol and drugs, combined with the inherent increased potential for anti-social behavior, violence and crime to emerge when officers withdraw the common trappings of youth leisure activities (most commonly alcohol and cigarettes) from young people, that any attempt to extend police powers to search children and young people for alcohol should be resisted.

The observations of police practice confirmed the vastly reduced tendency to draw upon consensual searching and that the use of statutory procedures dominated. However, the tactic clearly encouraged officers to restrict the spatio-temporal freedom and behaviour of young people in accordance with the wishes of local authorities, housing associations and residents and enabled the law to be applied in ways that was sometimes predicated on individual police dispositions and attitudes (Chan, 1997) and devoid of a focus on human rights. Even although Police Scotland’s policy rhetoric focuses on ‘fairness, integrity and respect’ and the proactive unit officers who participated in interviews clearly had strong beliefs about the need for stop and search to be characterised by these principles and values, the young people who were interviewed (and particularly young men in the west of Scotland) clearly felt that their encounters with the police were far from being characterised by procedural justice values. However, the encouraging statements made by young people in the research in relation to the positive engagements they experienced with some isolated officers, including campus police officers, illustrates that sufficient reciprocal ground may often exist between disadvantaged

5 young people and the police that can be drawn upon to sow the seeds of a ‘more communicative future’ for police/youth relations (Loader, 1996: 145). However, promoting this sense of equity, justice and mutual trust in a wider sense will require a greater focus on officer training.

Recommendation 4: That future approaches to police probationer training should include a specific focus on building discursive relationships with young people and should draw upon youth work ideology to ensure that officers are able to defuse, rather than accelerate, potentially volatile and confrontational situations with youth.

Recommendation 5: That Police Scotland’s already well-established code of ethics should provide a continual backdrop to and reference point for all officer training, but that bespoke professional development on the use of procedurally just forms of stop and search should be implemented which draws upon the excellent professional practice already in place in some parts of Scotland while also drawing attention to and helping officers to address the potential pitfalls.

Police Scotland’s (2016) statement of ethics concentrates on integrity, fairness and respect and these mirror the central tenets of procedural justice theory. In particular sections, the code of ethics for policing has strong links to this research and very much reflects the changes that are occurring in stop and search procedures but have not yet been felt by young people, particularly in the west of Scotland. While many young people in the east of Scotland clearly felt that the above codes were upheld during their encounters with the police, this was clearly not the case in Glasgow and its surrounding areas. This had the effect of marginalizing, alienating and further removing young people from their belief in a just, fair and impartial police force. Stop and searches that were carried out as a deterrent which did not follow the code of ethics had the effect of damaging relationships between young people and police officers in the west of Scotland communities that were the focus for this research. It is felt that improving relationships between officers and young people in the west of Scotland and sustaining the positive landscape that already exists in Edinburgh will be dependent on the following: that the reduction in volume of stop and searches that has emerged during the 12 months leading up to the publication of this report continues; that the ending of consensual

6 searching will be combined with the building of police confidence to draw upon statutory powers for detection as opposed to deterrence; and the that officers in the west will be able to learn from the more ‘ambient policing’ styles (Loader, 2006: 203) prevalent in the east side of the country.

Recommendation 6: That the training already being put in place by Police Scotland to enhance officers’ knowledge of and confidence in using statutory powers during stop and search continues to be rolled out, but that this should be underpinned by a strong focus on continually facilitating officers to revisit the code of ethics and should draw upon international case studies of procedural justice approaches to policing.

Recommendation 7: Given the sufficient reciprocal ground that may exist between officers and some young people, but given that both groups often tend to be disrespected by each other, that community policing teams (including relevant campus officers) should routinely be encouraged to establish assets- led approaches to integration initiatives that bring young people and the police together in order to build social bridges between them.

Recommendation 8: That additional comparative qualitative research is undertaken that fully explores the progressive impact of Police Scotland’s changes to the implementation of stop and search on young people in different geographical areas of Scotland. Further, that future research should examine the impact of new areas of training and professional development on officers’ understanding of and confidence in the implementation of procedurally just statutory stop and search procedures across the country.

2 Introduction to the background context and nature of the research study

2.1 Background context

When the new single force, Police Scotland, came into existence in April 2013, the concept of procedural justice became firmly embedded within its core values, specifically presented as ‘integrity’, ‘fairness’, and ‘respect’ and reflecting the new code of ethics and the police constables’ oath taken by all new officers (Scottish Parliament, 2012; Robertson and McMillan, 2015). However, in the first two years of the new force’s operation the use of stop and search became under increasing political and media scrutiny (SPA, 2014; Fyfe, 2015). Under the leadership of Chief Constable Sir Stephen House, the use of the tactic became seen as a flagship policy and politicians and journalists expressed disquiet about the way in which the use of the tactic increasingly became driven by target-setting (Deuchar, 2014). Some academics also claimed that stop and search procedures were most commonly being directed at young males from low-income communities and as such may be having an adverse effect on the implementation of procedural justice, the upholding of human rights and the building of positive police-community relationships (Murray, 2014, and see also earlier reviews by McAra and McVie, 2005; Deuchar, 2013).

There are two types of stop and search used in Scotland (SPA, 2014):

- Statutory search, which is intelligence-led and the power for the search derives from specific legislation on the grounds of reasonable suspicion. It does not require the consent of the person to be searched, and the key statutes that confer the right to stop and search are: Section 23(2), Misuse of Drugs Act 1971; Section 48(1), Criminal law (Consolidation) (Scotland) Act 1995; Section 50, Criminal Law (Consolidation) (Scotland) Act 1995; Section 47, Firearms Act 1968; Section 21, Criminal Law (Consolidation) (Scotland) Act 1995 Sporting Events; and Section 60(1) Civic Government (Scotland).

- Non-statutory search (or ‘consensual search’), which is not provided for in legislation. It does not require reasonable suspicion since such suspicion would enable a statutory search to be carried out. Officers are currently not required to inform suspects that they may refuse a search and there is no requirement to meet a particular standard of consent.

Pre-reform, search rates varied significantly across the legacy forces, with just ten searches per 1000 people recorded by Grampian Police in 2010 compared to 168 per 1000 people in the former Strathclyde area (Murray, 2014; Fyfe, 2015). In the first nine months following the establishment of the single force, the number of recorded stops increased by over two thirds of local authority areas, with significant increases in Fife, Angus, Perth and Kinross and Dundee City (Fyfe, 2015).

In 2014, the Scottish police Authority (SPA) undertook a scrutiny review of Police Scotland’s policy and practice for stop and search. The review acknowledged that, when used properly, both intelligence-led non-statutory stop and search and statutory stop and search are ‘useful police tactics’ (SPA, 2014: 5). However, the review also highlighted that there was ‘no robust evidence to prove a causal relationship between the level of stop and search activity and violent crime or anti-social behaviour’ nor could the SPA find any evidence to establish ‘the extent to which use of the tactic contributes to a reduction in violence’ (ibid: 17). The SPA recommended that more attention be focused on balancing policing needs with the rights of individuals, the need for more robust analysis tools to target search activity ‘on the right people, in the right place at the right time’, the need for more proportionate use of the tactic across Scotland, greater accuracy in recording methods and improved officer training in the use of the tactic (SPA, 2014: 25-26).

In May 2014, Police Scotland created the National Stop Search Unit (NSSU) and began a stop and search pilot in Fife Division which ran from July 2014 to January 2015. The pilot was independently evaluated by the Scottish Institute for Policing Research (SIPR) and the report published in May 2015. The aims of the pilot were: to improve the data on which stop and search was based (through more efficient analysis of crime rates statistics and greater use of various intelligence analysis software packages); to improve accountability (through introducing compliance recording checks, monitoring crime trends, learning from complaints against the police and independent reporting to scrutiny boards) and to improve the confidence in the use of stop and search (through issuing letters to parents of children stopped and searched, providing advice slips to persons stopped and searched, use of local community engagement groups and working with schools, colleges and universities) (O’Neill et al., 2015). Among other issues, the evaluation of the Fife Pilot found that, even with the introduction of new methods of making the option to refuse a consensual search explicit and the issuing of

9 advice slips, there was still a fundamental misunderstanding about the purpose of consensual searches. Within its set of 19 recommendations, the Fife Pilot therefore suggested that ‘Police Scotland move to a position of using legislative searches only’.

Running concurrently with the Fife pilot, HM Inspectorate for Constabulary in Scotland (HMICS) conducted an audit and assurance review to assess the ‘state, efficiency and effectiveness of the processes for recording stop and search activity within Police Scotland and the associated procedures for supervision, audit and governance’. It also examined the impact of the performance framework and targets in relation to stop and search activity. The final report from the audit and assurance review, published in March 2015, contained 23 recommendations including the need to make the recording of grounds for suspicion for legislative searches mandatory for all officers; the requirement to introduce processes for the proportionate supervision of stop and search activity; to remove the default selection of consensual stop and search from the national stop and search database and require officers to specifically select the legislative power exercised in their stop and search encounter from a pre- defined list; the requirement for Police Scotland to develop proportionate quality control procedures for stop and search data; to assess the training needs of officers; to consider a policy which raises a general assumption amongst officers that stop and search encounters should be legislative; to begin recording seizures of alcohol and other age restricted products separately on the national stop and search database where there is no search of the individual concerned; and for the force to remove the target for positive searches and the key performance indicators (KPI) on the number of searches from its performance framework.

In 2015, two Improvement Plans were produced by Police Scotland, the second of which had the specific aim of achieving ‘greater transparency and community involvement in the use of stop and search powers’; and to ‘support a more intelligence-led approach, leading to improved outcomes proportionate to the threat, risk or harm from crime and disorder including community wellbeing’ (Police Scotland, 2015: 5). The Improvement Plan produced a roadmap for improvement and provided a formal plan detailing the improvements being made across 2015-16, focusing particularly on the need to develop an enhanced evidence-base via the forming of a new research and evaluation sub-group; to monitor and report on compliance with the policy that consensual searches were no longer to be employed on children, and move towards a position of presumption of statutory searching over consensual and monitor the

10 impact of this; to consult with children and young people on current practice and proposed improvements; to deliver appropriate communication and effective training supported by a detailed standard of operating procedures; and to establish clear internal and external reporting mechanisms on stop and search activity with comprehensive management information (Police Scotland, 2015).

Finally, in August 2015, a report of the work of the Advisory Group on Stop and Search (AGSS), chaired by John Scott, Q.C. (Solicitor Advocate), was released. Following widespread consultation with a range of stakeholders and interested parties, the Advisory Group’s main recommendations were that that there should be a statutory Code of Practice, that the Code should be consulted on before implementation, that there should be early consultation on whether the police should have a power to search children under 18 for alcohol, that there should be a detailed implementation and training plan and that consensual stop and search should end at the point that the Code of Practice comes into effect. It also made recommendations about data gathering, a legislative change to ensure the rights of the child are fully considered and that discussions should take place between the relevant organisations on the most appropriate ways to deal with vulnerable children and adults (AGSS, 2015). On 27th August 2015, Chief Constable Sir Stephen House announced that he was to stand down from his post in December 2015 amidst criticism of his policies, including the increased use of stop and search. In December 2015, Phil Gormley QPM was appointed by the Scottish Police Authority (SPA) as the next Chief Constable of Police Scotland, and subsequently took up post in January 2016. In Police Scotland’s Annual Police Plan, published in March 2016, Chief constable Gormley states that the force’s approach will be clearly based on ‘prevention and collaboration’ to ensure ‘the most efficient and effective service delivery’ (Police Scotland, 2016: 4). The Annual Police Plan also clearly emphasizes that Police Scotland will aim to achieve ‘greater transparency and community involvement in the use of stop and search powers and to support a more intelligence-led approach’ as well as continuing to develop its procedures ‘in preparation for the new Stop and Search Code of Practice being introduced in 2017’ (Police Scotland, 2016: 35).

2.2 The research study

Against the backdrop of this unprecedented level of scrutiny and policy change within Police

Scotland in relation to the use of stop and search, the current research - funded by the British Academy between April 2015 and March 2016 - was focused on exploring the following key research questions:

Data was collected in both the east and west of Scotland. Initially, the main focus was on Edinburgh and Glasgow, but the geographical spread of the data collection sites in the west of Scotland was later expanded to include Paisley in Renfrewshire – thus providing insights in and beyond Scotland’s two largest cities. In both the east and the west of Scotland, the research team focused on neighbourhoods that had been identified as high risk in terms of increased levels of reported incidents of youth disorder and/or crime through careful data zone analysis conducted by the Licensing and Violence Reduction Division (LVRD) within Police Scotland. An ethnographic approach, drawing upon participant observation, was used (Hammersley and Atkinson, 2007).

The Principal Investigator (RI) and/or Research Assistant (RA) firstly shadowed officers from flexible, proactive teams, observing over 50 interactions, engagements and interventions with young people and citizens out on the streets, which included the implementation of stop and searches. During the implementation of the engagements and interventions, the research team observed the officers’ procedures and their interactions with young people (mostly, but not exclusively, aged 12-25) out on the street, recording observations in an unobtrusive way on a

12 small notepad or via their mobile telephones. Where the researchers accompanied officers and found that no stop and search procedures were conducted during particular shifts, they still observed any informal interactions and dialogue between officers and young people and recorded these observations since they believed that interactions during ‘stop and engagement’ procedures would potentially yield helpful insights that would enable the researchers to address the research questions in addition to those found during ‘stop and search’ procedures. Interactions between officers in mobile patrol cars and between officers and the researchers were also observed and noted. These cumulative insights enabled the researchers to gain a deeper insight into the general culture of the proactive teams they shadowed and the way in which this culture was underpinned by a focus on the procedural justice values promoted by Police Scotland.

Secondly, following the observation of stop and search procedures and engagements the research team contacted a cross-section of the patrol officers they worked with and their immediate superior officers across the two cities as well as command-level officers at the NSSU, and arranged to conduct semi-structured interviews with them. A total of 23 semi- structured interviews with officers were conducted, which explored their perceptions about the relationship between stop and search procedures and the prevention of violent crime / anti- social behaviour, as well as their views about the impact the procedures have on police/youth relationships and their perceptions about, and reactions to, the intense levels of scrutiny and change that had recently taken place within Police Scotland in relation to stop and search.

Thirdly, during stop and search procedures and proactive engagements, the research team issued young people whom officers engaged with out on the streets with an information sheet, detailing the focus of the research and seeking their willingness to be contacted at a later date to participate in a follow-up interview. The information sheet made it clear that the researchers would contact the relevant young people by email or telephone (whichever was their preference and whichever they preferred to divulge in the consent form) at least two weeks after the procedures had taken place, giving them further time to reflect upon whether they might be willing to participate in follow-up interviews. Following the follow-up email/telephone call, the research team met with the relevant young people individually in the premises of local youth work agencies close to their homes or in local public meeting places to conduct interviews with those who had given their consent to participate further. An alternative option

13 of participating in telephone interviews was also offered to young people should they prefer not to meet again in person; where agreeable, these were conducted by the PI or RA from a university telephone at a time of convenience to the relevant young people.

The research team also conducted semi-structured interviews and focus groups with young people in each of the focus communities who had had recent experience of engaging with the police and/or had been recently stopped and searched outwith the research team’s period of observations. The latter group of participants were accessed via local youth work agencies or schools located in the neighbourhoods where the research team had observed police interventions, engagements and stop and searches. This ensured a broad mix of young people participated, enabling the research team to gather as many diverse opinions as possible. In total, 46 young people took part: 8 from Edinburgh, 24 from Glasgow and 14 from Paisley with a gender split of 34 males and 12 females. All of the interviews explored the young people’s perceptions about the police, their experiences with officers and the implementation of stop and searches and the impact these had on their views about the police.

Once fully transcribed, fieldnotes and interviews provided a rich data set that was analysed to detect salient patterns (Strauss & Corbin, 1990). Keywords that were prominent across all data sets were used as the basis of initial open coding (Bryman, 2012). However, the inductive approach to data gathering and analysis subsequently also contained an element of deduction. Once interviews and fieldnotes were analysed, emerging codes were assimilated with the insights from earlier research and the resulting axial codes were then ascribed to subsequent data as it was analysed. In the sections that follow, the themes emerging from this analysis will be presented and key quotations emerging from interviews as well as extracts from fieldnotes highlighted. Pseudonyms have been used when discussing participants, and as a further means of protecting their anonymity their geographical locations (where indicated) are simply referred to as ‘east of Scotland’ or ‘west of Scotland’ throughout.

