Greater Manchester Police welcome HMICFRS report and re-iterate commitment to improving the use of stop and search

Greater Manchester Police (GMP) welcome the report on the Criminal Justice Alliance's super-complaint from His Majesty’s Inspectorate of Constabulary and Fire & Rescue Services (HMICFRS), Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC) and College of Policing (CoP).

The report aims to improve the way in which police forces use the Section 60 authority and wider stop and search powers.

The report looks at the national response to Section 60 of the Criminal Justice and Public Order Act 1994 and independent community scrutiny of the use of stop and search.

A Section 60 order gives police temporary extended stop and search powers where legitimate, proportionate, and necessary to help address serious violence.

The report identified 7 recommendations for police forces and whilst GMP is already hard at work to improve the way in which it conducts stop and search, the force has subsequently set a number of actions to accelerate the journey of improvement and ensure the force’s use of stop and stop and search continues to be carried out fairly and effectively.

Superintendent Phil Spurgeon, force lead for stop and search, said: “We welcome this report by HMICFRS, IOPC and CoP which feeds into the work that GMP has been undertaking over the past 2 years to improve its use of stop and search.

"In 2023, GMP carried out 8,963 stop searches which resulted in a positive outcome with 5,372 leading to an arrest.

“When used correctly, stop and search powers are a valuable tool that help keep our communities safe, and we must ensure that officer’s use of these powers is fair and necessary.

“We understand that the use of stop and search can feel invasive, particularly to those who are disproportionately affected and it’s important we understand and address this disproportionality and communicate clearly with communities when a Section 60 becomes necessary.

“I am confident this latest report and its recommendations will help guide our wider learning and development to ensure stop search continues to be intelligence-led, fair and respectful.

“Ultimately, I would like to reassure the public that stop and search powers are only exercised where necessary and in order to protect the public. If you have concerns about a stop and search encounter you have experienced, I would encourage you to make a report on GMP’s website: Stop and search | Greater Manchester Police (gmp.police.uk)”

In line with the recommendations, GMP puts all practitioners and supervisors though a curriculum of stop and search training.

Since May 2022, GMP has made significant investment in upskilling authorising officers and revising Section 60 policy and processes, to ensure its officers are fully compliant with regulations and up to date with the latest training.

Furthermore, since receiving the report, GMP’s People and Development Branch is re-reviewing the stop search training position specifically for Section 60, against the national curriculum and re-reviewing the seven CoP e-learning packages on stop and search, to ensure they continue to reflect best practice now and in the future.

The report also looks at the requirement for briefings under Section 60 which is something GMP already undertakes. GMP guidance requires Section 60 authorising officers to communicate the intelligence that has led to the authorisation within the briefings, to ensure the use is appropriate, proportionate, and necessary. In light of the recommendation, GMP will incorporate a briefing template into the process for authorising officers to reference, to ensure briefings consistently cover all the required elements.

The report then turns the spotlight on the need to properly safeguard children and young people (CYP) which GMP welcomes as a priority given that CYP are often some of the most disproportionately affected by Section 60 activity.

GMP’s stop and search policy has recently been refreshed, with specific considerations given to the safeguarding of CYP, including the need to make safeguarding referrals to ensure that any welfare or exploitation concerns are addressed, with partner support, where appropriate.

In addition to this, GMP’s Force lead for stop and search, in conjunction with Greater Manchester Combined Authority (GMCA) lead for CCP, has also recently established a Task and Finish group to specifically look at parent and carer contact and safeguarding referrals specifically in relation to stop and search involving CYP.

Regular reviews also take place to assess stop-search encounters of CYP - including monthly dip-samples and detailed reviews by GMP’s deputy Force lead on all stop searches of children under 10 – to ensure stop search activity is proportionate, necessary and respectful.

Further to this, GMP has well-established Independent Community Scrutiny Panels across all 10 policing Districts and the Specialist Operations Branch. These panels, comprised of volunteers from the community, meet to inform wider learning and the development of policing powers. Feedback on encounters is shared with officers involved and used to inform wider learning and the development of policing powers.

You can access a full copy of GMP’s response to the HMICFRS recommendations here: His Majesty’s Inspectorate of Constabulary and Fire & Rescue Services Report | Greater Manchester Police (gmp.police.uk)