1. Cheshire Constabulary Stop and Search Powers

2. “At its best, stop & search is a vital power in the fight against crime. At its worst, it’s a waste of police time and serves to undermine the public confidence in the police”. Home Secretary Teresa May (BBC)
Theresa May wants a reduction in stop and searches because she believes that we are using it disproportionally
We use it right or lose it!
100 S&S forms were inspected by the HMIC, 23 (23%) FAILED.
LPU’s are NOT submitting enough of them.
Statistics have been collated however they are believed to be inaccurate, the feeling is that not all forms are being submitted for every S/S

3. Legal requirement to record every stop and search encounter that is undertaken
On average Cheshire Police conduct 17 stop and search encounters daily
Vast majority conducted between 9pm and 3am daily

6. A stop and search is most likely to be fair and effective when:
The search is justified, lawful and stands up to public scrutiny
The officer has genuine and objectively reasonable suspicion that she or he will find a prohibited article or item for use in crime
The person understands why they have been searched and feels that they have been treated with respect
The search was necessary and was the most proportionate method the police officer could use to establish whether the person has such an item.

7. Public Encounters Group
Forcewide scrutiny group – All welcome!
Local community groups – Debate/Discussion

8. There has recently been an HMIC inspection and it is anticipated that the imminent report following it will show Cheshire as being approx 33rd out of all forces for Stop and Search compliance

9. November 2014 Best Use of Stop and Search Scheme introduced