3 Emerging themes: Police officer interviews and participant observation

3.1 Proactive prevention, intelligence gathering and crime indicators

When asked to articulate the principles, priorities and values that officers viewed as being fundamental to policing at the time of the research being conducted, almost all officers made reference to the need for keeping people safe through preventing crime, the need for being present within and enhancing the lives of those living within local communities and the importance of procedural justice principles and transparency (thus reflecting the fundamental principles within the Police and Fire Reform [Scotland] Act, 2012):

It’s our tag line, if you like, - but it’s just keeping people safe … I think it is fundamentally what we do. (Jack: Sergeant, west of Scotland)

I know it’s the party line, but to be fair, I suppose … it sounds a bit cheesy or corny but, you know, the keeping people safe thing … I suppose what we’re looking to try to do is to try and either prevent things from happening in the first place, or if we cannae prevent it to try and get the people that are responsible, bring them to the courts as soon as we can. (Harry: Sergeant, east of Scotland)

The strategic goal is to improve a neighbourhood, basically the lives of the community within that neighbourhood … to build a better environment for the people that live there, to make it safer there for them at night. (Kris and Michael: Constables, west of Scotland)

The fairness, integrity and respect element of it is, the three key values … I think I would add to that … without having the right level of transparency, it’s very, very difficult for Police Scotland to win the confidence of the community, so I would add transparency as a big one to that. (James: Chief Inspector)

At the time of the research, the majority of the participating officers in the research were all either permanent members of, or seconded temporarily to, flexible proactive policing teams that were routinely placed in communities with high indicators of anti-social behaviour, youth disorder and violence. Both senior and operational officers within the flexible teams described in detail the way in which their positioning within these areas was determined by the robust use of Police Scotland’s recently developed Business Intelligence Toolkit, which determined potential spikes in disorder incidents and issues over a period of 3-6 months:

It's an analytical product which we use called the Business Intelligence Tool Kit. What it tends to

look at is where an area is what we would call trending negatively … So where incidents over a set, a set period of time, probably about 12 to 24 weeks, where we can see that there's, if you were to draw a line graph with all of the reported incidents of disorder and anti-social behaviour and violence could we see that there's an increase in that, a steady increase … so where there may be a problematic area … we may be parachuted into that area for a predetermined amount of time. Normally about four to six weeks. And then we reassess it. If the needs are greater elsewhere then we'll move on. If we feel we have to stay for a bit longer to have more of an impact on that particular area, and influence other people's behaviour, then we'll stay. (Tommy: Inspector, west of Scotland)

Basically we use an analytic tool called the Business Intelligence Toolkit. And that measures reported crime and recorded crime … and it breaks the entire country down … then within that would be broken down further into beats which would be for reporting, and it’s broken down even smaller into what’s called data zones which would only cover six or seven streets … so what this toolkit would do is bring all this in, you would measure it all. (Kenny: Sergeant, west of Scotland)

Against this intelligence-led backdrop, officers placed a great emphasis on spending time within the targeted communities and getting to know the local people and environments – focusing particularly on the recently reported issues and the indicators of crime. During the observation of patrols, the research team saw evidence of the way in which officers clearly mapped out local environments and identified indicators of crime; one example of this was the surveillance of local closes and stairwells in Edinburgh and vertical patrols within high-rise apartment blocks for the possible detection of sites for injecting ‘legal highs’ or even heroin:

‘This is one of the places they have been injecting the legal highs lately – you’ll see, it's a great hiding place,’ Ted, one of the male officers, explains as we open the front door into the close. Before me I see a circular stairway leading up the way, but the male officers move quickly toward the stairs leading down into the basement area. I follow on quickly at their backs. As we weave our way down further into the darkness, Ted switches on the light on his mobile phone to let us see the way … ‘Hello, it’s police – anyone here?’ he bellows as we reach the bottom of the stairwell. The guys push open a small back door that stops half way up the back wall and we all duck down slightly to move through it. As Ted shines his torch around the back I see a small back court, overgrown with weeds and littered with bottles. As I peer closer I can see that most of them are empty wine bottles. ‘See this is what they’re drinking – cheap wine, and look there’s that tin foil we were talking about,’ Tom explains and I see a box full of tinfoil lying on the ground. ‘That’ll be used for heroin – and there’s a sterile water container’, he points and I see a small container lying on the ground. ‘Oh, and there it is – a mixing tin for the heroin – chasing the dragon eh?’ Ted adds as he shines his torch on the small tin at our feet. (Researcher’s fieldnotes: east of Scotland)

We walk on and enter the building; as Matt, one of the two male officers leaves us to weave his way up to the first floor, Peter and I take the lift up to the top floor. We exit and walk along the length of the floor, passing by all of the flats … Peter pushes the door from the landing onto a small balcony where a number of objects are lying around. A pillow is stuffed inside a polythene bag, and scattered across the ledge of the balcony is a toothbrush, a candle and a small vial of clear liquid. ‘See this looks like it could have something to do with drugs,’ Peter acknowledges, ‘and there’s obviously someone been sleeping here’. He puts latex gloves on and examines the objects in more detail. (Researcher’s fieldnotes, east of Scotland)

As part of the local surveillance of targeted communities, the use of foot patrol was seen as particularly important to officers due to the recognition of the diminished emphasis on community policing resources. They felt that getting out of cars and walking around allowed them to become more familiar with potential sites where drug carrying, dealing and use might take place (as above), while also acknowledging that the public appreciated seeing a police presence in the local areas:

I think it’s knowing your environment, knowing where you are. (Henry: Inspector, east of Scotland)

Like … we were doing patrols in an area that was getting hit very hard for break-ins and things. And it, it was such a positive. Because there’s probably not as much community policing, as many people out in the streets … you know, they’re still going to calls and things but it’s just there, there’s not that extra surplus of cops. (Rob: Constable, east of Scotland)

If you go back to the old policing model where you had a beat and that was yours. That's where you worked, you worked there for between five and eight, ten years or potentially your whole career was spent (there) and you'd get to know everyone, you'd get to know who was who. You'd build up a relationship, you're stopping exactly the right people. And you'll know, it's that over a vehicle, yeah definitely every day on foot, every day … we do get out and do vertical patrols which help … the public love seeing it. (Michael: Constable, West of Scotland)

Within the context of becoming familiar with local neighbourhoods and placing an emphasis on proactive prevention of crime, most officers agreed that stop and search was one important tool that was used to detect criminal intent in the form of drug or weapon carrying. Having identified ‘hot spots’ for potential drug misuse or violence, stopping and searching was seen as a way of identifying current offenders or even deterring possible wider crimes:

I think stop and search is an incredibly important tool and useful … some of my best results have been

from something where maybe I’ve maybe just smelt a bit of cannabis but somebody’s actually wanted on warrant or say for a violent crime or it’s led to other things and had it not been for stop and search for that person at that right time, it might not have led to the detection of other things. (Liam: Constable, east of Scotland)

I think it’s a very valid tactic, personally … it’s helped to take a lot of knives and other offensive weapons off the street, and drugs too … it’s not just necessarily getting that small bag of a drug, or that weapon, you know, it can lead to vast quantities of drugs being recovered … if it’s used and done properly it can lead to better and bigger things. (Mandy and Karen: Constables, west of Scotland)

Accordingly, it appeared that officers placed an emphasis on the inherent focus on crime prevention that features prominently within the policing principles outlined within the Police and Fire Reform (Scotland) Act (Scottish Parliament, 2012). Partnership with local communities and a focus on high visibility, familiarity with local issues and challenges and intelligence-led and procedurally just approaches to intervention were seen as key to the work of these proactive officers (Police Scotland, 2016). However, in spite of the lack of robust evidence to prove a causal relationship between stop and search, violent crime or anti-social behavior (SPA, 2014), officers clearly viewed stop and search as a valuable tool in detecting and deterring these issues.

3.2 Stop and search, procedural justice and engagement with young people

Officers were asked to describe what a ‘good’ stop and search would look like to them, and to highlight the factors that would make the conducting of an intervention effective or ineffective. Almost all of the officers highlighted the need for strong levels of positive engagement, and how essential it was to put people at ease and use the opportunity to turn the intervention into an educational experience:

I think the biggest thing for me is a level of openness and engagement … you don’t ever want to get to a stage where you turn round and say you can’t speak to people unless you’ve got a reason for it. (James: Chief Inspector)

Does it add value from a policing perspective and does it make people safer? But the other side is how was I received by the individual that was being searched? … I think it should be an educational experience, I think the officer should be using that opportunity to … if it’s a known knife carrier, for example, you could use that opportunity to just remind them that they could be lookin’ at four years in jail. (Barry: Chief Superintendent)

Half the battle is just being comfortable in speaking to people, and being able to initiate an interaction. Because, as I was saying earlier, you know, what you're doing, it's no’, it's not that nice thing to them, you know, it's no’ nice to be stopped by police and to be searched, and it's quite embarrassing and things. So, I suppose it's about getting that, that rapport, and getting a bit of a relationship wi' this person, even if it's a two or three minute interaction, just quickly just trying to put them at ease a wee bit, and just saying ‘listen, you know, ‘I'm no saying you're a horrible, bad person, but this is why we're here and actually your behaviour has just, just caught our eye, and it was a bit strange.’ And, you know, there might be a perfectly logical explanation for it. (Harry: Sergeant, east of Scotland)

Within these parameters, several officers stressed the need to ensure that the procedural justice values underpinning Police Scotland’s code of ethics were placed at the forefront of the agenda during stop and searches, through treating people with fairness and respect, upholding their dignity and taking time to explain due procedures to them:

A good stop and search is where you stay within the realms of the law really I guess … you’ve got parameters that you have to stick to, you know, otherwise you’re interfering with people’s kinda human rights. (Kenny: Sergeant, west of Scotland)

Make sure that the person’s aware of the reasons that they’re being detained for that stop and search and that they’re advised of what the correct legislation is in relation to it. And then that you do make them feel comfortable and that it’s done discreetly and not out in full view. Sometimes that’s … you can't help having to do that, but you can move people to a doorway or round the corner or whatever … and make sure everything’s noted in your notebook. (Mandy: Constable, west of Scotland)

You generally find that when you’re chatting to somebody … I feel people respond really well, if you actually say ‘look I know it’s not ideal, you're in the street here – we’ll move to the side.’ You treat everyone the same, everyone gets the same dignity … being decent with them. (Katie: Constable, east of Scotland)

During observations of statutory stop and searches in the east of Scotland, the research team was able to see some instances of this type of positive engagement and opportunities for officers to create educational experiences:

After the stop and search is completed, one of the male officers, Peter, turns to the dark haired young man. ‘Listen mate, you need to be careful and think a little more about your behaviour. What are you going to do when you leave school?’ ‘I was thinking about going into the Marines, but I’ve got a scholarship to go and do an engineering course at university,’ the boy answers. ‘A scholarship? Where for?’ Peter asks. ‘For (university).’ ‘And when are you 16?’ Peter asks to which the boys replies ‘in two

days’ time.’ ‘Two days time … so let me tell you something – just now you’re a juvenile and you’ve had a couple of charges already, but see in two days time if you get charged again you’ll go straight into the adult system and that’ll be on your record for a long time. You can’t afford for that to happen can you? Keep your head down’. The boy nods his head, ‘I usually do but it’s just that my pals were noising them up in the shop so I just went along with it,’ he explains. ‘Well, maybe you need to think about your friendships then,’ Peter warns him, ‘you seem like a good lad – and you’ve got a great scholarship at one of the best universities – don't mess it up, go and be sensible’ to which the other officers agree. ‘Aye it’s not worth it – think about it, you’re doing well so don't mess up,’ Paula adds. (Researcher’s fieldnotes, east of Scotland)

Indeed, in both the east and the west of Scotland there were good examples of informal engagements as well as statutory stop and searches where some officers’ practice was clearly underpinned by a focus on professionalism, providing clear explanations and initiating positive interaction and the upholding of dignity and respect, as the extract below illustrates:

Ally is the male officer leading the stop and search on the young lad who the officers suspect may have drugs on his possession. He pats the young man down, pulling the waist of Jack’s jeans up and down to shake them slightly. Suddenly what looks like a round, silver container falls out of one leg of his jeans and onto the ground, followed by a small plastic pouch from his other trouser leg. ‘Ahaaa – it's amazing that you find in skinny jeans eh?!’ Ally declares, and picks up the silver object and pouch. ‘Ok mate, trainers off,’ he says and Jack slips each of his trainers off and now stands on the street in his socks, while Ally examines the lining inside each shoe and then feels all around Jack’s socks. Having found nothing further, he stands up and begins to open the silver container. ‘Oh, look at this, hmm – how much did that cost you then?’ he says to Jack, as I realise that one half of the container has been opened to reveal a stash of cannabis. I can see that the lid of the container contains silver teeth designed to grind the weed ready for smoking. ‘A tenner,’ Jack admits. Ally then pulls open the small plastic pouch which has a white substance in it. ‘Oh, and look at this – coke?’ The young boy nods. ‘How much?’ Ally asks. ‘Tenner n’all,’ the boys answers. ‘A tenner for both of those – I would have thought it would be twenty,’ Mandy, the female officer, intercepts. ‘I would have thought if you kept getting caught you would stop,’ she adds. ‘So do you get these from different dealers?’ Ally asks him. ‘Aye, it’s a couple of ones aye, mate,’ Jack answers, and he seems resigned to the fact that he has been caught this time. Ally begins to bring the stop and search intervention to a close. ‘Look, Jack – you and I both know what substances these are but we need to send them off and get them analysed. I know that they will come back marked as controlled substances and so I am charging you as having been found in possession of these and a report will then be sent to the Procurator Fiscal. Do you want to make any reply to the charges?’ Ally asks him and the boys shakes his head … ‘OK, well sorry anyway mate,’ Jack replies in a very civilised and respectful way. As the boy then gets back on his bike and we all climb back in the car, Mandy shouts out of the window, ‘we might see you later then Jack!’ and Jack and the officers all laugh. (Researcher’s fieldnotes, west of Scotland)

In the west of Scotland, there were also examples of more robust styles of policing than in the east. Although positive engagements were evident, young men appeared on occasions to be stopped by some officers in public places based on dress sense or demeanour and, where statutory searches took place little in the way of explanations were offered aside from legislation being quoted:

As we move along, Ally, the male officer leading the squad tonight, notices a young man dressed in a blue hooded top walking along the pavement smoking a cigarette. ‘Let’s talk to him,’ he decides. We climb out the car, and the young man turns towards the officers. ‘Alright? what are you up to tonight?’ The boy continues to smoke, and then asks Ally if he needs to put his cigarette out. ‘Aye well I would prefer if you weren’t smoking while I am talking to you,’ he replies. ‘What else have you got on you?’ The boy produces two more cigarettes and Ally examines them and nods. The boy stubs out his cigarette, and then Ally continues, ‘I am detaining you under section 23 of the Misuse of Drugs Act …’ ‘What, am I getting’ lifted?’ the boy asks incredulously. ‘We’re just going to give you a wee search,’ Ally replies at which point the young man holds out his arms. ‘It’s ok, put your arms down,’ Ally reassures him, and proceeds to search his pockets and pat him down. ‘What's your name?’ Karen asks him. ‘Gary,’ he replies. ‘Age?’ Karen asks and the young man says ‘21’. ’21 – you’re young looking for that age,’ Karen responds. ‘Aye the paper round must be going downhill,’ Ally jokes. The young man doesn't respond, and Karen continues to ask him questions while he is being searched. ‘Are you working just now? She asks. ‘I’m at college, doing construction,’ he replies. ‘Which college?’ she asks. ‘XXX college,’ he responds. “OK, Gary just keep your hands out your pockets just now – have you got anything sharp on you? Ally asks. He pulls two mobile phones from the boy’s pocket. ‘Two phones!’ Ally exclaims. He then continues to pat the young lad down, pulling up the waistband of his jeans and ruffling them just in case anything might be concealed. Karen is doing the routine checks on the young lad on the radio, and slowly begins to move out of earshot from the rest of us. ‘OK, that’s it – you’re free to go,’ Ally confirms. (Researcher’s fieldnotes, west of Scotland)

In spite of the above example, officers were very clear in their views on what might represent a poorly constructed stop and search procedure and associated this with lack of engagement and interaction, lack of explanation and a heavy handed approach that overlooks young people’s rights:

To me, a transactional stop and search is a bad stop and search. To me, it needs to be an interactional stop and search. (Barry: Chief Superintendent)

Where I think a bad stop search would be is where you go up to somebody where there isn't an immediate risk and you, you demand they turn their pockets out, you demand they put their hands up where you can see them, where really there's maybe not a need to have done that in the first place, and there's been no

explanation, follow up explanation as to why you've done this. (Henry: Inspector, east of Scotland)

So, somebody who walks up … to a group o' kids, who forget that they have a right to play, who forget that they've got a right to make a little bit of noise. But all they think about is I need to sort this out so it doesnae lead to anything happening. (James: Chief Inspector)

Generally, officers agreed that interactions with young people out on the streets (whether or not they led to stop and searches) should be characterised by building rapport and drawing upon an approach to policing that is characterised by treating young people as ‘human beings’. However, some officers also recognised that young people viewed the police as ‘bad guys’ who were always seen to be ‘killing their fun’. While shadowing police patrols, the researchers noted that informal dialogue between officers in police cars indicated their frustration about the way in which they were sometimes treated by young people. Further, firsthand observations of police patrols also drew attention to the hostility that could emerge between male officers and young men in particular, fuelled by the combination of authoritarian styles of policing and the huge resistance that young men often demonstrated towards them in their attempts to gain the upper hand during encounters:

You know we were working down in (neighourhood X) for a while and some of the young boys there – their attitudes, they were just so cheeky, they were wee brats to be honest – we knew all their names and they knew all our names too. (Innes: Constable, west of Scotland – researcher’s fieldnotes)

As we move towards the large group of young people, I notice one of the young lads smashing a bottle. ‘Look at this – why are there so many polis here?’ one of the young lads, who immediately seems to emerge as a ringleader, shouts. The cops stands in front of them all and begin, one by one, to ask them their names and ages. Notepads are out, torches shining onto them and questions begin to be asked. ‘The reason there’s so many of us is that there’s been reports about bottles getting smashed and loud voices – there are people that live just up there, and you’re causing a disturbance,’ one of the plain clothes officers explains. One of the young lads continues to shout loudly, ‘well so what – what are you going to do about it?’ ‘Look, I would advise you to watch what you’re saying – you are starting to be disorderly,’ one of the officers comments. ‘So what are you going to do about it – arrest me for being cheeky? Aye I can just see it now – the judge’ll say “so what crime has he committed” – “oh, he was being cheeky to a polis”, aye right. You canny dae anything about me being cheeky can you?’ he shouts. ‘Aye he can – you get done for breach of the peace you idiot!’ a dark haired girl sitting next to the boy tries to reason with him. ‘You won’t be in front of a judge, it’ll be a Sherriff,’ the young officer explains to the boy. ‘So what is your name?’ he asks the boy again. ‘I’ve already told you my name,’ he retaliates. ‘Look, stop shouting – that’s why we are here, because of all this shouting – you’ve got a bad attitude, and I think you should be very careful about what you say and keep the attitude in check,’ the officer warns. ‘Alright

sir!’ the boy says sarcastically at the top of his voice. ‘Go on then lift me, put me in the cells!’ (Researcher’s fieldnotes, west of Scotland)

The combined insights from interviews thus suggested that officers were clear in their views on the need for procedurally-just engagements and stop and searches, focused on positive interaction and the upholding of fairness, dignity and respect – while recognising the frustrations that could sometimes come from young people who were deliberately obstructive. However, although the research team saw good, highly professional examples of this procedurally just practice, they also observed instances of encounters that did not always appear to be intelligence-led but were based more on stereotypical social information and subjective judgements (Holmberg and Kvysgaard, 2003).

The researchers also witnessed the huge challenges that officers sometimes come across in the form of dealing routinely with young men in the west of Scotland who were hugely under the influence of alcohol, and who become angry and aggressive in their responses to officers (as in the latter extract above). At times, these volatile situations were fuelled by the combined impact of alcohol intake and the culture of machismo out on the streets (Herbert, 1996), but also exacerbated by the authoritarian nature of the way in which officers approached the young men. The young man in the final extract above clearly viewed the encounter he was having that evening as authoritarian in nature, initiated as it was by the repeated use of questioning, and the recording of information by officers in their notebooks. Building on evidence from other parts of the world (Branner and Ansel-Henry, 2003; Claymann and Skinns, 2012; Murphy, 2015), the data illustrates the way in which the young man reacted to the hostile encounter and became alienated from officers, defiant in his reactions and uncooperative in his interactions (Sunshine and Tyler, 2013). The young officer began to retaliate by becoming more authoritarian and attempting to exert his authority to ‘win’ the encounter. Deuchar (2013: 103- 4) highlights the way in which resistance from young men out on the streets can become perceived by some officers as an affront to their power and authority, and young men sometimes find themselves subjected to interventions as a result of being held in ‘contempt of cop’. This concept refers to situations where citizens are not breaking the law but are rather pushing the limits of acceptable behaviour for the officers and in turn officers respond in an authoritarian manner in order to enforce respectable behaviour appropriate to the officers’ needs. Throughout the data gathered in the west of Scotland, there were some references by other officers that suggested that exerting their power and authority, ‘winning’ the encounters

23 and ‘getting in the faces’ of young men through stop and search was seen to be a prerequisite for ‘robust’ policing:

You know at the end of the day, we wanted serious crime to be reduced and stop and search has stopped it. If you get in the face of people it works. (Alan: Constable, west of Scotland)

The tendency of the police to monitor, patrol, intrude and use disciplinary power on the streets where the young people hung around therefore sometimes led to alienation and resentment (Foucault, 1977). In the young man’s case described in the above extract from the researcher’s fieldnotes, he clearly retaliated in response to the procedural injustice he felt he encountered through disrespecting officers and engaging in public show-downs of face (Peterson, 2008).

