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Leeds reimagines community safety
Event hosted by Harehills Action Team, Racial Justice Network, and StopWatch
projects
29.09.2024
No suspicion, no better off
Home Office figures show a sharp rise in section 60 searches but no positive impact on outcomes from it
news
26.09.2024
Statement on the treatment of Samuel Ackon by Northamptonshire police
From Northamptonshire Rights and Equality Council and StopWatch
policy
20.09.2024
Ideological racism: why the police institution must move beyond ‘bad apples’ towards structural and institutional understandings of racism
An analysis of the white racial ideology of the British police.
opinion
16.09.2024
Defunding the police is good for our mental health
StopWatch members' article published in Political Quarterly journal
research
13.09.2024
Stop and search – a band-aid solution to 'anti-social behaviour'
Why and how should the government and local authorities focus more on addressing the structural causes of anti-social behaviour?
03.09.2024
Beyond the badge: deep-rooted problems in policing
On the latest report by His Majesty's Chief Inspector of Constabulary and why the culture inside the police force has enabled systematic failures to endure.
opinion
21.08.2024
Police strip searching of children is the real child protection scandal
Josie Appleton of Manifesto Club on how the police are not held to the same child safeguarding and welfare standards in place in other institutional settings
opinion
22.07.2024
What do the 2024 election campaigns tell us about the future of stop and search and policing?
For the first time in 14 years, both the Labour and Conservative manifestos do not mention stop and search. By the looks of the leading party’s election campaigns, the only stop to stop and search on the horizon is by name.
opinion
01.07.2024
4 Years post Child Q – what effect has it had on child centred policing?
Four years following the inappropriate strip searching of Child Q and two years since the investigation, how have public authorities responded?
opinion
28.06.2024
Terrorism search powers, a tale of paranoia and perceived Muslim threat
A brief analysis of latest dataset on police use of terrorism stop and search powers
news
17.06.2024
From stop and search to ‘stop and engage’
Enduring concerns regarding the social control of young people in Scotland
opinion
27.05.2024
Avoiding the issue
The Met commissioner’s response to the Hainault sword attack overlooks real safety concerns of young Black Londoners
opinion
17.05.2024
To Catch a Copper: a closer look at police crime drama television
StopWatch reviews Channel 4's new series To Catch a Copper
opinion
03.05.2024
(Why) do Londoners back stop and search?
StopWatch looks at the Centre for Social Justice's report 'Serious violence in London'
news
26.04.2024
Concerns raised about stop and search charter survey
Assembly Member Caroline Russell pens letter to the Met leadership; StopWatch issues statement
news
22.03.2024
Diverse panel gives a masterclass in scrutiny
Montell Neufville explains the role of a community scrutiny panel which covers three police force areas
opinion
14.03.2024
On suspicionless searches, the Human Rights Act, and police accountability
Abridged version posted on the Justice Gap website
opinion
16.02.2024
Why the HMICFRS report into the section 60 super-complaint will lead to better outcomes for everyone
Police ethics advisor Montell Neufville who has received 18 policing awards for influencing policing for good gives his views on the HMIC, IOPC, and College of policing response to the super complaint
opinion
21.12.2023
StopWatch's response to the investigation into the super-complaint over section 60 of the Criminal Justice and Public Order Act
The Criminal Justice Alliance were right the first time; section 60 does more harm than good
news
15.12.2023
Half of all use of force incidents involve handcuffs
Statisticians put increases in incidents down to improved recording practices; racial disparities persist
news
30.11.2023
SVROs: The pilot scheme, 6 months in
Six months on from the launch of the controversial SVROs, what have we learnt so far?
research
01.11.2023
StopWatch forces ‘disingenuous’ Home Office to release stop and search documents
Home Office forced to release Equality Impact Assessment for section 60 stops by StopWatch and Liberty. Tribunal calls Home Office ‘disingenuous’ for refusing to disclose the assessment in the first place
policy
27.10.2023
StopWatch responds to outcome of Ricardo dos Santos and Bianca Williams case
A disciplinary tribunal has found two Met officers guilty of gross misconduct over their treatment of Black athletes Ricardo dos Santos and Bianca Williams during a stop and search in 2020.
news
25.10.2023
Bringing fairness and impartiality to community scrutiny panels
In this post, Montell Neufville looks at police community scrutiny panels and outlines 'PLANTER', an acronym used to help panels evaluate use of force incidents
opinion
23.10.2023
SVROs: What is the Home Office trying to hide?
