Essex police visit local colleges to get rid of the stigma about stop and search
It comes as students say they're intimidated around officers
Essex Police say they're determined to break down the misconceptions surrounding stop and search procedures, as they engage with local colleges in an effort to educate students and address their concerns.
"By visiting these educational institutions, we were able to provide clear explanations to students regarding the purpose, process, and rationale behind stop and search"...
says Superintendent Philip Stinger. He's emphasized the importance of engaging with colleges, stating "This initiative also provided an excellent opportunity to dispel myths surrounding this invaluable crime prevention tool" .
The force say stop and search remains a crucial tool in the fight against crime, effectively eliminating weapons and drugs from the streets while providing officers with vital intelligence to combat local issues. Recognizing that the process can be perceived as intrusive to individuals, Essex Police has made a firm commitment to the following principles:
- Conducting searches in a fair, respectful, and effective manner to instil confidence within the public.
- Educating and informing individuals about the reasons for the stop, the individuals involved, the grounds for suspicion, and providing them with an opportunity to provide feedback on their personal experiences.
- Ensuring transparency by publishing stop and search data on their website, thereby enabling the public to independently scrutinize and engage in discussions regarding their stop and search processes through body-worn video (BWV) panels.
To gauge public awareness and expectations surrounding Essex Police's stop and search procedures, the force recently conducted visits to various colleges across Essex, organizing focus groups involving more than 500 students. The objective was to gain insight into students' perceptions of stop and search and assess their relationship with the police.
An astonishing 89% of the surveyed students claimed to possess knowledge about the workings of a stop and search. However, an alarming 80% of them held the belief that individuals were stopped merely on the basis of appearing suspicious. This misconception understandably created anxiety when encountering law enforcement officers.
They've now created a new page on their website detailing all of the information in one place, so you can learn about what stop and search should look like and what your rights are.