3.3 Commonly searched groups and frequency of engagements

Across the east and west of Scotland, all of the officers tended to recognise that it was young males who were stopped and searched more often than others, and sometimes attributed this to the fact that males tended to be potentially ‘more violent’ than females. However, several were also strongly of the opinion that, although they would be inclined to approach groups of young people on the street and engage with them, they would not tend to profile particular young people or attempt to victimise them:

I think certainly it would be a statistical thing, you know, if you analysed it, it would be more males being searched. Not quite a hundred per cent sure of the reasons, but it maybe is the drug using thing. The kinda violence thing, the weapons thing. (Harry: Sergeant, east of Scotland)

I don’t think that they (young people) are any more targeted than anybody else … Ok, so you have a big group of youths out so you think visually that’s easy … I would (approach them) with the intention of having a bit of a laugh with them, trying to see, trying to look and see what have they, do they have drink on them? … So you’re going to have a bit of a laugh with them and hopefully they won’t think that you’re a complete twat. And you’re just taking a wee visual of who’s there and stuff, so they should anything happen later on then you know roughly kind where to start. But I don’t think they’re anywhere more targeted than anybody else. (Kenny: Sergeant, west of Scotland)

Officers were strongly of the mind that ethnicity did not play a significant role in Scotland, but did admit that appearance or behaviour was often used as an indicator for whether or not stop searches would be conducted. For instance, several officers talked about looking out for

24 instances of ‘strange’ or ‘furtive’ behaviour, aggressive behaviour, behaviour that was outwith the norm within a particular social setting or potential indicators of criminal activity such as dilated eyes or the smell of cannabis that could indicate drug use. Indeed, observations during police patrols provided firsthand evidence of the way in which officers used all of their senses to detect indicators of drug misuse or other types of crime. For instance, the researchers frequently saw officers in the west observing the hands of passers-by to make sure they were not carrying alcohol:

We walk back to the car and just as we are ready to move out of the car park, we notice a middle-aged, quite downtrodden man walking across the car park, with a can in his hands. ‘Not sure what that is in his hands,’ Kris remarks, and the two cops get out of the car. (Research’s fieldnotes, west of Scotland)

We drive on and Ally notices a group of young lads walking along the pavement. He slows down and asks the female officers if they can see what one of them is carrying in his hands. ‘I think it’s just a juice bottle,’ Karen answers. Ally acknowledges this and moves on. (Research’s fieldnotes, west of Scotland)

On several occasions the team observed young people being searched for potential alcohol possession, and alcohol being confiscated from young people out on the streets even where bottles were unopened:

As I finish taking details from the three boys, another three men - roughly in their twenties - walk up, one in a grey hoodie and dark jogging trousers with the hoodie up, one in a hoodie and jeans and one in jeans and a shirt. As they walked past the police car Kenny and Stevie, the two officers, get out the car, and ask them what they are up to. They all stand on the path at the side of the vehicle whilst I stand at the back of the vehicle watching and listening. The five of them all stand very close to each other, it is dark, they are on a narrow path, the two officers standing next to the car and the three men round them. The boys are carrying cans of ‘Dragon Soup’, an alcoholic drink that is in a can that is very similar to energy drinks. The young men instantly become abusive towards the police and the situation quickly escalates as aggressive situations often do. The police begin talking with them, ‘where have you been, where are you going, what ages are you?’ Kenny takes a can off of the youngest boy who it turns out is only 17 and should not have alcoholic drink as he is under age, the young man in the shirt and jeans then states that the can is his. The can had been hanging out of the boy’s pocket when he first walked over and when the police take it from him he protests and the older boy in jeans says they can’t do that, just go into his pocket and take it, whilst Kenny states that the boy had been holding it in his hand and that it is a ‘seizure’ as he is under age. He also explains that if the older boy wants to regain it then he is going to need to go to the police station to get it back because he is not allowing the young man to walk away with it when he is underage. This aggrieves the young man in the grey hoody and he starts walking away whilst being abusive. Leaving the others to trail in his wake, he starts shouting that they always get

picked on just because of how they are dressed and the area they are from and calling the officers various names. (Researcher’s fieldnotes, west of Scotland)

In addition to the focus on alcohol detection, the researchers noted the way in which officers actively observed young people’s implicit body language out on the streets and also rolled down car windows to act as detection devices – the so-called ‘breach window’ - in the west of Scotland:

As the patrol car moves along the main road, Alan slows down the car and observes a young man walking along the street; as he does so we all notice the boy glancing at the car and pulling down his hood. ‘He’s fine … he pulled down his hood there for our benefit – that’s him saying to us, “I’m fine, I’ve nothing on me – you don't need to stop me”. You get these subtle signals sometimes from the young folk – he’s completely unconcerned about us and we’re not concerned about him. We don’t even need to speak – it’s like a dance, really – sometimes we just use unspoken messages with one another.’ (Researcher’s fieldnotes, west of Scotland)

As the unmarked police car continues to move along the somewhat deserted streets, Kris pulls down the window on the passenger side of the car. ‘Are you too hot mate?’ Alan, who is driving, asks. ‘No,’ Kris replies and Alan realises that there is another reason for the window being opened, as I notice a young man passing by the car with a mobile phone in his hand. ‘You see that guy on the phone knew we were police right away,’ Kris says, ‘I just wanted to see if I could smell any cannabis – it’s so easy to smell when you put down the window …’ ‘We call it the breach window,’ Alan explains to me as he continues to drive, ‘its something we say, when we roll the window down to see or smell if there is something suspicious – but then sometimes it leads to disorder, guys that recognize us as police and they then start shouting, “cunts, bastards” and all that. You know, there’s different thresholds of behaviour - some officers would be quick to arrest for a breach like that, others would just take it.’ (Researcher’s fieldnotes, west of Scotland)

In terms of frequency of contact, previous research has indicated the presence of the ‘usual suspects’ who are often subjected to multiple searches in one evening (McAra and McVie, 205). While officers on patrol admitted that the same people did tend to be searched time and again (usually by different officers on different shifts), senior command-level officers were strongly of the mind that the new recording and analysis processes for stop and searches clearly prevents a situation arising where any one individual could be targeted multiple times:

A lot of the time what you'll find is the people that are getting searched get searched all the time. Because there's a reason that they're getting searched … Joe Bloggs is, he's been searched at nine o'clock

and then he's back out again at five o'clock and it's a new shift that's on and they see Joe, and they know that Joe's usually got X, Y or Z on him so they give him a wee pat down as well. (Karen: Constable, west of Scotland)

Kids maybe from the more deprived areas do feel that, that it has been a repeat … experience … so we now manage … search the database every month … so we’ll, we’ll pull off all the records … we’ll look at who’s the officer. Is there a trend in the officer? Is there a trend in why they’ve been stopped and searched? … so whilst there has been a picture painted that, that we’re victimising repeatedly young people … that evidence is not there. So, for example, I don’t know how many there was. But there was, there was no more than a handful for the whole a’ Scotland … I think, I think the highest one we found was five … across a month, and across Scotland. (Barry: Chief Superintendent)

The removal of stop and search as a national Key Performance Indicator (KPI) for Police Scotland as a result of the Stop and Search Improvement Plan was seen to have alleviated the target-driven culture where officers had been expected to conduct so many searches on given shifts. While some officers felt that they personally had never felt any pressure to conduct stop and searches in the past, others admitted that the focus on KPIs driven by the previous Chief Constable had had a detrimental effect on driving forward a performance culture, and that they felt a reduced sense of urgency to stop and search now:

I've never felt that pressure. And I genuinely, genuinely haven't at all. I can't, I mean, I know it's been there for cops, I'm not going to say that it hasn't been the case. But from a personal level I've never felt pressured to get anything like that. (Alan: Constable, west of Scotland)

When you start putting targets in to people and, you know, that’s the Chief who’s now departed, I mean I dunno if it came from him personally but it came from our senior management team so I assume this comes down the tree … you know, (officer x) shouldn’t be out there going, ‘oh no, right we’re 15% kinda down in stop searches so I’m actually gonnae go out and try and search ten extra people tonight’. Do you know cause you, you can’t leave the office trying to do that. You just have to see what, what unfolds in front of you. And that’s the danger of measurement. Policing shouldn’t be about quantitative results, if you like. I mean yes, the police needs to be measured on their performance but not to the degree that everyone else is going to say, ‘right, I need to do x number of stop and search and I need to get x as part of the process, you really can’t work like that … but that’s the problem, when you put targets down in front of cops they they’re gonna try and meet the targets and they’re gonna try and hit them, because they want to perform. (Kenny: Sergeant, west of Scotland)

(There’s) less pressure to go out and get stop searches … Like, you're still doing your job the way you always done it, like, you would … look for the same indicators in someone as you always would but you

don’t … you wouldn't feel like on a day-to-day basis that you would, you need to get so many … it was always sorta maybe in the back of your mind that whenever I never saw anyone that warranted a search, so I'm not gonnae search someone that doesn't, that I don’t believe needs to be searched. But then you're still, you do sometimes think I've not got anything today, but it's just sometimes you do, sometimes you don’t. So I think I feel less pressure now. (Paula: Constable, west of Scotland)

Senior and operational officers indicated that the removal of the target-driven culture had been combined with significant reductions in conducting stop and searches and a move away from consensual searching, giving some illustrations of the latest national figures as well as examples of the volume conducted during typical flexible unit deployment periods over a typical week in ‘hotpot’ areas:

So, I mean figures-wise at the moment … we had 11,000, just over 11,000 in June, and that includes seizures (of alcohol) … for the whole of Scotland … and in November that’s down to 5.5 thousand, which is a reduction of 50 per cent in a very short period of time … and … consensual searching in July was about 2800, and in November it was 500. Now that’s an 82 per cent reduction in consensual searching. (Barry: Chief Superintendent)

I would say we did about 25 stop searches (in a week) … that’s in (name of community), over 40 hours with six cops … I don’t think that’s a lot, if you break it down. I mean, that’s four days … maybe 6 or 7 searches a day, and we had 6 cops on … so that’s kind like (officer x) stopping one person. (Kenny: Sergeant, west of Scotland)

Certainly, during observations the research team did not observe any consensual searching being conducted within flexible teams. However, some informal dialogue with officers suggested that flexible and proactive units still had a tendency to have targets in mind for stop and searches, and that some male officers in particular very much still saw themselves as the ‘hard chargers’ that enjoyed the confrontational aspects of policing (Chare, 2011):

There’s less focus on KPIs than there was but it’s hard to get out of a target culture ‘cos we’re a proactive unit and basically we want to get in the faces of ‘neds’ … I must admit I like the confrontational nature of policing. You get a good buzz going into a house party and dealing with an incident. I mean, putting down a door during a drugs raid – who wouldn’t love that? (Alan: Constable, west of Scotland – Researcher’s fieldnotes)

Accordingly, in one respect the removal of the performance culture and the focus on the need for more proportionate use of stop and search (SPA, 2014; Police Scotland, 2015) appeared to have led to less pressure being put on officers and reportedly fewer recorded instances of

28 repeat searches or the deliberate profiling of young men. However, it was also found that some officers clearly still gravitated towards confrontational styles of policing and saw stop and search as one tool for enacting this with disadvantaged young people (as in McAara and McVie, 2005; Peterson, 2008; Weitzer and Brunson, 2009; Murphy, 2015). In addition, as the next section illustrates, the move away from consensual stop and searching and the changes to the recording and reporting processes were clearly having a profound impact on officer morale during the time that our research was being conducted.

3.4 Changes to stop and search, political and media scrutiny and police morale

It is fair to say that the data gathering process for this research took place during a time of unprecedented change in terms of the use of stop and search within Police Scotland. As outlined in the introduction to this report, from 2014 onwards political, media and public concerns about the high volume of stop and search led to wide-ranging reviews of the use of the tactic across Scotland (SPA, 2014; AGSS, 2015; Police Scotland, 2015). In turn, this led to a recommendation that more attention should be focused on balancing policing needs with the rights of individuals, and the need to make better use of analysis and recording tools (Fyfe, 2015). In this section, the considerable impact that the intense political and media scrutiny, combined with the implementation of key changes to police policy and practice across Scotland, appeared to be having on officers is explored. Since this section is easily the most substantial one within this part of the report, the insights are grouped under the key sub- headings of media impact, increased focus on rights and public interference; consensual searching and the institutionalising of stop and search in the west; and changes to recording methods, increased accountability and human rights.

3.4.1 Media impact, increased focus on ‘rights’ and public interference

During our interviews with officers, many referred to the impact that the recent critical media publicity about the previously high volumes of stop and search and the changes that were being put into place had had both on them as officers and also the young people that they encountered on the streets. While officers felt that negative publicity had reduced their morale, they also felt that it had led to an increased ‘rights’ culture out on the streets and a tendency for some to be more obstructive to officers:

I think the media attention through all this and senior officers and what not getting a grilling the … Parliament … it’s kinda sending out the wrong message probably, that ‘you’ve been doing something wrong, you’re up to no good and you’re getting brought to task for it now’ which is probably not necessarily the case. (Jack: Sergeant, west of Scotland)

‘Rights’ - that's the word that usually comes oot their mooth, ‘I know my rights’. When in fact they don’t. They've seen a YouTube video and read an article in the paper, which is usually misinformed. It's a certain type o' paper! (Richard: Constable, west of Scotland)

It’s Youtube things, it’s all the time it’s newspaper articles, the press … and they’ll (young people) argue all the way through it, ‘you can’t do this, I know, I’ll go to my lawyer’ … the lawyer’s a great shield, you know, the lawyer’s the one that’s gonna sort everything. (Michael: Constable, west of Scotland)

During observation of police patrols, informal dialogue among officers also indicated strong concern about the way in which the increased media attention and scrutiny of practice had led to more people intervening in and obstructing police practice out on the streets, and how young people’s tendency to film interactions could lead to officers confiscating mobile phones for police evidence:

Folk want the police around but they don’t want them, you know? When we do engage with young people sometimes you get folk intervening quite a lot saying, ‘you shouldn’t be hassling these young boys – have you nothing better to do with your time?’ (Roy: Constable, west of Scotland – Researcher’s fieldnotes)

There is a lot more filming, but it doesn’t really bother me – I mean what some of them forget is that if they film a crime out on the streets then that phone is coming with me too – because it then contains evidence and can be seized. (Alan: Constable, west of Scotland – Researcher’s fieldnotes)

In addition, during participant observation of routine police engagements in the west of Scotland, evidence emerged in relation to the way in which passers-by sometimes become actively involved in incidents – but also the way in which this itself could sometimes lead to charges being made on the intervening parties:

Just at that moment, I become conscious of a very loud voice shouting across from the inside of the pavement. ‘Hey what are you doin’ – leave they boys along, leave them alone you bastards!’ I look up and see a man of around 40 coming towards us. He is dressed in a black shirt and black jeans. ‘I would advise you to mind your own business and be on your way,’ Karen, the female officer, shouts back. ‘No, I won’t – just you leave them alone, ya cunts – leave them alone.’ ‘Look this has nothing at all to do with you,’ Karen reacts, ‘I would

advise you to move on, otherwise we’ll will be taking things further – with yourself.’ Just at that moment, the officers all move away from the boys and myself and surround the man at the corner of the pavement. As I look towards the commotion in the corner I realise that the situation has now escalated, and Ally, the male officer, is now stopping and searching the man who intervened – evidently because his eyes appear to be dilated and he is clearly under the influence. I move closer to observe what is going on. ‘I only need to tell you my name and date of birth, pal’ the man is saying to Ally, as he continues to search his pockets and pat him down. ‘Stop touching me up or I’ll be putting in a complaint ya bastard!’ Karen then intervenes, ‘we did keep asking you to walk away you know, but you insisted on getting involved in something that didn't concern you.’ I notice that Ally is now writing something. He tears off a piece of paper and hands it to the man, who I now gather is called Derek. ‘Here’s your ticket – you’ve got 28 days to pay it,’ Ally says as he hands Derek a written penalty notice, and at this point I realise that he has found a can of beer on the man’s possession – which Ally is now holding. (Researcher’s fieldnotes, west of Scotland)

Generally, operational officers believed that the increased media attention was often fuelled by a tendency towards ‘political point scoring’, had led to low levels of morale and had sent out misinterpreted signals to the public that stop and search was no longer allowed. While the negative repercussions to officers in terms of increased levels of public interference out on the streets can be acknowledged, it was also evident from the extracts of dialogue and the fieldnotes above that officers in the west of Scotland also took the opportunity to react to these incidents in punitive ways and by expanding the reach of their disciplinary power (Foucault, 1977). This sometimes led to mobile phones being taken from young people or interventions leading to additional charges being made.