An update on our research project on Serious Violence Reduction Orders (SVROs)
research
20.10.2023
Labour party shadow home secretary urges young people to show a little respect
Yvette Cooper’s proposal of a new 'Respect Order' hints at the future of policing under a Labour government. StopWatch member Ella Thomson examines what this might look like
opinion
13.10.2023
Police powers procedures 2022/23: Section 60 signals lost in the noise
Little change in stop search data trends; importance of ethnic disparities downplayed
news
27.09.2023
Making up the numbers
Mainstream discourse on police numbers neglects to ask if the officers recruited are any good?
opinion
04.08.2023
StopWatch signs open letter in response to the Met's 'turnaround plan'
StopWatch, in coalition with Runnymede Trust and 24 other racial justice organisations, calls out Met commissioner Mark Rowley's 'A New Met for London' plan.
news
02.08.2023
What does the Public Order Act mean for stop and search?
StopWatch volunteer Ella Ticktin-Smith considers the new stop and search powers conferred by the Public Order Act
opinion
10.07.2023
Honest and reasonable: holding police accountable
StopWatch volunteer Corey Campbell reflects on the Supreme Court's ruling in the 'officer W80 case'
opinion
06.07.2023
Supreme court rule on police conduct law and dismiss appeal of officer who shot Jermaine Baker
Judges also call for clarity over police code of ethics
news
05.07.2023
Pockets of good practice
Independent scrutiny panel for Beds, Herts, and Cambs highlights successes
opinion
19.06.2023
New dashboard puts stop and search back on the map
Interactive tracker displays data for every police force in England and Wales
news
05.06.2023
Tips on how to cover police news properly
Police force lies about its involvement in the deaths of two teenage boys, gets found out. All in a day’s work. But why do the media have to be complicit?
opinion
26.05.2023
Facial recognition policing: It’s not just about improving algorithmic inaccuracies
With a focus on the use of private technology companies and operational procedures, PhD researcher Tyler Dadge highlights several key questions that are yet to be answered concerning the police's use of facial recognition, and argues that algorithmic accuracy is just one issue amongst many when it comes to police use of this tech
opinion
03.05.2023
The Met: an institutional problem
The backlash to the Casey Review's central finding indicates a denial of the realities and experiences of the people impacted by police discrimination going back decades
opinion
27.04.2023
Human rights groups raise alarm over new police powers
A coalition of human rights groups has raised concerns about the piloting of Serious Violence Reduction Orders (SVROs) which give new stop-and-search powers to police forces
news
19.04.2023
The gangs matrix, where are we now?
In autumn 2022, following a landmark court case, the Met agreed to a 'wholesale change' of their database. Shaquille Scott-Davis wonders what this means and whether this is happening at all
opinion
04.04.2023
Council tax rises, but do police standards?
Police forces across the country are about to receive yet another income boost to their coffers, but with the mushrooming of scandals and institutional rot, many taxpayers must be wondering 'what for'?
opinion
14.03.2023
Plan for police stops to reduce crime: will it work?