3.4.2 Consensual searching and the institutionalising of stop and search in the west

Across the sample of officers, there were very mixed views about the newly introduced presumption against consensual searching that had come into effect during the period of the research study. Some officers felt that the phasing out of consensual stop and search would make no difference to them, since they had always tended to use legislative powers and believed that this was the most effective form of practice in any case:

I'm totally indifferent to it. I don’t generally speaking do consensual searches anyway because if I'm stopping and searching somebody there's a reason for it, and I've got legislative powers that'll cover that reason. So to me in my opinion it makes absolutely no difference to me. (Karen: Constable, west of Scotland)

When it goes to court it's pretty much meaningless unless you've had your notebook signed, or whatever

else, to say that they consented to it. And if somebody's carrying something what's likelihood of them consenting to a search? … (and) if you ask for a consensual search and they knock it back, you then really can't start jumping in to legislation because that looks really bad. You know, it just looks like you're just determined to get your hands on their pockets for whatever reason. (Mandy: Constable, west of Scotland)

During the research team’s shadowing of patrols, one officer from the west of Scotland described the way in which the new recording mechanisms for stop and search were ensuring that he and the rest of his operational team were increasingly drawing upon the use of ‘SHACS’ principles to identify reasonable suspicion and, in turn, prioritising the use of statutory over consensual searches:

‘You know when dialogue starts with someone then that’s when you would get reasonable suspicion … we need to relate everything to the SHACS principles – reporting what we have SEEN, HEARD, any ACTION, CONVERSATIONS and SMELL that we can report on. The forms we need to fill in prompt us to relate what has happened at an incident to SHACS … I would never do consensual, because you always have reasonable suspicion … it comes down to instinct – you just know if there is something just not right about a situation or something about someone you don’t like the look of and then during the conversation, the grounds for reasonable suspicion often comes along (Michael: Constable, West of Scotland - Researcher’s fieldnotes)

In particular, officers in the east of Scotland felt that they had always tended to use statutory powers, engaged positively with young people and recorded searches appropriately but that the recent public scrutiny had now placed doubts in many officers’ minds and reduced morale:

Through here, you know, through in the sorta Edinburgh area … at the end o' the day I think people, you know, almost muttered and there's been a disquiet saying ‘well, naw we have been doing this here, this is nothing new, this is …you're not telling us anything new here. And I think, again, just the fact that the amount of times the sheer repetition of … reports, the Chief Constable coming out and saying, the media is saying that things have been wrong for all these years, I think again that's put slight doubt in officers' minds. (Henry: Inspector, east of Scotland)

I feel it’s very unfair to sort of be generalised and sort of, you know, Police Scotland searches everybody and they don’t do it fairly. I do go about my business in a professional manner and I do it correctly. (Katie: Constable, east of Scotland)

Some middle-level officers in the east stressed that it was important to give officers confidence to look for reasonable grounds for searching, rather than using consensual searches – even

32 where those reasonable grounds might be related to the concealment of weapons, drugs and stolen property that are not immediately evident to the human eye. Some officers at command level within the NSSU also recognised the subtle differences in attitudes and opinion in relation to consensual searching depending upon geographical area, but that it was more complex than simply seeing it as being a culture of the ‘west versus the rest of the world’:

Changes in the west quite clearly will have a bigger impact. Without a doubt. This move away from consensual … is, is a move away from their culture. Now that’s not everybody’s culture within the west. When I went round to speak to different…divisions, different groups and mixed groups, what I found out was that a lot a’ the time wherever you grew up in the police, if you like, on a, on a shift or in a sub division or in a police office, they had a preference of style and between, of between statutory and consensual. So a lot a’ people, just the same as you see across the country … ‘no we don’t do statutory’ … ‘no we don’t like consensual.’ Glasgow, surrounding areas … your staunch, stop search and consensual. The east, I would say is split. Edinburgh is more like the north where if you go to Dundee it …you get a different picture. Probably a wee bit more like the west. And then the north, again they’re more like Edinburgh where it wasn’t really used that much. So it’s, you know, you can’t really simplify it into ‘the west and the rest of the world.’ (Daniel: Inspector)

Certainly, although some officers clearly felt that phasing out the use of non-statutory powers would make very little difference to their practice in the west, many other west of Scotland officers demonstrated extreme anxiety about losing this tool and vocalised strong concerns about the potential negative impact that it could have on deterring violent crime. The following extracts represent the view of many of the west of Scotland officers on this subject:

I think doing away with consensual searching is, kinda a road to hell paved with good intent, in all honesty. There's, unfortunately talk about random stop searching. I don’t think, certainly my unit's never been guilty of random stop searching. Consensual is a wee bit different, it's not specifically intelligence- led in as much as that individual that they're stop and searching, we may have no intelligence on that individual or that particular group of, of people. But the reason we've gone to an area in the first place actually creates that intelligence. We go to that area because there is a high incidence of violence or disorder, or anti-social behaviour … when consensual searching first came in what we noticed is that the amount of knife crime stopped … again, not speaking as a cop, speaking as maybe a guy that's gonnae be in Glasgow later on tonight, I'm quite happy if there's less folk have got, have got knives in their pocket. When I'm minding ma' own business walking up Buchanan Street with maybe a couple of pints in me … but I think, I think it's only a matter of time … before it starts to manifest itself. They'll realise that there's less policing activity, so they're less likely to get caught. That's what it comes down to, are they gonna get caught or are they not? Right now there's a good chance they're gonna get caught. In another six months or so a good chance they're not going to get caught. (Tommy: Inspector, west of Scotland)

Consensual search for us is vast, is very important ‘cause believe it or not people carry stuff but they still allow the police to search them. And if we lose that, which it looks like we are, then we’ve just went and lost ourselves a massive tool. (Kenny: Sergeant, west of Scotland)

Other officers, mainly in the west, articulated views that suggested a perceived loss in police effectiveness that would come about from losing non-statutory searching. In particular (as above), many felt that it was an essential tool for detecting knife carrying, since weapons of this kind are so easily concealed and not immediately detectable via statutory powers. Some officers felt that they felt that they were now having to ‘let offenders walk away’ and that there was ‘nothing good’ about losing this type of police tool. One officer felt that it was sometimes a useful approach to use, even where reasonable suspicion did exist that a young person might be carrying a knife but where that young person was based within a school since detainment under legislation could be seen to be heavy-handed in these circumstances. Others expressed perceived fears that violence would begin to spike again and some even suggested that, whereas young people in Edinburgh tended to be more ‘stand-offish’ and obstructive towards the police, young people in Glasgow tended to enjoy the ‘banter’ and naturally volunteered to be searched by putting their hands in the air when officers approached them:

My opinion is that's, it's gonna be a negative ... reaction to all that. I think it's … the message will be out there amongst the folk that do consider dealing drugs, carrying drugs, carrying weapons, that, that the police have lost a part of their armoury and it's, they'll take the chance. They'll maybe consider carrying these things. Because I think we might find that the stop and search numbers decrease, therefore your chances of being subject to a search will be, the percentile o' that'll decrease dramatically. That's what I think. And then you could then go back to having a culture where there's more violent crimes because more folk are carrying weapons, or potentially more drugs on the street. So I think just the other day the Evening Times published some article that Glasgow had shaken off its tag as Britain's most violent city, and I think they quoted a comparison between 2004/2005 to then years later, 2014/2015, and Glasgow was … it was 80 per 10000 head o' population, something like that. It was by far and away the biggest, and then you had Liverpool, Manchester, Newcastle, cities in the North East, and Glasgow's now dropped quite well down that table in terms of the, the main cities, and they're on a par now with Edinburgh at 30 per 10000. So in they last ten years the stop search probably has been key to, or certainly played a big part in that figure coming down, and I think if you take consensual searching away…who's to say that we don’t regain their crown of being the most violent city in Britain? (Jack: Sergeant, west of Scotland)

It’s engrained … you know, they still turn their pockets out as they approach you … constantly the hands will be up. I mean, how often do we tell people ‘put your hands down’ … just relax’. (Alan: Constable, west of Scotland)

With regard to the latter comment, during observations of police interventions there was clear evidence of the institutionalised nature of stop and search in the west, where young people were quick to volunteer for a search and very animatedly placed their hands in the air following years of constantly being exposed to the tactic, and even where statutory powers were about to be used:

Alan, the male officer, proceeds to radio in the man’s details and gain any intelligence on him. Just at this point the man starts to open his jacket and open his arms. ‘Go ahead, mate,’ he says, clearly ready and willing to allow the officers to search him. ‘It’s ok, buddy, calm down,’ Kris, the other male officer, replies. (Researcher’s fieldnotes, west of Scotland)

All the officers quickly get out the car and surround the young lad. ‘Sorry mate, I didnae see you there,’ the boy says. ‘We thought you werenae gonna stop at all,’ Ally says. ‘I got a fright there, man, when I saw they lights and heard the siren, I thought maybe you had a warrant’ the boys replies. I notice that he has dark hair, of medium build and is around 17 with a shaved eyebrow and a fairly broad Glasgow accent. ‘No, but there might be warrants pending though,’ Ally jokes. ‘Listen mate, we’re going to have to detain you under section 23 of the Misuse of Drugs Act,’ Ally quickly tells him. ‘Aye, alright mate,’ the young man agrees, as Ally puts his hand on his right arm firmly. ‘Just keep your hands out your pockets for now, mate – what’s your name?’ ‘Jack, mate,’ the boy replies. Jack raises his arms right out on either side of him as he backs up the wall. ‘It’s ok, put your hands down – it's not America!’ Ally laughs, and proceeds to search his pockets. (Researcher’s fieldnotes, west of Scotland)

In Edinburgh a less robust style of policing was noted during observations. Officers were less inclined to confront young people and as a result friendly, less combative forms of engagement emerged than in the west, and there were recurring instances of young people approaching officers to engage with them:

Just as we move a few yards along the road, a young man who is carrying a polythene bag approaches us. ‘Excuse me,’ he says rather nervously,’ I was wondering if you can advise me…’ he proceeds to tell the officers that his car has recently been in a crash and he is due to get it back from repair just in time for its MOT, but wonders what would happen if he doesn't get it back until after the MOT date has passed. ‘As long as you have the test booked then you’re OK,’ Paula, the female officer, advises him. ‘Can I ask the garage where it is just now to do the repair?’ the young man asks politely. ‘Yes, you can get whoever you want to do the MOT – but just remember not to drive the car unless it is booked in somewhere.’ The young man thanks the officers and goes to move on. ‘Are you alright though, after the crash?’ Peter, the male officer, enquires and the young man explains that there were no injuries. ‘Oh that’s good then’ Peter says kindly. As we walk on Paula comments that she felt that the young man just wanted to talk to them about something. ‘You get that sometimes, people that just want to talk to the

police – I think that guy just saw us and wanted a reason to engage with us,’ she comments. It occurs to me that I am seeing a lot of that in the east – people who seem to like the police, who in some cases look for opportunities to engage with them – which is something that I don't see so much of in Glasgow. This is reinforced for me again as we pass two young guys in kilts who look as though they may have been playing in a pipe band earlier. Although they are deep in conversation, one of them takes the time to raise his hand in a brief wave to acknowledge us as we pass by. (Researcher’s fieldnotes, east of Scotand)

Again in Edinburgh, although officers recognised that the legal language they were compelled to use during statutory searches could be intimidating to young people, they often followed it up with an explanation:

That’s the thing that makes them panic – they think that if you use that word then they're getting lifted …. But you need to follow it up very quickly – by saying ‘detained for a search’. He (a young man) told me he had alcohol and he spoke about smoking weed ten days ago so I detained him under section 23 of the Misuse of Drugs Act. But the problem is a lot of people think when we use that language that it means something else – we’re legally obliged to say that they are ‘detained’ but they think that it means something else, like they’re being taken back to the station’. (Ted: Constable, east of Scotland - Researcher’s fieldnotes)

Against the backdrop of the historically heavier emphasis on consensual stop and search being used in Glasgow, several officers in the west of Scotland admitted that they were despondent about the upcoming Code of Practice. It was anticipated that this would place the ending of consensual searching in a legal framework, or at least place an obligation to ensure that people were aware of their right to decline – which had clearly not been done routinely in the past:

We’ve got a Code of Practice up now which is slightly different from the way that we’ve worked in the past. ‘Cause in the past we’ve stated a case where you didn’t have to tell somebody that they could say ‘no’. You just had to make sure it was a question. So you would ask them the question ‘do you mind if I search you? Is it Ok to search you?’ … but now with the Code of Practice we now need to remind them or tell them they can say ‘no’ if they want. (Kenny: Sergeant, west of Scotland)

In summary, although officers in the west were beginning to recognise that the ending of non- statutory searching was inevitable, there was a feeling among many in both Glasgow and Paisley that this was perhaps a ‘step too far’ and could lead to a much less robust approach to policing than had been the norm for many years. The words of one Inspector represented the views of many on this, when he explained the way in which removing consensual stop and

36 search might lead to the further disengagement and disempowerment of officers:

Personally I think, with the service and experience I have, it’s probably slightly detrimental in the fact that it’s a step too far to repair the damage which was already done … but it’s the only way we could come out of this … having lived through most of this process for the worst year which was ... the majority of 2015, there was no public outcry, it was mostly political, slightly driven by … well it was hugely driven by the media … if you disempower, disengage officers you’re going to get what you’ve asked for, effectively, as a fairly toothless and effective security service. (Brian: Inspector, west of Scotland)

While the differing nature of police culture in individual divisions, offices and units in the west of Scotland clearly had an impact on how officers viewed the use of the tactic, it was clearly evident that the changes to the presumption against the use of consensual stop searching were impacting on the west the most. For officers in the east of Scotland, the insights from this research concur with those highlighted within the report of the Advisory Group (AGSS, 2015: 68) that suggest that the recent developments are likely to signal a ‘return to a more familiar low-key approach to stop and search’.

3.4.3 Changes to recording methods, increased accountability and human rights

Officers at command level admitted that the volume of stop and searching had reached an extreme level in recent years, but also believed that there had been many inaccuracies in recording methods that in some cases had led to the figures becoming exaggerated or a situation arising where there was extreme uncertainty about the number of searches being conducted. With the introduction a much more robust recording system, senior officers were now much more confident about the data being captured:

The big caveat, and the warning with figures, was that we’ve not really had a baseline that we’ve never had 100 per cent confidence in and that’s been a challenge ... in effect, what we had been recording in stop searches were very often interactions, so it could have been a seizure – so we now record seizures separately, have confidence in the data we’ve been capturing since 1st June (2015), I think it will give us more meaningful results. (Barry: Chief Superintendent)

The most significant change is confidence in the data. ‘Cause I think if the confidence in the data is there, probably it’s the building block that everything else can … start to grow from because if the data that we’ve got there, it’s our scrutiny, it’s our transparency, it’s our demonstration of effect, it’s our demonstration of what we’re getting wrong. If that is built on completely and utterly flawed data, well to

be honest with you you’re trying to build a castle on the sand at the end of the day. So, if the database is right, if we’re confident all the information is being captured on it, it can then truly inform our learning, truly inform our research, can truly inform whether or not it’s making any difference in relation to outcome. (James: Chief Inspector)

In addition to recording data accurately, senior officers also talked about the need for ensuring that stop and search was guided by a focus on lawfulness, proportionality and the upholding of human rights. To that end, operational officers who continued to conduct consensual stop and searches were routinely asked to provide evidence that they had sufficient grounds to search and to justify why a statutory search was not conducted instead:

The principles (underpinning stop and search) for us is what I like to call ‘appropriate’. So people will use different things, like proportionate, will use things like it needs to be justifiable, it needs to be lawful, it needs to be in respect of human rights. All these things sum up into one I call appropriateness, effectively. (James: Chief Inspector)

No police officer wants to get a letter from the National Stop Search Unit to say, ‘you haven’t put in sufficient grounds or we think you’ve used the wrong legislation’, or ‘we think you should have used a statutory instead of a consensual’. (Daniel: Inspector)

One command-level officer described the way in which he had conducted focus groups with vulnerable young people from care home backgrounds in Scotland and realised for the first time the profound effect that experiencing a stop and search sometimes has on them:

It was probably the turning point for me to say, ‘consensual search, it’s not right’, we’ve been doing it wrong. We’ve, we haven’t got this right’, was hearing about the impact stop and search has on somebody. And what’s going through their mind and what’s going through my mind, totally different things. (Daniel: Inspector, west of Scotland)

Among officers in the flexible teams, as well as the increased aggravation they felt was coming from the renewed emphasis on human rights (outlined earlier), there was also a feeling that having to justify each stop and search was time consuming and having a huge impact on morale, driven by a perception that police time on the streets was being reduced, that integrity was being questioned and police discretion undermined:

It’s certainly a more robust recording procedure. I mean, stop and search was, I mean if you told somebody I done seven stop searches today that was probably a kinda norm thing. I mean, it wouldn't be

out of the ordinary, but now the, kinda, recording process for seven stop searches, it takes a lot more time. There is a lot more scrutiny. There's a lot more detail being captured around the why we stopped and searched, and along with the where, the when, the who type thing. But a lot around the why we're stopping and searching, and justifying why you're doing a stop and search. And it's just been articulated and reported a lot more. (Alan: Constable, west of Scotland)

There is a lot more paperwork, a lot more recording of the information in multiple places. I mean, I'm just thinking to shed light on some o' the changes, I'm physically having to record and write a lot more in ma' notebook because I know it's, that subsequently at some point down the line could be subject to some sort of scrutiny check from a supervisor. And it's being articulated through a standard operation procedure, a guidance of succinct points that we must put in our notebook now when we're completing a stop and search, whereas previously it was maybe just more your notebook, it is your notes, you put in what you think you need to put in, whereas there is quite a kinda strict guidelines of what we need to have in our notebook for a stop and search. And then from what's in our notebook then goes onto an electronic database when we submit what we call a stop and search form. So again, yeah, definitely more paperwork, and not just for us when we're doing the stop and search but I'm fully aware that supervisors are now getting more paperwork because they're now having to scrutinise the stop searches and collate certain reference numbers, send them onto certain places. (Alan: Constable, west of Scotland)

To a certain extent … the work we've got to do is time spent in an office when we could actually be out doing a job and keeping people safe. (Kris: Constable, west of Scotland)

Some would say it's calling your integrity into question, I would say. Some would say it makes you feel that way. (Michael: Constable, west of Scotland)

Now we’re given very little discretion, we have aide memoires, we have ‘ticky boxes’. (Brian: Inspector, west of Scotland)

Another element of the procedural changes that officers were experiencing was the recent introduction of ‘advice slips’ that are now required to be issued to all citizens who are stopped and searched. This consists of a card informing people of the officer’s details and the reason they were stopped and searched, as well as details of their rights and the ‘101’ service that can be used should a complaint be required. Senior officers within the NSSU believed that the advice slips would benefit the public, making them more aware of the reasons for being searched and presenting them with an opportunity to seek more information if required, thus increasing the focus on police transparency. However, they were conscious that while some officers would welcome the new advice slips, others would oppose them; they recognised that it was another example of culture change, and that many frontline officers would find them

39 cumbersome to carry around with them and would feel that their introduction provided them with more paperwork and bureaucracy.

Indeed, during interviews it was found that operational officers – particularly in the west of Scotland – were concerned about the introduction of the advice slips. They felt that dealing with additional paperwork out on the streets was destined to have a profound negative impact on their ability to build rapport and to wrap positive engagement around the use of stop and search. There was a feeling that the Glasgow ‘banter’ was integral and vital to policing in the west, and many felt that the issuing of additional paperwork would lead to young people, in particular, only seeing the uniform and not the human being behind it, it was felt that this would effectively change the use of stop and search from an interactional engagement to a potentially robotic, transactional exchange:

You’ve got to be able to … communicate with (young people). Go down and speak to them in a language they understand. They want to be able to speak to you like they speak to their mates … and you’ve got to be able to speak to them like that, and show they that we’re the same. I’m just doing a job here’ … you start formalising that and then it becomes robot-speak, and tickets … we are turning into the Met and that’s just the way it is. (Michael: Constable, west of Scotland)

Getting that, that sorta rapport built wi’ somebody very quickly, right … it’s not much of a rapport, it’s a small rapport but it’s one nonetheless. But if you then come across as being a bit more robotic and a bit more formal which I think is where this form is taking us now, you know, then kinda people aren’t gonnae engage wi’ you. Or, they’re not gonnae be as comfortable with you, do you know? … ‘och this guy’s alright, so hopefully you might just gie me a warning or, or he might say, whatever the case is.’ But now they see almost like a Robocop, I think, when you start pulling, pulling out wee bits a’ paper … asking people to sign stuff and here, there and everywhere. And ‘here, that’s for you and that’s for me.’ And I think definitely that, that personable interaction … is starting to be lost now. (Kenny: Sergeant, west of Scotland)

Some officers felt that handing out advice slips could lead to the abuse of the ‘101’ telephone service number and, although some agreed that it was a good thing to make people more aware of their civil rights, they also felt that it was not necessarily the police’s job to educate people about this:

I mean I do think that’d be a good thing that people have got, are more aware of their civil rights … (but) I think as well if folk are that interested in knowing about their civil rights and their human rights and whatever else, then I don’t really think it should be down to the police to educate them on it. There’s

obviously many, many means of research that are pretty open. They’re able to look up and research, find out about their human rights. I don’t really think it’s our job to educate folk. (Mark: Constable, west of Scotland)

Many police officers in the west of Scotland were firmly of the mind that the advice slips were a waste of time, would be rejected by young people on the streets and cited particular experiences of having them thrown away in front of them:

A lot of people kinda shake their head and say ‘keep it. I don't want it’. (Jack: Sergeant, west of Scotland)

We’ve started giving them out, and 99 per cent of the time in their words (they say) ‘what the fuck’s this?’ Then they chuck it away. (Michael: Constable, west of Scotland)

We’ve physically handed it over, alright maybe put it in their pocket, but the next bin they pass it’s going in the bin. And again, I’m desperately stereotyping but the customers we deal with, it’s not of their ilk to sit down and study that type of piece of paper. (Alan: Constable, west of Scotland)

The words of one senior officer summed up the views of many in Glasgow and Paisley when he hinted at the institutionalised nature of stop and search in the west of Scotland (as touched on earlier) and the way in which young people had simply grown to accept it and not to complain:

All the subjects that we've seen aren't interested in accepting any paperwork from the police. That may change. It might just be because it's new. You know, people who are getting stopped and searched just want to be dealt with and on their way. Can I just say though, you know, one of my jobs is to record complaints about the police … I've never taken a complaint for anybody who's been stopped and searched. Whether they've been found to have something, or not to have something … our bread and butter has been stop search activity, and not one complaint have I had. And that speaks volumes. (Tommy: Inspector, west of Scotland)

As with the use of consensual stop and search (above) there were clear geographic differences in terms of attitudes towards the new reporting arrangements and the new advice slips. While officers in Glasgow and Paisley clearly viewed the changes to recording methods and increased accountability as potentially threatening and that the issuing of advice slips was overly bureaucratic and destined only to have a negative impact on interaction and engagement out on the streets, as illustrated above officers in Edinburgh always felt that they had a presumption

41 against non-statutory searching, that they had routinely recorded data accurately for many years, and that the issuing of advice slips could often present them with a good opportunity to explain procedures more thoroughly out on the streets:

I think there was a realisation that, in bringing together eight different police forces, there was always going to be differences that grew up over the years. But I think, from the east side of the country, to be truthful, on the whole we never saw stop and search as being problematic because I think things have always … been recorded properly. So if an officer had reason to stop somebody, to be truthful either in their police notebook or later on when computer systems were brought it … you recorded the time, the date, the location, the person’s details, why you had stopped them. So that had been on the go actually before Police Scotland came in. So to be truthful it’s not had a big impact but what, what I would think is Police Scotland have brought in certain systems and demanded people are doing things. And I think some officers have felt put out by that because what they’re saying is … it will do actually what has been getting done here for quite a long time. (Henry: Inspector, east of Scotland)

Do you know, if you’re doing your job right then I quite happily handed out a receipt the other day … and the guy, I was really taken aback to be honest … he’d come to our attention before and had markers and things like that, even his presentation. But he was like, he kind of, to be honest it kinda caused a little bit of confusion … ‘cause they’re not used to it. And it, you know, it got it all explained. (Katie: Constable, east of Scotland)

Accordingly, the insights above illustrate the way in which a new reform movement has emerged within Police Scotland focused on the need for greater lawfulness, proportionality and the prioritization of human rights (AGSS, 2015; SPA, 2014; Police Scotland, 2015). Again, as in earlier sections, the wider resistance to change emerging in the west of Scotland as compared to the east was noted. West coast officers’ reluctance to wholeheartedly embrace the new recording processes and issuing of advice slips was often based upon a commendable desire to adopt a liberal democratic model of policing characterised by positive interactions and relationship-building with young people (Button, 2004). However, it was also driven by the profoundly institutionalised nature of stop and search in the west of Scotland, and the long- standing prioritization of ‘robust’ policing and non-statutory approaches there (AGSS, 2015). Conversely, officers in the east of Scotland generally seemed to be more embracing of the changes, seeing them as a natural extension of their tendency to routinely draw on legislative forms of stop searching and to perform their role as ‘humanitarian peacekeepers’ (Hodgeon, 2001: 536).

3.5 Police emotions, culture change and training

The final key theme to emerge from the analysis of police interview and observational data was the issue of officers’ personal reactions, feelings and emotions in relation to stop and search, and the way in which the culture within the force appeared to be changing in response to the perceived increased need to place an emphasis on procedural justice.

All officers were of the mind that, although stop and search was generally seen as a useful and effective tool for both detecting and deterring crime, it was not a procedure that was enjoyable for officers to conduct due the intrusive nature of the tactic and the safety issues inherent within it:

I like them but don't like doing them, if that makes sense. I think they can be quite awkward … particularly out on the street, you know, it’s an un-dignifying thing for the person … I don't like it at all because you are getting close and personal, plus there’s also the safety aspect from our point of view. Not only from being closer to that person to be injured, or whatever else, but for example yesterday I, I, we had cause tae detain somebody on a 23 search, a female, and obviously the first question you ask them is ‘do you have anything sharp, or whatever, that can hurt me?’ and she said 'yeah, I've got needles in ma' pocket'. So from that point not everybody is that respectful. There's a lot of people that'd be quite happy … to see you put your hand in your, their pocket that's got an uncapped needle in it. (Mandy: Constable, west of Scotland)

It’s not really top of my list to be putting my hands through a drug user’s pockets to be perfectly honest, especially when hygiene’s an issue. However, it’s part of my job so it’s just get on wi’ it … there’s the stuff you can catch as well. Needle stick injuries and obviously blood-borne viruses, and whatever else. So it’s, these things do go through your head. (Mark: Constable, west of Scotland)

However, most officers did agree that they felt motivated if they managed to conduct a positive stop and search; most felt that the uncovering of weapons on people’s possession created a particularly satisfying feeling, and related this to the fundamental desire to make communities safer:

I’d feel good about taking a weapon from somebody … you’re taking it off the street, somebody’s got it for a reason. Whether they use it that day or they use it a week later, you’re basically taking that off somebody … if they were carrying weapons, they’re willing to use them that’s the way I look at it. (Richard: Constable, west of Scotland)

If you find a knife, it's the best thing as polis … it’s almost like a self pat on the back – aye, you were right to do that (stop and search), your instinct was right … you build up over the years a ‘police nose’ and it just justifies you were right to do that. (Michael: Constable, west of Scotland)

As highlighted earlier, one senior officer at the NSSU had been actively involved in conducting interviews with young people who had been in care. As such, the young people’s viewpoints had helped him to consider the often nonchalant way in which he and other officers had often conducted stop and searches in the past, without a thought for the profound impact that they might have on vulnerable youngsters:

Myself and my colleague were walking down the street, foot patrol, and we see two likely ones that we’re gonna be searching. And we’re right up to the point of where we’re standing talking to them … we’re talking about what we’re having for our dinner that night. ‘What are we gonnae go for? Are we gonnae go for an Indian, are we gonnae go for a Chinese?’ And then we go down, we do the stop search and we walk away. And then out of that we decide we’re gonnae go Chinese and we walk on. That young person, probably more from the care aspect of it, their … nervousness, anxiousness, emotions explode when they see a police officer because all through their younger lives they could have been involved or their family … the parents could have been involved wi’ the police. And they’re, by the time they are standing in front of us, their heartbeat’s going ten to the dozen. (Daniel: Inspector)

These reflections and insights, combine with the intense political and media scrutiny of practice, had helped the force at command level to re-consider their practice and to place more of an emphasis on human rights. Senior officers described the way in which the culture change emerging against the shared backdrop of the Fife Pilot, the Stop and Search Improvement Plan, the Advisory Group on Stop and Search and the upcoming Code of Practice involved the need to win and hearts and minds on the ground, while also again highlighting the significance of geographical differences in views, attitudes and practices:

I think you can never under-estimate the cultural change within the organisation, of a practice of engaging wi’ people and having a look in their pockets to almost removing that – and I don't just mean slightly, this has been radical, it’s huge … there’s a wee bit here of re-freezing people’s mind-sets. And that’s quite a challenge, because you could sit here wi’ twenty officers and maybe ask them, ‘well, what do you think, how should you be using stop and search?’ And it could be interpreted differently, and that could be geographically where you’ve been working. (Barry: Chief Superintendent)

The biggest thing, and one of the biggest learning points we've had through the engagement and academic research informed by the (Fife) pilot, as well as the most significant part that we can do, is win the hearts and minds … to convince (officers) that this isn't the end of their ability to keep people safe, and to give them the answers to some of these potential gaps. (James: Chief Inspector)

In spite of the views of some operational officers that the victims’ perspective had not been heard during all of the consultations that had led up to the changes to practice, senior officers at command level were of the mind that the victims’ perspective had tended always to be prioritised in the past and that the recent consultations and changes had helped to re-address that balance and place more of an emphasis on procedural justice:

Probably historically we’ve always been for the victim. We’ve just had to readdress that, put that balance on … fairness and proportionality. (Daniel: Inspector)

Moving forward into the future, it was evident that robust evidence-informed training for all officers in Police Scotland was seen as a key priority. In addition to the electronic-based briefings and support materials as well as updates to probationer materials already in place, it was recognised that face-to-face training would be an essential means of gaining buy-in and commitment from officers, particularly in anticipation of the new Code of Practice:

We’ve used…the Moodle training. Now the Moodle training, you’ll probably hear quite a lot of, there’s negative and positive comments about Moodle ... we’ve supported that Moodle training with e-briefing. Now the e-briefing will be, we’ll prepare it, e-briefing slides. We’ll send that out to Divisions. The Divisions put that on their daily briefing, electronic briefing slides to each. So each shift sit down at the start of their day and they go through whatever’s current at that time … we’ve gone up and we’ve visited the probationer training, we’ve reviewed it. We’ve got very good links with the trainers at Tulliallan. Their probationer notes have changed as we’ve changed cause it’s fairly easy to change their notes … to coincide with what we’re putting out here. So that’s been a fairly regular thing. The one thing that we’ve probably not been able to do which we would have liked to have done is face to face training with everybody. And that will happen and it will happen for the Code of Practice. So that’s already starting to be developed and designed now as face to face. So that’ll be a day’s training. And that’ll be for constables, sergeants and Inspectors and then Senior Management Team, local scrutiny groups. So we’ll be doing training for everybody, face to face training for everybody. (Daniel: Inspector)

The next biggest thing for us is making sure that the officers get the adequate training to bring everything together, and set them in the direction moving forward so they've got absolute confidence in what's wrong, what's right, what's got value, what's not got value, and they have an

understanding of how that will be governed and scrutinised moving forward … there's got to be an absolute commitment that people get an opportunity to stand in front of folk who can sell the future, who can really give them an opportunity to question ‘aye, but, aye, but, what if, what if? (James: Chief Inspector)

One important element of the new training was the focus on the behavioural detection model, which one sergeant described as ‘introducing to cops ways of recognising indicators ... like stress indicators or people’s behaviours that then would start to give (them) cause to go and speak to somebody and perhaps search them.’ As one other command-level officer also explained, an essential element of the future training packages would be to support officers in gaining an increased understanding of, and confidence in, ‘what their reasonable grounds or circumstances’ might be for statutory stop searches. While stressing the need to ensure that officers are trained to ensure that stop and searches are proportionate and necessary, this officer also recognised the importance of police discretion:

The bottom line is I just don’t want an officer freezing. In a, you know, either in a slow burn situation or a fast burn situation. I wouldn’t want the officer walking away ‘cause he doesn’t know how to progress that situation … the officer understands … and can articulate his reasonable grounds. He’s, it’s, carried out wi’ fairness. It’s proportionate. So, for example, when I say proportionate and necessary, I think officers still absolutely need to be able to use their discretion. (Barry: Chief Superintendent)

It is, of course, true to say that discretion has traditionally been seen as an essential element in Scottish police officers’ ability to build positive relationships with members of local communities (Donnelly, 2014). However, as the following quotation from one sergeant illustrates, within the context of stop and search the remaining focus on police discretion also has the capacity to lead to punitive approaches being used more frequently with those young people whose attitudes and demeanour lend themselves to the questioning of and opposition towards the police as a system of discipline and control (Herbert, 1996):

They’re sometimes easier if they’re a bit of an arse towards you as well, you know, because then you can lose that conscience factor. Do you know, ‘cause if you stop someone who’s on their mobile phone, for example, and they’re really nice and they’re really apologetic, you know, then you know, you have that conscience thing. You think, ‘right okay do I use a discretion here?’ You know, that’s what you need to measure. But then if someone’s, I’ve had it before that someone was a complete twat towards me … and I thought, ‘well you’ll definitely get it’. (Kenny: Sergeant, west of Scotland)

As illustrated above, while some officers felt uncomfortable using stop and search, others felt motivated by it when it led to positive results. The new reform movement that has led to a greater focus on proportionality and the prioritization of human rights was seen to require robust forms of training and the winning of many officers’ ‘hearts and minds’ (AGSS, 2015; SPA, 2014; Police Scotland, 2015). The continuing need for police discretion within the new reformed landscape was recognised. However, it will also perhaps be important for Police Scotland to be cautious about ensuring that this does not preclude the need to recognise latent attempts to profile young people and to ensure that officers avoid making subjective decisions to use the procedures predicated on their attempts to force young people’s submission to their authority (Peterson, 2008).

4 Emerging themes: interviews with young people and participant observation

4.1 Setting the context: a ‘rights’ agenda.

The Scottish Government has set an ambitious aim that Scotland will be the best place in the world for a child to grow up in. They are to grow up in a society in which their rights are respected and where they can access opportunities and support when they need it (Campbell, 2015). One of the most basic forms of citizenship is the right to protection and Police Scotland represents the state apparatus responsible for this task. Following the rights identified in the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC) it is believed this ambition can be achieved through the application of policies such as Getting it Right for Every Child (Scottish Executive, 2008) and The Children Scotland Act (Scottish Government, 2014). These policies are expected to breed a culture in which the rights of the child are embedded within practice in Scotland, and that those agencies working with children ensure children are in a society:

… where children are welcomed and nurtured. One where we all are alert to their needs and look out for them. Where they are listened to – whatever their age – and where their views are heard and their rights protected. They should be respected as people in their own right. Not as economic units for the future. (Scottish Government, 2013:23)

In particular, Article 12 and Article 3 were pertinent to this research and these should be at the forefront of any recommendations made concerning stop and searches of children and young people. Article 12 of the UNCRC argues that children’s opinions should be taken into account in any decisions concerning them. This article ensures that anyone involved in working with children must allow young people the right to form and express their views in matters which affect them: ‘This should drive the way practitioners work with children’ (Scottish Government, 2013: 5). Article 11 involves the government and its apparatus protecting children from discrimination and all sorts of harm. This rights policy framework represents the cultural shift the Scottish Government requires in order to ensure children and young people’s voices are heard and their rights are upheld in order to achieve its ambitious aim.

Murray’s (2014) report identified that the use of stop and searches may be overly focused on working class white children, and the findings from of the Fife Pilot support this premise

(O’Neill et al., 2015). Both reports suggest that current stop and search procedures are infringing upon children and young peoples’ human rights. In particular Murray (2014) identified article 5 (the right to liberty and security), article 8 (respect and privacy) and article 14 (non-discrimination) as being pertinent to stop and search procedures. Murray (2014) highlighted the potential for each of these articles to be impinged upon by stop and search procedures, in particular Article 14 due to the disproportionate use of stop and searches based on age. So ensuring that young people’s voices and opinions are heard in relation the changes occurring in Scotland regarding stop and search is essential. This section aims to look at young people’s experiences of stop and search, and examine their impact - both good and bad - on building positive relationships between children and young people and Police Scotland. It explores how these opinions were created in order to gain understanding on how perceptions and opinions are formed with the hope of identifying practice that fosters good relationships. It also explores the stop and search experience for young people taking into account the recent changes, and explores what type of impact they have had. In doing so, the extent of procedural justice through the eyes of young people will be explored and recommendations put forward to help improve practice and promote positive relationships between the police and young people in Scotland.

4.2 Changing perceptions of and changing relationships with police

The most discussed items by young people were their perceptions of police encounters. These perceptions were discussed as emerging from direct experience, observation and stories passed on from friends or family. What emerged from the data was that young people had fluid, changing perceptions concerning the police. Their relationships and opinions changed throughout their life span. Young people discussed how they viewed the police positively when they were young children; many discussed how they wanted to be police officers when they were younger and that this perception was as a result of having only positive interactions with officers, particularly within primary school:

I: Have yoos any good experiences? Alan: Naw. Nane. I: None? Alan: None at aw'. Naw, except fae when they aw' used tae come tae our schools in primary, and kid on they’re aw' like nice, and aw' that. Come join the police force, and aw' that

shite. Sarah: From, I don’t know, like when you're younger, and that, you're kinda like oh, like, I don’t know, when you're older they become more of a negative influence on you …

Out of all the young people interviewed five participants (three girls and two boys) had positive perceptions of the police at the time of interviewing. Two of those interviewed wanted to be officers, one had applied to join and two had carried out their secondary school work experience within the force. Four of the participants with current positive perspectives were from Edinburgh where there was less hostility displayed towards the police than in the west. Positive opinions of the police there were generated from positive encounters in which the police aided them or protected them – and also emerged where they had family members who worked in the police force.

Luke: I see where everyone's coming fae as in, like, oh yeah, they're always stopping us and that, but I've not really had a problem ‘cause a lot of them do recognise me and that. I: And they're okay wi' you generally? Luke: Aye. I: D' you think that's because you've worked, done work experience with them? Luke: Yeah.

Callum: Aye. I think maybe, there’s maybe some that have got negative views. There are maybe some that have actually been helped by the police through things that have happened. But…no no’ a’ a’ them. Just some a’ them have…there’s some a’ them gathered hatred just tae…join in wi’ the groups. Know what I mean? And tae be part a’ the…the group. But…it’s no, it’s no’ something really ma pals are interested in just now. I: No, no. What, what, in what way do the police, you said that some of them have been helped by the police. Can you give me an example? Callum: Some, some a’ ma pals have been abused when they were really really, really small.

Having an experience in which the police protected them strongly influenced their views towards the police and, even if they had heard negative stories or seen negative encounters with friends occurring, it did not shake the belief that the police were there to help them. Consider this quote from a focus group where the general wider feeling was hostility towards the police:

I: Any other general opinions about the police? Luke: I've got a very positive opinion.

I: Have you? Luke: Aha. I: Right, okay. Luke: They saved me fae being, like, from being assaulted.