Ella Thomson compares the findings of a research paper that suggests police searches may produce more harm than good with the new Met chief's latest data-driven intentions for fighting crime
opinion
15.02.2023
More Data, More Racism, No Respect
The new Met chief's big data obsession risks overlooking long-standing concerns from Londoners about police culture and conduct
opinion
14.01.2023
Overall fall in annual stop and searches hides other patterns in street policing operations
As the pandemic effect recedes, 2022 figures highlight something many minoritised communities knew at the time: the oppressive nature of lockdown policing
news
27.10.2022
Does economic inequality fuel stop and search by the police? Evidence from London suggests the answer is ‘Yes’
Police officers more frequently stop and search members of the public in neighbourhoods where well-off and economically precarious people co-exist. Joel H. Suss and Thiago R. Oliveira show that this pattern holds up even when accounting for other important factors, such as previous local crime rates and a neighbourhood’s ethnic makeup. Although the evidence is that stop and search activity does little to reduce crime, the police persist with the practice in order to maintain social order
opinion
21.10.2022
Swift, Certain, Tough: What could the latest drugs proposal mean for stop and search?
In this article, StopWatch volunteer Ella discusses Priti Patel's new drugs policy white paper and its implications for stop and search practices.
opinion
16.08.2022
Why the time has come to withdraw consent to policing
As the Met appoints a new commissioner, former police officer Chantelle Lunt argues that unless all police forces across England and Wales adopt a new model of policing, the people should #withdrawconsent
opinion
08.07.2022
Girls in the House
Sydney Kirton describes the London team's trip to the Houses of Parliament to present the latest findings from the women and girls research project
projects
24.06.2022
When cops analyse drill, but get it wrong still
Describing drill as ‘gang-related music’ that ostensibly encourages serious violence is deeply problematic, argues Dr Lambros Fatsis
opinion
03.06.2022
My experience as a co-researcher for StopWatch’s girls research project
Sydney provides a moving testament of how the girls' research project process has affected her perceptions of policing
projects
25.05.2022
Words are like weapons
Home sec threatens to turn back time by rolling section 60 restrictions back to the 1990s, but fails to appreciate things have changed
opinion
16.05.2022
Stop and search in the age of fraud
New crime data remind us that fraud is bigger than knife and drug-related crime ever was… not that you would know it from media coverage, argues Eugene K
opinion
09.05.2022
What are the policy and social implications of Project Servator?
In the second of a series of articles on the little known policing tactic, Shaquille Scott-Davis explores the impact of Project Servator on our way of life
opinion
06.05.2022
What is Project Servator?
Shaquille Scott-Davis looks into the operations of a police patrol you may have noticed around a lot in the last 5 years, but probably know very little about
opinion
01.04.2022
Girls and young women's research project: Week 1
Sydney recounts the beginnings of an exciting new project
projects
11.03.2022
Bedfordshire scrutiny panel changes hands
Chair Montell Neufville steps down after 5 years, cites successes of the system
opinion
18.02.2022
Stop and search, a young person's burden
New Home Office dataset shows rise in overall stop and searches, but masks a complex story of moral panic towards young people, especially of colour
news
18.11.2021
Weapons of mass disruption
Why does our law-and-orders government want to equate nuisance with terrorism?
opinion
08.10.2021
The importance of stop and search and Use of Force scrutiny panels
It is in the interest of police forces themselves to help form effective community scrutiny panels/monitoring groups in their areas, argues Bedfordshire Police Community Scrutiny Panel vice chair
opinion
16.09.2021
Get you scrutiny that can do both: The Suffolk Stop and Search Community Reference Group as a model
Georgia-Mae Chung describes how Suffolk Stop and Search Community Reference Group scrutinize stop and searches conducted by Suffolk police officers and how the group navigated the difficulties caused by the pandemic
opinion
05.07.2021
Police's terror search activity limited by COVID-19 threat
Falls in section 43 and Schedule 7 stops under the Terrorism Act 2000 caused by multiple lockdown measures imposed during pandemic outbreak
news
10.06.2021
A sus law by any other name stinks as much
Reading into 35 years of data, it doesn't take a detective to work why stop and search powers are being used disproportionately
opinion
19.03.2021
This House ain't safe
Is Sir Stephen House the biggest threat to Black Londoners' safety?
opinion
05.02.2021
Plans to expand stop and search to protests are looking for trouble
Police say ‘we want more powers’, home sec asks ‘how many’?