Under the auspices of procedural justice theory these types of opinions, ones in which the police are viewed as guardians, are rooted in positive encounters in which trust and respect was built between young people and authority figures (MacQueen and Bradford, 2014). The young people’s encounters and experiences were perceived as being fair and legitimate. Yet, unfortunately these young people’s opinions represented the minority view and were typically based in the east of Scotland. The majority of the young people at the time of interviewing displayed ingrained hostile opinions of the police which they argued were based on negative encounters. Their perceptions and relationships tended to change once they entered high school and began to spend their leisure time congregating in groups in the street. They felt that they were then subjected to surveillance at the hands of the police, always being watched and exposed to a continued campaign to keep them off of the streets:

Like, they’re watchin’ you, everything you dae they’re watchin’ you. It’s as if, they want you in the jail. (Shug: young person, west of Scotland)

They just come round the corner, out of the blue … no’ even jumpin’ oot of cars. Jumpin’ out behind walls n’all that, like as if they’ve been waitin’ there for like two hours or somethin’ … I’ve been walkin’ home, and they just all of a sudden you turn round, they’re just there already and you’re like ‘how long have you been waitin’ on me?’ it’s like they’ve already known I’ve been comin’ round here, or they want to get me. (Fergie: young person, west of Scotland)

The majority of opinions about the police, particularly in the west, were characterised by resentment and anger and this was as a result of negative experiences rooted in stop and search experiences. Opinions and perceptions clearly changed from positive to negative the older the young people became.

4.3 Positive and negative experiences of stop and search

Similar to what the police in the west conveyed, there was a general reluctant acceptance of stop and search practice among young people. It was seen as the norm for the majority of the boys and some of the girls who took part in the research in the west of Scotland, and there was

51 a feeling that young males were particularly targeted:

I And is getting stopped and searched the normal thing round about here or… John: Considering the area surrounding them, yeah. I What do you mean? John: Like downtown…like you’re Darren: It’s a scheme. John: Yeah. Darren: If you’re walking doon the street wi’ your hood up wi’ a couple a’ your pals wearing a trackie you’re gonnae get stopped and searched.

I never see lassies getting stopped and searched, except fae when they’re in a group and they’ve got bags on them … but you wouldnae see lassies gettin’ pulled on the street for nothin’. (Aldo: young person, west of Scotland)

This widespread belief and acceptance of stop and search procedures was a defining feature of the young people’s encounters with the police, and particularly for young men in the west of Scotland. They constantly reported that they would consent to a stop and search even if they did not want to, highlighting the institutional nature of stop and search in the west (as illustrated in the fieldnotes included in section 3.42 above). When prompted as to why they would not say ‘no’, there was a belief in the west of Scotland that if they did then they would make matters worse for themselves as the search would change from consensual to statutory or that they would be taken to a station and fully strip searched:

Ryan: A few times, they’ve said ‘can we search you’ and I’ve said ‘aye’ but now, like now, I know that so want tae see if they stop and search me but they still search you anyway. I2: How have you said ‘no’ before? Ryan: Aye, I’ve said ‘no’ hundreds of times knowing that they just go ahead, ‘but you’re stopped under Section …’ and they just dae a search straight after that. I: Right, right. Ryan: But they ask you and then you say ‘no’ and then they still search you, so what is the point of even asking?

The thing is, right, they say you've got the right to decline, but as soon as you turn and use that right to decline your search they go ‘right, that's you being detained for a search anyway’. (Eric: Young person, west of Scotland)

I: And what do you think would have happened if you'd continued to refuse to be searched that day, Darren? Darren: Probably take me … probably to the, aye. They'd just take me tae local street station probably, aye.

As a result of these opinions and experiences young people did not think they would notice a difference in their encounters with police following the removal of consensual stop and searches in favour of statutory. The majority of participants believed that the police would ‘make up’ a statutory reason for a stop and search. In particular, numerous references were made to what the officers referred to as the ‘breach window’, as discussed in section 3.3. The young people expressed the common opinion that, if an officer wanted to search them, then the officer would state that they could smell cannabis even if the child or young person had not been smoking it:

Eric: Pull you for, I was walking doon the high street one day and I looked into the, like, just looked at the polis motor. Pulled up beside me, rolled doon the windae, and they were like that…’what you lookin' at?’ I was like, ‘nutin'. I was like, ‘why you pullin' me?’ And they're like that, ‘aw, because we 'hink we’re being threatened’. I was like, ‘naw, you're pulling me cause I'm a teenager in Teentown’. I was like, ‘you're pullin' me cause I'm a teenager walking up and doon the High Street’. And they got oot the motor and they were like that, ‘come here’. I was like, ‘no’. And they grabbed me and they were like that, ‘you're being detained under the misuse o' drugs act’. I was like that, ‘if you can tell me what drugs I'm on… I: Was this a while back…? Eric: Aye. Two year ago maybe. I: A couple of years ago, so you were about 15 then? Eric: Aye. And I was like, I was like that, I was like, ‘if you can tell me what drugs I'm on I'll happily believe you’ [laughs]. I: Yeah. Eric: And I was like that, ‘but I'm no’ on anythin', so that's just no’ right’. Took me in tae the back o' the motor wi' handcuffs on, sat me doon. I: Really? Eric: Aye. Sat me doon, like that, right, ‘we're gonnae take you oot the motor, search you, see whit we can find. They took me oot and searched me and went, ‘nutin' on him, on ye' go’. Jobsworth arseholes.

The above opinions and experiences of the young people in the west of Scotland indicate that they do not experience procedural justice. The majority were distrustful of the police due to

53 their negative encounters, where they felt officers showed no fairness or integrity in their approaches, dialogue and behaviour towards them; this made them feel alienated and removed from civil society:

Some of the time you get abuse aff them aw … they expect you to gie them a bit of respect (but) they sit there and they call you ‘little idiots’ and ‘dafties’ and aw that, and they’re like, ‘stop runnin’ aboot like dafties.’ (Eric: young person, west of Scotland)

I think they should be smacked wi’ a Bible … ‘treat others the way you would like to be treated.’ (Lee: young person, west of Scotland)

This contrasted with the east of Scotland, where the acceptance of stop and searches or the negative opinions were not as widespread. The respondents in Edinburgh did not display the same acceptance of the practice and this was due to their belief that they were entitled to rights in their interactions with the police:

Well I think it was a bad encounter from the very beginning, like I was on public grounds that was owned by the Council, it was owned by the British tax payer so I was allowed to be there and so I thought it was a bit rich for the police to say ‘you can’t be here’, when my mum and dad pay taxes, always have paid taxes and continue to pay taxes … (William: young person, east of Scotland)

William’s experience was positive in that he felt he was able to express his opinion of the event being carried out, the stop and search was explained to him and there was mutual respect from both parties. William had been stopped and searched twice in his life and it was carried out in a positive manner. There was more of a feeling of procedural justice within Edinburgh as many of the young people believed that the police were doing the job fairly and they believed in the efficacy of stop and search procedures:

I think stop and searches, they’re just one of those things that have got to be done. If I was in Government I would be making the exact same decision. And I think in the long run it will benefit the country in terms of things like the very unsafe environment that we live in in the world right now, with things like terrorism and things like people joining … groups. I think if, so there’s a difference between discrimination and a gut instinct and I think a gut instinct you should always go with your gut. And if a police officer has a gut instinct then they should stop and they should search someone. And if they don’t find anything they don’t find anything, they should say ‘sorry, sorry I just had a gut instinct, you can be free, I’m sorry that I wasted your time’. I think that’s exactly what they’re doing. I think some people have probably had bad experiences but in my opinion they have

to be done so like it or lump it they’re going to be done anyway aren’t they? So just get on with it. (William: young person, east of Scotland)

On the other hand, William’s friend John had had a negative encounter in January 2016 where he felt discriminated against and disrespected. He believed his views were not taken into account and he had his phone taken off of him. John and William thus had differences regarding their opinions:

John: Yeah. I was walking to the bus stop with my pals and they just came over and I was like right … like my pal’s just smoking a fag but like you know … and we were just like ‘yeah go outside’ and then my phone started so I picked that up and … it was my mum calling from work. So I answered it and went to walk away and he said ‘you’re not, we’re going to search you’. William: Did he take your phone off you? John: Yes, I didn’t think they were allowed to do that.

Many of the young people, particularly in the west of Scotland, believed that they became more prone to being stopped and searched by officers if they were known to them for previous convictions or if their families were known to them:

If you’re known to them they’ll dae it (stop and search) all the time … my dad, my dad got a bad experience wi’ them … two a’ ma’ brothers had right bad experiences. (Rossco: young person, west of Scotland)

Mobile phones, alcohol and cigarettes were the most common items seized from young people. Although phones were given back at the end of the encounter, cigarettes and alcohol were confiscated. These small seizures caused great dislike towards the police as the young people felt they were used as a power over them if they were not behaving in a manner that the police expected. So when they were approached, if they answered the police back in a manner in which the officer thought was cheeky then they would be searched and their alcohol or cigarettes taken from them. It was evident that the young people felt that these were used as tactics by officers to ensure cooperation, but conversely bred contempt and caused young people to react in adverse ways. This fed the feeling that they were nothing but a commodity to the police to be used for questioning in the street.

The feeling in the west was dominated with negative stop and search experiences, either first

55 hand or vicariously, and these experiences or observations adversely affected the young people’s opinions of the police. Many negative, violent encounters were discussed which jaded young people’s view of the police. The following quotes from the west of Scotland illustrate the depth of feeling the young people had concerning their treatment and highlight how these encounters created negative relationships:

Alan: Walking up tae a pal’s house. Well I was 17 at the time. Walking up tae a pal’s house, police stopped me. Asked tae search me. And I was like, ‘why?’ And he’s like, ‘because we believe that you’ve got stuff in your bag’. So I thought, ‘alright fair enough’. He searched it and he found a couple, one or two bottles a’ … and a couple a’ beers. And then he dragged me, put me up against the car. I: Without you being cheeky tae him or …? Alan: No, no, no, I’m no’ a, I’m no’ a cheeky person [interviewer laughs]. He was quite cheeky tae me but. Pinned me up against the car and I went, ‘what you doing?’ And then he patted me down and he went, ‘just precautions’. But he was quite, just grabbed me by the arm. Put me up against the car, patted me down. Then went, ‘alright you’re alright then’. Gave me a bag, took ma alcohol off me and then…

The worst I've ever had is we're genuinely in the back o' the motors and they're having wee kicks at you, and aw o' that. They dae that aw the time. See in the streets and stuff like that, if you go ‘aye, you're no lifting me’, any opportunity tae get their arm in and take the legs aff ye' they'll take it. [This is referred to as being floored] (Alex: young person, west of Scotland)

I2: Many times do you think you’ve been floored? Jimmy: Don’t know, I’ve rolled aboot wi them a’ other times but I’ve only ever been like proper battered aff … or something three or four times. I: And see when you say properly battered because … Jimmy: Ma maw’s got pictures of my face an’ aw that I’ve got scrapes an’ aw that, eyes, bust nose an aw that. My maw’s got pictures. I: And is that you, how many times do you think you’ve been floored? Johnny: I’ve only been floored about twice or somethin’. And that was, wance wis like two weekends ago and wance was ages ago in Another Town and we got flaired, we all got flaired because, well I got flaired when we come back, like up a close or somethin’ because there was a big photie o’ us standin’ in a big circle and a boy he’s just been battered, right but at this point I’d just walked doon and the boy who’d been battered for robbin’ a younger lassie’s money right and I walked doon and the polis officer just ran right and so I ran and he just jumped, flaired me and just put me right aff ma feet and I just landed on the deck. Aye I think he was tryin’ to catch me but he couldnae. I: Because you were running?

Johnny: Aye, but he did fuckin’ catch me … .

Stop and searches were the main encounter that young people had with the police in the west and as described above these were mostly negative encounters which made the young people feel embarrassed, demoralised, threatened and discriminated against. What made a stop and search encounter a negative one for young people was: lack of respect, power differentials, feelings of discrimination and stigmatisation, use of verbal or physical force, confusing language and feeling intimidated:

Ethan: It’s the way they act wi’ you. I2: Like as if they’re better than you or…? Ethan: Aye as if they’re higher up and that. Luke: It's like I 'hink if they'd spoke tae us on a mare, kinda, like, human level, be like right, what yoos dain', just asked, like… Cersei: Like the woman. Ethan: …talked tae us normally instead o', like, as soon as they say something it's like going over your head, if you know what I mean. Like, being more dominant, like, this is happening right now, instead o' just asking us what we were doing. Luke: Aye, cause the woman just, like, stood back, and the guy was just like … I: He was taking the lead. Ethan: As if, as if he's, like, trying tae show he's boss. It's like that's, that's, the other day, see when they talk tae you, they're like ‘aw, we're better than yoos, yoos are just, yoos are scum’. Luke: See tae be honest, if it was us in uniform the world would be in chaos mate. Cersei: I know. Ethan: As well do I know it. Cersei: But, like… I: What d'you mean by that? It's like us in uniform, what d'you mean by that? Luke: Because they 'hink because they're wearing a polis uniform they're like ‘aw, we're, we're it.’ Ethan: It's like because you've got a badge and a uniform you 'hink you can play God tae people's lives.

Young people could identify that at times they were the ones who would start an encounter on the wrong footing especially if they had previously negative opinions or experiences of the police. In particular, those who had had violent negative encounters as described above. Many of the young people who reported encounters like these stated that they had several stop and search encounters happening on the same night; each one caused feelings of contempt for the

57 police whether they were caught with anything or not and this was due to the depth of feeling created by negative engagements. Many of the young people also reported using their mobile phones to record the police as a form of protection to ensure their rights were upheld (as referred to by officers as a form of obstructive behaviour in section 3.4.1 above).

4.4 Impact of negative stop and searches

The type of violent encounters described in the previous section were articulated by around 20 per cent of the sample and the impact of these encounters had a ripple effect regarding opinions of the police since, although not all young people had had these experiences, they heard about them and shared them with others. This meant negative opinions were formed based on these stories whether the young person was involved or not. Negative encounters with the police thus influenced wider perceptions of the police within whole communities. This then distanced young people from a belief in procedural justice and, rather than viewing the force as being there to help them, instead the police came to be viewed as a threat to young people. A girl from Edinburgh, who had never been in trouble before summed it up:

I: Whats your opinion? Alison: That they’re a threat tae them. I: Oh really? Why? Alison: Like…as soon as you see the police you, you start worrying but you have nothing tae worry about. I: And do you feel that as well? Alison: Yeah even still. I: Even though you’ve nothing tae hide [laughs]? Alison: It must be the uniform that make people uncomfortable.

These types of views reduced young people’s trust and confidence in the police; in the west of Scotland in particular, they described encounters in which they felt they were viewed as ‘non citizens’, and that they existed for the police purely as a street commodity to be stopped and searched or questioned for information. This is in direct contrast to the culture of rights that the Scottish Government is trying to create:

I: So what reason then is it you don’t like them? Matthew: Like…I feel as though like they always follow us about. Like say we were walking tae

the shop and that and they drive by and they just stop out of nowhere and start questioning which is quite annoying. I: And does that happen a lot? Matthew: Most weekends.

They believed these encounters were due to their high street visibility which made them easy targets for the police and this was what made them feel like a commodity and caused feelings of anger and resentment which fuelled negative perceptions. They found it difficult to understand the police’s reasoning for targeting them as a group rather than those involved in high levels of crime:

Stu: …the polis would, like, much rather deal wi', like, a big group of, like, I don’t know, like, 15 year olds, getting mad at them, than they would, like, a 40 year old junkie walking aboot the town selling smack. Arnie: Aye, definitely. Stu: That's the way I feel about it, like the way it boils doon tae is they'd rather deal wi', like, us getting mad at them but they would people that are, like, selling smack and, like, murdering people, and aw' the stabbings and that. It's like they'd just rather take the easier way out. Arnie: Aye, cause when I got stopped… Stu: Cause we're the easier, we're the easier target… Arnie: I don’t even drink and I feel like I'm target. Stu: …because if we retaliate back to them, then it's like they could just do you wi' something there. ‘But aw, wait, you're retaliating so we'll get you done wi' a breach o' the peace.’ Like, if you get mare angry and you, like, go for them then you're getting done wi' assaulting a police officer.

Some of the young people actually suggested that if stop and searches were to stop then crime would go down as there would not be as much antagonistic behaviour between young people and police:

Kyle: Aye if they stop stopping and searching young people crime rate will definitely go down. I2 Crime rates will go down? I: Do you think crime rates will go down? Kyle: Aye. I: Why do you say that? Kyle: Because, I don’t know I just think they dae.

I2 Cause of what you were saying earlier like? Kyle: Aye ‘cause they were stopping but … there willnae be so many police sssault charges and there willnae be so many resisting arrest charges and that.

Indeed, Jason summed up the views of many young people when he explained that, if he had not been stopped and searched so often for no reason, he would probably not have committed the crimes he had committed:

Most of the time I havnae done nothin’, and most of the time if they didnae stop us we wouldnae have committed the crime we done which is police assault or resisting arrest. (Jason: young person, west of Scotland)

The young people felt discriminated against due to their age, gender, class and area, and felt that they were easy targets as they stayed in a certain area or dressed in a certain way, as the following extracts from the west of Scotland illustrate:

They pull me up because I wear Stone Island ... it’s a joke. (Eric: Young person, west of Scotland)

I’ve walked aboot wi’ a suit and that when I’ve … just came back fae a christening. And I was wi’ my pals and I never once got stopped or anythin’. They said, ‘how you doin’?’ and that … I think it’s just the clothes you wear and how you look. (Dean: Young person, west of Scotland)

John: The police are always about everywhere. Alice: Aye I know, they’re pure snakes. John: Where are the polis no’, like? Alice: No, they don’t come up posh areas do they?

Thomas: Say you wear a pair a’ TN’s, a north face tracky and Lacoste bottoms and a hat and a’ that wi’ your hood up, they’re gonnae be, they’re gonnae stop you then be like this, , ‘they look like a ned I’m gonnae stop you’. Julie: That’s what I’m saying, people… Thomas: But I don’t dress like a ned. When I go oot, I get actually proper dressed. Julie: …get discriminated through what they wear. Know what I mean. If you wander aboot wi’ a pair a’ jeans on and a blazer, you’re no’ gonnae get pulled walking through Bearsden or whatever. Alan: I went tae the carnival right and obviously hundreds a’ people. And I had, they were a’ like wi’ trackies and that and I had on jeans. And then they see us walking through the doors. They got stopped and took intae the bit where they got searched and

breathalysed and a’ that. And I just, I didnae get took in, I just walked right in. Thomas: See that’s cause you had jeans on. I: Why do you think they stop yoos? Thomas: Cause we’re younger. Alan: Cause we’re young. Julie: He doesnae get stopped. It’s cause he looks quiet. He’s never, eh Alan: The way you dress as well.

In the last quote from a focus group the young people identified a young person who did not fit the typical description they supplied, highlighting how he did not get stopped and searched due to his clothing not encompassing the usual stereotype of short hair, tracksuit, hoodie and cap. This occurred in three separate focus groups and when asking the untypical youngster their stop and search experiences they did not have the same experiences as the other young people even although they came from the same area, were the same age, had the same friends and leisure activities. This removed feelings of citizenship as young people lost the belief that the part of the government that is there to protect them would do so resulting in young people attempting to avoid contact with the police in most circumstances. Avoiding the police became a daily activity for many of the young people, and trying to find spaces they could claim without surveillance was a popular pastime:

David: Do you know what I mean right we try and stay oot o’ the police’s way so it gies them a better job but they’re comin’ for us. I: … right. David: So they’re makin’ their job harder if you know what I mean because basically some people don’t like police and like aw yer wee neds and that like flinging bricks and that and the polis are bringing theirselves to … ‘I’ll just leave them tae also go oot and that or let them enjoy theirselves’ instead of just takin’ them. ‘Cause one o’ these days there’s actually going tae be naebody in Scotland they’re all goin’ tae be in the jail, I guarantee you. That’s how bad it’s gettin’. Stuart: Last summer probably ‘cause that’s when the polis makes their … they’re always cutting aboot in the summer you can never get away from them. So we’ve got wan place in Hiddentown that they don’t know where we go so that’s the best thing, so up these fields they don’t know where to get us.

These strategies of avoidance were used to the extent that, even if they were in trouble, they would try and solve it without involving the police as they did not believe the police were able to protect them or felt that they would make the situation worse as a result. Consider these

61 fieldnotes taken in the west of Scotland when the police approached a group of young people whom it appeared were fighting near a road before we arrived:

There is a group of 5-6 boys and roughly 3-4 girls there, and three of the boys are the younger three who had been stopped earlier that night. The group are young, roughly between the ages of 13-16 and although rambunctious it is clear they are not out for trouble, one or two of them may be a little bit drunk but they are all very jovial and respectful towards the police. When the police approach the young people all surround the officers and start asking questions, ‘can I wear your hat? What’s your radio like? Was there trouble at the fireworks?’. The police concentrate on the one boy they were speaking to earlier and ask him what happened. It seems like there was a fight, the group tell them that another boy came up and stole his hat. When they are asked for further information the boy replies that they don’t want the police to get involved as that would make the situation worse for them, they will just deal with it on their own. (Researcher’s fieldnotes, west of Scotland)

These observations were confirmed in interviews and focus groups with young people. Feelings of discrimination and alienation resulting in avoidance and lack of belief in the justice system is one of the main negative outcomes of having negative experiences concerning stop and searches. It also has the impact of young people seeing the police as a threat and feeling the need to avoid them, since the feelings that are created through stop and search demoralise young people and embarrass them:

Ryan: It happens mair in broad daylight. I: How does that make you feel ‘cause then? Ryan: Disgustin’ it makes you feel like a wee junkie, aye so it does. I: ‘Cause there’s folk can see you and that. Ryan: Aye everyone stops and stares at you and looks at you and they just think you’re a criminal and you haven’t done anything wrang. The polis like that but, like bringing you doon levels.

They’ll search me in the middle of (the) high street … 12 o’clock and all the wee grannies are doin’ their shopping, and they’ve got you standin’ like that in the middle of (the) high street, gettin’ searched … it’s heavy embarrassing ... ‘cause everybody’s just starin’ at you. (Shug: Young person, west of Scotland)

Disgusting - it makes you feel like a wee junkie, so it does … everyone stops and stares at you and looks at you and they just think you’re a criminal and you haven’t done anything wrang. (Jason: Young person, west of Scotland)

When asked the question whether stop and search would generally tend to act as a deterrent, the young people stated that the potential of being exposed to the procedures would not stop them from carrying out their original intentions. Only one male in the sample stated he had been caught with a knife, the rest had negative outcomes from stop and search interventions or had only had alcohol or drugs taken. When further prompted on whether they would carry a knife or a weapon the young people stated that they would not tend to carry a knife carry in any case due to the large sentences that were associated with it. But they would still continue to buy alcohol and cigarettes or even soft drugs such as cannabis as these were part of their leisure activities and stop and search would not act as a deterrent in this regard. Rather, they would tend to further remove themselves to abandoned areas. So in the opinion of children and young people, stop and searches do not specifically act as a crime deterrent and the seizure rates from them are very low (as highlighted by Murray 2015).

To conclude this section, stop and searches described by young people in the west of Scotland appeared not to be underpinned by procedural justice guidelines of respect, fairness and equity and as a result were damaging relationships between young people and Police Scotland. By attending to the views and opinions of these young people and addressing their concerns then better relationships could be built. These opinions and voices are important as they represent relationships which Police Scotland are actively trying to change through the increased policy rhetoric on promoting human rights (AGSS, 2015; SPA, 2014; Police Scotland, 2015).

4.5 Moving forward: the impact of change and young people’s idealized views of stop and search

This section addresses the recently implemented or suggested changes made by the police (referred to in earlier sections such as 3.3 and 3.4 above), exploring in particular what young people thought of these and if they had noticed any differences in regards to how stop and search was being conducted. It also examines young people’s views regarding the additional changes that would need to be made to ensure that stop and search procedures were experienced more positively.

Young people were aware of some of the implemented changes but not all of them, and as discussed above there was a lack of belief that change would occur regarding the move from consensual to statutory. Rather what was commented upon was a considerable drop in the west

63 of Scotland in terms of numbers of stop and searches being carried out:

Dillan: Aye last year aw the time, I got stopped about 15 times a day like, you were only walking up the drive and they’re going ‘you’re getting stopped and searched’, walking roon the corner stopped by another wan. ‘I just got stopped two seconds ago’ and they’re like that ‘I don’t care about that’. ‘Well ‘phone your fuckin’ pal on the radio he searched me’. I Yeah and does that not happen now? Dillan: No’ really, no.

Young people also recognised a move away from community policing to the use of flexible forces, which they did not like as much as having community officers. It was suggested that the flexible forces were too impersonal and did not allow for situations in which positive relationships could be built which they felt could occur with community officers. Interestingly, the young people made reference to campus police officers in their school acting as ‘bridges’ between officers on the street, sometimes providing understanding or allowing positive encounters to happen. Having said that, the young people did discuss that this was not always a positive thing as it depended on the individual officer who was placed within the school. With regards to the introduction of stop and search advice slips in November 2015, roughly a third of the cohort had experienced a stop and search since this was introduced but only two of them had been given a receipt, as this typical type of discussion in the west of Scotland illustrates:

I And when was the last time you were stopped and searched? Kyle: January. I What about yourself? Dillian: Last year. I Did you get given a receipt? Kyle: No.

When asked what made the encounter a good or a bad one young people were able to articulate how they would like a stop and search to be carried out. The situations described fit with procedural justice principles of fairness, equity and respect. Of highest importance to them was reduction in frequency and respect during encounters. When asked to describe an ideal encounter, the officer described by the young people was one that would be calm and polite and would provide a reason for the stop and search prior to carrying it out using simple language that the young people could understand.

As discussed earlier in this section good relationships were built through positive encounters happening between young people and the police, in particular situations in which a young person was helped by the police. It appeared that, if young people believed in the fairness of stop and searches, then they would believe in it being a just procedure. Experiencing this vision of procedural justice was much more common in the east of Scotland where the numbers of stop and searches recorded, both consensual and statutory, had always traditionally been much lower than in the west (Murray, 2014):

They’re here to do a job and if you need help in any situation then you call the police. And I think I’ve not had many bad encounters with the police, I’ve had maybe one where I was protesting and they wanted me to move but, well I stayed because of principle. (Bernie: young person, east of Scotland)

Believing the police were there to support and assist creates trust and builds citizenship within a young person. This reinforces the view that the police are there in times of need for protection rather than an organisation viewed as a threat, which was the dominant view among the sample in the west of Scotland. If young people more commonly believe that stop and search procedures are fair procedures and experience positive encounters in which there is mutual respect, this would help to (re)build trust. Rather than being questioned, young people explained that they would prefer that the police offered advice or told them what was occurring in the area and what to keep an eye out for. Similar to the views of the police, the young people felt that they would like stop and search to be more conversational and interactional if it had to happen at all.

Young people also asked that officers be gentle in their approach as what may be routine for the officer could be a new and intimidating experience for the young person (as reflected in the views emerging within focus groups conducted by Police Scotland, and referred to in section 3.4.3 above). The young people stated that an ‘ideal’ stop and search involved the officer remaining calm with no verbal or physical abuse and if they did need to be searched or taken to the station then the act or process should be explained before anything occurred. The young people who were involved in violent encounters argued that at times they were reactive to the police and had the police approached them in a different way then the encounter would not have escalated into a situation where they resisted. By explaining what was about to happen to them, the young people believed that officers would limit feelings of discrimination and anger

65 and this would result in less resistance:

Dillan: Because he wis like … you know, if he just asked you know and ‘have you got anythin’ on ye’ instead of goin’ ‘right that’s it we’re searchin’ you’, know what I mean? I: Right, okay. Dillan: Kind of like no rushin’ intae it.. I: And maybe a wee bit of a banter with you? Dillan: Aye. I: Aye ‘cause you said about the CID would do that with you. Jack: You probably wid tell then the truth like if they were aw right wi you … Dillan: Aye. Jack: … but when they’re dicks you don’t tell them nothin’.

Interestingly, young people referred to the use of officer discretion being applied in a positive encounter in which sometimes they were allowed to keep their alcohol or cigarettes. The majority of the young people stated that, on some occasions if they were let away with minor misdemeanours such as this, or if officers showed them respect and took the time to build rapport even when they were arrested, then this built good relationships and would ensure the young people were respectful in subsequent encounters:

There’s been one that’s been like [alright], like ‘my colleague’s down there and you’ve got a drink, if she comes up she’s goin’ to tell you to pour yer drink oot’ and he was like, ‘I would advise you to walk away’. Just the ones that are alright, that talk to you and all that and don’t be pure nasty or anythin’, they talk to you like a normal person. (Paul: young person, west of Scotland)

Some of them are decent … like they talk to you with a bit of respect and that … you get some alright polis ... they’re like no’ being cheeky to you. They just have a laugh n’that with you ... like see the last time I got lifted they were pure tryin’ to have banter wi’ me in the motor, turning up the music right up and that [laughs] (Willie)

The young people believed that if the police started the encounter with respect then they would engage in the same manner. When further questioning the young people about whether they were ones who started encounters without respect they believed that at times they were only kidding on with officers and their humour could be misinterpreted which would then put the encounter on a bad footing. But they also explained that, in some cases, they started the encounter with disrespect due to their feelings of anger towards the police for previous

66 mistreatment of themselves, family members or friends. It is clearly essential to ensure that this cycle of distrust is broken and new positive relationships are built based on mutual respect and trust.

To conclude on the feelings and opinions of young people in both the east and west coast of Scotland, it would appear from the opinions from all areas that stop and search should not be carried out on young people as a potential strategy for crime deterrence. Stop and searches such as those which have been carried out to date in the west of Scotland are disproportional and tend to prevent young people from believing in a procedurally just system. The data from this research study suggests that the young people in the east of Scotland did not experience such high numbers of stop and searches and as such had better relationships with the police and believed in procedural justice. Conversely, the tendency to use the procedure as a deterrent from crime in the west resulted in deteriorated relationships, institutionalisation of the use of the tactic and a perception that the procedures represented an infringement on young people’s human rights and a perceived lack of procedural justice. Young people described their idealized view of stop and search, which would comprise the use of simple and clear language by the officer involved, the avoidance of legal jargon and clear explanations being verbalised. There was also a feeling that stop and searches should be conducted discreetly. Officers should be calm, respectful and friendly as there were evidently clear power differentials between the groups and officers could appear threatening to young people due to age, size, uniform and demeanour. Young people would prefer to have consistent relationships with officers in their community. They felt that they would like more conversational interactions that would prevent them feeling like suspects through the use of authoritarian styles of questioning. The type of interactions and engagements described by young people would seem to fit with Police Scotland’s vision of how stop and search should be carried out in the future, as illustrated through recent position statements (AGSS, 2015; Police Scotland, 2015)

5 Discussion of findings

It must be re-emphasised that the time period during which this research was carried out coincided with unprecedented change within Police Scotland in relation to the implementation of stop and search. This resulted in certain anxieties coming to the forefront of the research that may not have existed had the research been carried out at any other time. It also allowed a snapshot to be taken that captured Police Scotland’s work during a period characterised by a state of flux, bringing to the forefront new hopes, fears and misgivings that members of the force were experiencing.

It is suggested that it will take some time before Police Scotland will win the ‘hearts and minds’ of frontline officers out on the street with regard to some of the recent changes, particularly in the west of Scotland. As Chan (1997: 74) has argued, whether a structural change in a police organisation results in any change in institutional practice or commitment to its implementation depends on ‘the nature of the change and the capacity of officers to adapt to that change’. Although Police Scotland has been able to take important steps towards enacting structural and cultural change relatively quickly in terms of balancing the use of stop and search with the upholding of human rights (Fyfe, 2015), the capacity of officers to adapt to or fully embrace the change may take many years. This is particularly the case in the west of Scotland, where the use of consensual stop and search has been so deeply entrenched for so long and where police morale appears to have been adversely affected by the intense media scrutiny and criticism directed at Police Scotland throughout the first three years of the single force’s operation.

The research data illustrated that officers generally vocalised a strong commitment to procedural justice values and the need for stop and search to be interactional and focused on fairness, dignity and respect. However, ‘robust’ policing in Glasgow and Paisley was still very much seen as being synonymous with authoritarian approaches, the need to use disciplinary power to confront and ‘win’ encounters with young men and to use stop and search as a tool for both detection and deterrence. Within this context, the loss of consensual searching was largely seen to be disempowering officers as a result of the way in which the use of the tactic had become institutionalised over the years. Reiner (2000: 89) argues that the core justification of policing is a ‘victim-centred perspective’, and the long-standing culture of using stop and search as a perceived deterrent against knife crime combined with the historical dominance of

68 street violence in Glasgow (Deuchar, 2015) had clearly led to officers associating the use of consensual searching as a key tool for violence prevention and the building of community safety. This was in stark contrast to the views and perspectives of officers in the east of the country, where the structural and cultural changes being initiated by Police Scotland in terms of reducing stop and search and increasing its proportionality and focus on human rights represented a return to the more familiar, low-key approaches that had always characterised policing there (AGSS, 2015). Senior command-level officers clearly recognised the need for robust re-training of officers in certain parts of the country, focusing on winning ‘hearts and minds’ and balancing the increased focus on officers’ awareness of the ‘reasonable ‘suspicion’ for conducting statutory searches with a recognised continued need for police discretion.

While the impact of the new changes will take time to embed in terms of officer commitment and engagement in certain divisions and geographical areas, it may take even longer for their impact to be felt within communities. Section four of this report discussed the profound impact aggressive, violent or negative police encounters can have on children and young people (Carr et al., 2007; Deuchar et al., 2015). The impact of these incidents ripples through local neighbourhoods and as a result this means that it will take years of procedural justice-oriented policing to change the culture of mistrust that often still exists among young people and within communities (Herbert, 1996; Deuchar et al., 2015).

Foucault (1977) argues that the police are the typical panoptic institution required to control the population to enforce civil behaviour. He terms the process ‘panopticism’ in which power is used to control individuals in the form of continued supervision through three aspects: surveillance, control and correction. The use of stop and search is an example of such a disciplinary mechanism at play and provides a powerful arm for this culture of control (Garland, 2001). Through the rise of a performance culture in which stop and search was a KPI (Murray 2014), Police Scotland was compelled to produce results as a means of satisfying media and political calls to control young people in the street. The use of the tactic in the west of Scotland as a perceived deterrent for young people to stop knife crime also enabled the stop and search culture to become institutionalised; since working class, disadvantaged young people (and particularly young men) are the most visible groups within street cultures they inevitably became the group stopped the most. This culture of deterrence and disproportionality occurred throughout the period 2005-2013 (Murray, 2014) resulting in ritualistic encounters between young people and the police.

Given the controversy about the over-use of stop and search (particularly in the west of Scotland) in recent years and the concerns about its operationalization, a new reform movement has emerged focused on the need for greater assurance of proportionality and the prioritization of human rights (Murray, 2014; SPA, 2014; AGSS, 2015). However, the young people in the west of Scotland who were interviewed as part of this study clearly felt that their encounters with the police were still far from being characterised by procedural justice values; they continued to feel unfairly and unjustifiably stopped and searched and believed that the encounters themselves were authoritarian, disrespectful and stigmatising.

As the data suggests, officers were often actively resisted by street-socialised young men, and so it is suggested that the continued aggressive and intrusive use of tactics such as stop and search may ultimately limit police officers’ capacity to fight crime by dissuading working class young people (particularly young men) from engaging in the law enforcement process (Herbert, 1996, and see also Johnson, 2014). The ‘cautionary Foucault’ acknowledged the importance of resistance, incompleteness and contradiction (Herbert, 1996). The combined culture of machismo that often characterised the lives of some of the young men in the west of Scotland as well as the culture inherent within frontline policing often became polarised within the context of procedural unjust forms of stop and search (Herbert, 1996; Peterson, 2008; Deuchar, 2013). Ultimately, the confrontations that emerged, and the reactions that the young people engaged in as a result, continued to hinder crime prevention and could, in some cases, increase violent incidents as a result of young men resisting arrest or engaging in police assaults. Conversely, young people in Edinburgh clearly believed that officers were generally doing a good job, and were generally more inclined to be aware of their rights and exposed to practices that upheld these rights. In turn, they were more inclined to engage with and actively approach officers in the street.

Foucault’s (1977) concept of panopticism allows a deeper understanding of the nuances of power at play, highlighting how the exercise of control and surveillance can be institutionalised in the urban social control of young people. The insights from the data in this report reflect the cogency of Foucault’s insights (Herbert, 1996), suggesting as they do that panopticism, or post- panopticism (Bauman, 2012) - in the form of the self-disciplining society combined with police use of stop and search - was continually present in the lives of the young people, particularly in the west. Essentially, it appeared that their daily activities were monitored and intruded upon

70 through processes that were seen to be unfair, undignified and lacking in respect and integrity (Elden, 2003).

Another new discourse that has emerged within this research is that of being in ‘contempt of cop’ (see Deuchar, 2013). This discourse refers to officers’ belief that they must be seen to be in control at all times and ensure that they ‘win’ in whatever encounter they have with young people. Against this backdrop, enforcement through the use of stop and search was sometimes seen by young people as being a strategy that was used simply because they were seen to disrespect officers. The police are a professional body and believe that they should be treated with respect as a result of the status of their occupation, particularly when they are carrying out their duties. Young citizens are expected to conform to their superior status since the police are seen to be guardians and enforcers of civil behaviour upholding the law. But with the rise of post-modernity and individualisation in contemporary western societies, many facets of the general public have lost trust in professional bodies and are increasingly questioning their authority in many realms (Pfadenhauer, 2006). The loss of belief in professional public bodies for citizens results in a lack of trust in the authority of professionals, and as Pfadenhauer (2006) stipulates this occurs not only on the outside but on the inside of organisations. This research found this occurring both on the inside, represented by officers’ anxiety concerning command- level initiated changes in the use of stop and search and the decision to remove consensual stop and search, but also on the outside with citizens losing trust in their professional expertise and legitimacy. This crisis of professionalism has been compounded within Police Scotland due to the increased media scrutiny concerning the disproportionate numbers of young people being stopped and searched and the concerns about human rights. Police legitimacy is central to the procedural justice principles in which Police Scotland adhere to. Herbert (2006) highlights that ‘the dilemma of legitimacy plagues no other state institution more doggedly than the police’ (Herbert, 2006: 481) and argues that, where particular groups believe police power to be disproportionate towards them, this ultimately creates heightened suspicion and distrust.

Being in ‘contempt of cop’ has at its heart the loss of police legitimacy and the data captured in this research study was saturated with feelings of discrimination and anger due to volatile and conflictual encounters with officers who were seen to be establishing their legitimacy through authoritarian means. The use of authoritarian means in a conflictual situation where there is a lack of trust in the professional body does not diminish the volatility of a situation but rather escalates it. Young people in the east displayed much more trust than those in the west and

71 legitimised authoritarian behaviour by the police; they believed the police had to act in this manner in order to enforce security. This type of legitimisation emerged largely because they had experienced procedural justice during police encounters - whereas in the west the loss of legitimacy through vicarious or negative authoritarian encounters caused alienation, anger and resentment - often escalating situations. These incidents were also occurring within the context of a burgeoning rights culture which encourages young people to question and this makes officers’ already challenging jobs harder as could be seen in some of the dialogue where officers were clearly struggling with young people questioning their authority or using technology in order to film them.

Ultimately, for young people in the west of Scotland, their perceptions about and experiences of procedurally unjust police practice reduced their willingness to cooperate with officers and increased their likelihood to run, hide and evade any encounter with them at all (Carr et al., 2007). However, their limited but positive experiences of procedurally just procedures, characterised by positive interaction and police discretion towards minor misdemeanours, represented a vision of the type of policing they would embrace and welcome in a much wider sense.

6 Conclusions and recommendations

In this final section, the evidence gleaned from the research will be drawn upon in order to address the three overarching research questions that underpinned the project. Within each of the sub-sections that follows and in light of the findings, key recommendations are made for future policing policy and practice in Scotland.

6.1 To what extent do stop and search procedures help to prevent anti-social behaviour and violent crime through enabling officers to withdraw offensive weapons and/or alcohol and drugs from young people’s possession?

Chan (1997: 65) highlights the way in which academic analyses of police culture often fail to take account of internal differentiation, jurisdictional differences and the discrepancy between policy and practice. In reality, the rhetoric found at policy level and even the culture at command level in some police departments may be very different from that found at street level, while police divisions can vary enormously in terms of their own dominant cultural values and practices (Deuchar, 2013). The insights outlined in this report suggest that the phasing out of the use of consensual stop and search, although fully embraced as a strong policy priority at commend level, was impacting negatively on officers in the west to a far greater extent than the east of Scotland. There was a strong feeling among some officers in some teams there that non-statutory stop and search had had a very valuable part to play at a specific time and in a specific context, that context being the entrenched problem of violent crime, particularly knife crime, mainly in Glasgow (AGSS, 2015). Given officers’ intense focus on the need to keep people safe, many were anxious about their potential loss of effectiveness in continuing to keep weapons off the street should consensual searching be lost and/or young people made more aware of their right to decline a search. However, it was evident these positions and perspectives had emerged against an unnatural and unhealthy backdrop whereby young people out on the street had grown accustomed to being stopped and searched due to a long-standing style of what was regarded as ‘robust’ policing and that had prioritised non-statutory approaches (AGSS, 2015).

The beliefs that the officers in the west of Scotland had also did not appear to relate to statistics concerning young people and stop and search. Although they are the most commonly stopped

73 group, they also have the lowest detection rate. In Murray’s (2015) Landscape Review on Stop and Search in Scotland she identifies that, in July 2015, 11 per cent of weapon searches resulted in detection compared to 18 per cent of alcohol searches, 26 per cent of drug searches and 29 per cent of searches for stolen property. Further, the report highlights that ‘searches involving people under the age of 20 are significantly less likely to be successful [and that] searches involving the under 16s … are the least successful in terms of producing a positive outcome’ (ibid: 45); in June/July 2015, it was also found that 15 per cent of recorded searches carried out on 16-year-olds resulted in detection, compared to an average detection rate of 24 per cent (McVie, cited in Murray, 2015: 45). The statistics can also be complemented with statistics of youth offending rates in Scotland, which have seen a dramatic decrease of 45 per cent since 2008/09 (Lightowler et al., 2014). These figures are comparable across areas and countries, some of which did not have a high focus on stop and search, and so this would indicate that stop and search practice is not the driver for this reduction. This contrasts with officers’ beliefs that violent crime will rise with the removal of consensual stop and search being removed. The firsthand insights of stop and search outlined in this report appear to corroborate Murray’s (2015) insights into detection rates among youth in terms of offensive weapons and drugs: across all of the observations made, only one stop and search led to the withdrawal of a sizeable quantity of drugs, while no knives were detected during any of the observed patrols.

The young people’s views reported on in section four of this report also illustrate that they firmly believed that stop and search is limited in its use and that the police most commonly tend to uncover relatively low level crimes such as possession of small amounts of alcohol or drugs. Many believed that the police should be targeting their efforts on larger and more serious types of crimes or drug markets. Further, the young people categorically stated that stop and search would not act as a deterrent or prevent them from carrying out their leisure activities which included drinking and taking drugs, and that it was the wider fear of a longer prison sentence that stopped them from carrying a knife rather than the more immediate threat of being searched by the police on any given evening. Indeed, the young people also described many examples of where they actively retaliated in response to the procedural injustice they felt they encountered on the streets through disrespecting officers and engaging in public show- downs of face through resisting arrest (Peterson, 2008). They also used wider techniques to confront officers, evade them and spite them – which included becoming involved in police assaults or breaches of the peace as a result of their feelings of anger. Accordingly, this

74 indicates that, where stop and search is used in a way that is devoid of procedural justice, it may in fact increase rather than prevent anti-social behaviour and violent crime.

At the time of writing, a Scottish Government (2016) consultation has been launched on what should be included in the new Code of Practice and focused particularly on police powers to search children and young people for alcohol. The evidence in this report clearly suggests that the introduction of a new power for the police to search children or young people for alcohol would largely criminalise young people for their naturally-occurring social pastimes and further worsen already fragile relationships, particularly in the west of Scotland (McAra and McVie, 2005; Deuchar et al., 2015). The anger and frustration that can emerge among already disadvantaged young people as a result of minor misdemeanours being targeted for stop and search has the capacity to increase youth disorder, violence and crime and thus the expansion of police powers in this area and the related process of net-widening that could emerge as a result should be avoided at all costs.

In summary, the qualitative insights from this research give added weight to Murray’s (2015) earlier statistical evidence that suggests that the use of stop and search is not directly related to the detection of offensive weapons and deterrence of violence among young people. Further, they suggest that the use of the tactic for attempting to detect and withdraw the common trappings of youth leisure activities (most commonly alcohol and cigarettes) sometimes leads to the increase (rather than prevention) of anti-social behaviour, violence and crime among Scottish young people. In the spirit of building community safety, any attempt to extend police powers to search children and young people for alcohol should therefore be resisted.

Recommendation 2: That future targeted professional development training (particularly in the west of Scotland) should also focus on supporting officers to re-define the concept of ‘robust’

75 policing to be synonymous with the implementation of procedural justice.

6.2 To what extent to – and in which ways – are stop and search procedures, street engagements and the police culture associated with proactive policing units underpinned by a focus on procedural justice values such as fairness, impartiality, respect, support, legitimacy and trust?

In Murray’s (2014) research, it was found that there was uneven coverage in relation to stop and search across areas of Scotland, with the legacy Strathclyde area accountable for 84 per cent of stop and searches. In the current research, this historically uneven practice was reflected in both the police accounts of stop and search and also within young people’s perspectives in the west of Scotland. The observations of officers engaging with drunk and/or aggressive young people and the descriptions of the police as threatening or intimidating by young people (particularly young men) during interviews in the west of the country highlight the machismo that often occurs out on the streets. It was reported during interviews that at times the police would engage in an aggressive manner, or that young people could initiate encounters in an aggressive manner and that if officers then responded in an authoritarian way then this could escalate events. Peterson (2008) has explored the power relations that often underlie the performances and negotiations of respect and authority during interactions between young men and police officers. On the one hand, young males from socially disadvantaged backgrounds often find themselves obliged to put on a display of disrespect for police authority in front of their peers; on the other, officers cannot be seen to allow a public display of open defiance of their authority.

MacQueen and Bradford (2014) argue that procedural justice theory stresses the importance of the perceived fairness of the process of interaction between citizens and officers in shaping trust and confidence in, and judgements about, the legitimacy of police authority. In this context, fairness means ‘being treated with dignity and respect during encounters; being allowed a voice in the interaction; and being given clear information about what is happening and why’ (MacQueen and Bradford, 2014: 11). Indeed, perceived fairness and legitimacy is closely intertwined with public engagement with the police; as Sunshine and Tyler (2003: 514) argue, ‘if the public judges that the police exercise their authority using fair procedures … [they] will view the police as legitimate and will cooperate with policing efforts. However, unfairness in the exercise of authority will lead to alienation, defiance, and noncooperation.’

The tendency of the police to monitor, patrol and intrude and use disciplinary power on the streets where the young people hung around led to alienation and resentment (Foucault, 1977). Some young people were clearly disrespectful back to officers but – reflecting the insights from Peterson’s (2008) earlier research - they often found that officers forced their submission to their authority out on the streets by stopping and searching them aggressively (or even, in some cases, violently) or arresting them for minor offences. In turn, young men in particular sometimes resisted arrest and this led to further masculine power performances and confrontations out on the streets. However, other strategies used were more subtle. For instance, some tended to use their mobile phones to film their engagements with officers with the intention of posting them on social media, and this clearly caused officers additional pressure and the young people sometimes found that officers took their phones away from them. Hence, the insights from the young people suggested that their attempts to find ‘oppositional bases for respect’ were often thwarted by police officers as the latter group continued to exert their fundamental control of the streets and of young people (Anderson, 1999; Peterson, 2008)

As this report has already argued the use of stop and search by flexible, proactive police units is one disciplinary mechanism that provides a powerful arm for the police to exert a culture of control (Garland, 2001). Although the observations of police practice confirmed the vastly reduced tendency to draw upon consensual searching and that the use of statutory procedures dominated, the tactic clearly encouraged officers to restrict the spatio-temporal freedom and behaviour of young people in accordance with the wishes of local authorities, housing

77 associations and residents, and enabled the law to be applied in ways that was sometimes predicated on individual police dispositions and attitudes (Chan, 1997) and devoid of a focus on human rights. Like the panopticon, the use of stop and search operates as part of a ‘system of surveillance’ whose targets ‘internalize the gaze of their observers to the extent that it is they who (assume) responsibility for the constraints of power’ (Foucault, 1977, cited in Collins et al., 2001: 397). For instance, during the observations in the west of Scotland the institutionalised nature of stop and search was noted, and how young men (in particular) had become accustomed to submitting to it. Further, during interviews with the young people many referred to actively retreating from public space and hanging out in places that were less visible to local residents and officers (Collins et al., 2001).

In spite of the policy promises focused on prevention and community-oriented perspectives (Fyfe, 2015), the accelerated use of stop and search in recent years in Scotland has reflected the concerns of ‘right-thinking’ defenders of public order. These business owners, newspaper editors, police officers and politicians share a common perspective about the accumulated impact of youth crime, the demise of ‘traditional values’ and the lack of discipline in young people’s lives (Collins et al., 2001). Given the controversy about the over-use of stop and search (particularly in the west of Scotland) in recent years and the concerns about its operationalization, a full scrutiny review of Police Scotland’s policy and practice in the use of the tactic has taken place (Fyfe, 2015). As a result, a new reform movement has emerged focused on the need for greater assurance of proportionality and the prioritization of human rights (Murray, 2014; SPA, 2014; AGSS, 2015; Murray, 2015). However, even although Police Scotland’s policy rhetoric focuses on ‘fairness, integrity and respect’ and the proactive unit officers who participated in interviews clearly had strong beliefs about the need for stop and search to be characterised by these principles and values, the young people who were interviewed (and particularly young men) clearly felt that their encounters with the police were far from being characterised by procedural justice values. They continued to feel unfairly and unjustifiably stopped and searched, believed that the decisions to search were based on stereotypical social information and subjective judgements (Holmberg and Kvysgaard, 2003) and that the encounters themselves were authoritarian, disrespectful and stigmatising in nature.

As earlier sections of the report has alluded to, the continued aggressive and intrusive use of stop and search may ultimately limit police officers’ capacity to fight crime by dissuading

78 working class young people from engaging in the law enforcement process (Herbert, 1996, and see also Johnson, 2014). Loader (1996: 147) argues that police officers are ‘rarely trained, encouraged or motivated to think about developing discursive relationships with the social groups they police’, particularly young people. The encouraging statements made by young people in this research report in relation to the positive engagements they experienced with some isolated officers, including campus police officers, illustrates that sufficient reciprocal ground may often exist between disadvantaged young people and the police that can be drawn upon to sow the seeds of a ‘more communicative future’ for police/youth relations (Loader, 1996: 145). However, promoting this sense of equity, justice and mutual trust in a wider sense will require a greater focus on officer training.

6.3 In light of the above, what impact do stop and search procedures and wider street engagements by proactive teams have on building or depleting positive relationships between officers and young people in local communities?

It has been argued that police officers in the modern era increasingly ‘intrude into more intimate spheres to regulate individual conduct’, particularly within the context of young people in socially deprived communities (Herbert, 1996). Murray (2015) highlights that there has been a general acceptance of police practice in Scotland in the past evidenced in the lack of

79 public unrest, and as one constable who participated in the current research highlighted (see section 3.4.3 above) there have been no complaints concerning the use of stop and search. But, as earlier sections of this report have illustrated, the low number of complaints is not due to a general feeling of satisfaction in police practice among young people and within communities; rather, it is a reflection of a feeling of resignation and the fact that stop and search has become institutionalised in areas in which there have been authoritarian approaches to policing in the west of Scotland, ensuring that the groups who would resist these structures are socialised into accepting that this is simply the norm.

There are clear power differentials between groups in society, with young people being one of the least powerful groups and the police holding the greatest power and the most opportunities to exercise this power. If young people as a group are the ones that experience disproportionate amounts of justice they are the least likely group within society to have the power to resist and instead react in their own ways, and mostly through rebellion against and attempts to evade the police. The lack of complaints and the reasons behind this are compounded if one considers that the majority of the young people in this study actively initiated strategies to evade the police and thought that any attempt to refuse a search or report a negative experience might cause further trouble for them. This is a common finding in neighbourhoods characterised with high crime rates and that are socially disadvantaged (See Kirk and Papachristos, 2011). As outlined in the pages of this report, some officers clearly still gravitated towards confrontational styles of policing and saw stop and search as one tool for enacting this with disadvantaged young people (as in McAra and McVie, 2005; Peterson, 2008; Weitzer and Brunson, 2009; Murphy, 2015). The research also suggests that the use of stop and search as a deterrent often does not comply with procedural justice values or the ethics that underpin Police Scotland and as a result damages relationships.

Police Scotland’s (2016a) statement of ethics concentrates on integrity, fairness and respect and these mirror the central tenets of procedural justice theory. In particular sections, the code of ethics for policing has strong links to this research and very much reflect the changes that are occurring in stop and search procedures but have not yet been felt by young people, particularly in the west of Scotland:

Integrity: I shall act as a positive role model in delivering a professional, impartial service, placing service to communities before my personal aims.

I shall avoid all behaviour, which is or may be reasonably considered as abusive, bullying, harassing or victimising. (Police Scotland, 2016a)

Earlier sections of this report indicate that at times when officers were challenged or when they came across those who had been in trouble repeatedly, personal feelings would enter encounters with young people, resulting in young people finding themselves in ‘contempt of cop’ (Deuchar, 2013: 103). This sometimes resulted in young people feeling that they were picked on by officers and they divided officers into ‘good’ and ‘bad’ ones based on their encounters. The most frequent types of encounters described by young people did not seem to meet the above characterisitics associated with integrity.

Fairness: I will promote positive wellbeing within the community and service and ensure that all people have fair and equal access to police services according to their needs. I will carry out my duties in a fair manner, guided by the principles of impartiality and non-discrimination. (Police Scotland, 2016a)

As highlighted above, the legacy of using stop and search as a KPI and a form of deterrent had had the outcome of disproportionality for young people in the west of Scotland. This resulted in those young people who had experienced high numbers of stop and searches feeling that policing was not conducted fairly or with impartiality and failing to believe the force was there to protect them, thus resulting in young people feeling they could and would not access police services.

Respect: I will show respect for all people and their beliefs, values, cultures and individual needs. (Police Scotland, 2016a) I will have respect for all human dignity as I understand that my attitude and the way I behave contributes to the consent communities have for policing. (Police Scotland, 2016a)

Although there were clearly some instances of professionally-led positive engagements between officers and young people, some engagements between officers and young people observed and many of those described by young people in this study were lacking in mutual respect, with officers feeling a sense of disrespect and an increasing tendency to be challenged in their day to day duties and young people also feeling challenged and disrespected due to their age. This is the one similarity that both groups shared. Facilitating mutual respect between

81 the two groups is paramount in improving relationships between young people in deprived areas characterised by high crime.

Human Rights: In carrying out my duties I shall respect everyone’s fundamental rights. I will only interfere with privacy or family life when I am legally authorized to do so. (Article 8) I will respect individual freedoms of thought, conscience or religion, expression, peaceful assembly, movement and the peaceful enjoyment of possessions. (Articles 9,10,11) (Police Scotland, 2016a)

As identified in Murray’s earlier reports (2014, 2015), the outcomes from the Fife Pilot (O’Neill et al., 2015) and echoed within this research the rights of young people continue to be ignored when there is a disproportionate number of stop and searches based on deterrence. Young people in this research felt they were unable to enjoy freedom of association or movement and they continually felt that their private lives were infringed upon due to their stop and search experiences.

While many young people in the east of Scotland clearly felt that the above codes were upheld during their encounters with the police, this was clearly not the case in Glasgow and its surrounding areas. This had the effect of marginalizing, alienating and further removing young people from their belief in a just, fair and impartial police force. Stop and searches that were carried out as a deterrent which did not follow the above code of ethics had the effect of damaging relationships between young people and police officers in the west of Scotland communities that were the focus for this research. It is felt that improving relationships between officers and young people in the west of Scotland and sustaining the positive landscape that already exists in Edinburgh will be dependent on the following: that the reduction in volume of stop and searches that has emerged during the 12 months leading up to the publication of this report continues; that the ending of consensual searching will be combined with the building of police confidence to draw upon statutory powers for detection as opposed to deterrence; and the that officers in the west will be able to learn from the more ‘ambient policing’ styles (Loader, 2006: 203) prevalent in the east side of the country.

Recommendation 6: That the training already being put in place by Police Scotland to enhance officers’ knowledge of and confidence in using statutory powers during stop and search continues

82 to be rolled out, but that this should be underpinned by a strong focus on continually facilitating officers to revisit the code of ethics and should draw upon international case studies of procedural justice approaches to policing.

Recommendation 7: Given the sufficient reciprocal ground that may exist between officers and some young people, but given that both groups often tend to be disrespected by each other, that community policing teams (including relevant campus officers) should routinely be encouraged to establish assets-led approaches to integration initiatives that bring young people and the police together in order to build social bridges between them.

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