opinion
30.11.2020
StopWatch open letter to the Secretary of State for the Home Department on SVROs
We've written to Home Secretary Priti Patel over the proposed introduction of Serious Violence Reduction Orders – we implore all of those moved by these concerns to respond to the government’s consultation on these proposals before the deadline of 8 November
policy
06.11.2020
Have your say: Home Office consults on Serious Violence Reduction Orders
Consultation on plans to allow police to stop and search those previously convicted of knife crime offences without suspicion
policy
05.11.2020
Stop and searches increase 50% – racial disparity remains the same
New data finds Black people stopped and searched 9 times more than White people in England and Wales
news
27.10.2020
All lives matter but only blue lives count
Where is the monument to our fallen at the hands of police brutality?
opinion
02.10.2020
Stop and search on social media – dealing with the trauma
Psychotherapist and director of London Counsellors, Sabrina Williams, talks about the trauma of recent events, and how constant viewing of violent images and videos can impact us
opinion
08.07.2020
Another way to make structural racism opaque: systems of concealment
By Samar Khan, member of StopWatch's research and policy group
opinion
03.07.2020
The police precept – what are we paying for?
Given the level of service some of us get from them these days, I’d like my money back, says Eugene K
opinion
24.06.2020
'I was accused of drug dealing as I waited at the post office'
The story of Dwayne Francis's distressing and unnecessary police stop, told in full
opinion
19.06.2020
On ‘microbeat’ policing – a thread
Dr Adam Elliott-Cooper dissects the racist assumptions and language of a recent article on community policing
opinion
02.06.2020
Coronavirus: a reasonable excuse for overpolicing?
Arbitrary enforcement behaviour during the lockdown risks eroding our faith in the force
opinion
23.04.2020
StopWatch on new COVID-19 policing powers
Statement responds to new legislation
policy
21.04.2020
Met removes names from gangs matrix
Controversial database trimmed down in face of mounting pressure from campaign groups and data watchdog
projects
16.02.2020
I see right through you, facial recognition
We saw it coming, but how far will facial recognition affect stop and search?
opinion
27.01.2020
BBC airs documentary on stop and search
Video looks at various aspects of the controversial police power
09.12.2019
Walking the line between being a critic and a friend
How a fair and effective scrutiny of stop and searches leads to more equitable outcomes
opinion
29.11.2019
Ramping up stop and search works… for no one
Between Home Office stats and Equality Impact Assessments, the effectiveness of stop and search is waning
opinion
31.10.2019
Widening racial disparity in stop and searches
New data finds Black people stopped and searched 10 times more than White people in England and Wales
news
25.10.2019
Neomi Bennett's stop and search story gets national coverage
Covered in the Metro
news
24.10.2019
Crowdfunding campaign for Neomi Bennett
We are crowdfunding to assist a nurse that was arrested as a result of a stop and search
news
08.09.2019
Race campaigners to home secretary Priti Patel: Please don’t politicise the police
A coalition of race equality organisations send an open letter to the home secretary
policy
27.08.2019
Stop and search: What are your rights?
Watch StopWatch UK chief executive Katrina Ffrench explain the procedure on BBC Newsbeat
media
19.08.2019
West Midlands police commissioner: Section 60 powers unnecessary
Government accused of failing to evaluate the pilot scheme
16.08.2019
StopWatch UK on the 'Jacob Hawley: On Drugs' podcast
Comedian Jacob Hawley interviewed Dr Michael Shiner about stop and search as part of his podcast
media
15.08.2019
Knife crime is a real problem, but stop and search isn't the solution
Section 60 stop and searches offer 'no solution to the social problems underlying serious youth violence in the UK'
opinion
13.08.2019
Met apologises over Cressida Dick's stop and search group claim
Met chief makes false claim about meeting regularly with StopWatch; spokesperson says sorry for giving a 'contrary impression'
12.08.2019
Section 60 – a brief history of mission creep
If you are surprised by the latest expansion in the scope of section 60 legislation, don't be
opinion
11.08.2019
In response to Boris Johnson comments on stop and search
Stop and search is just another police tactic that will entrench already deep divisions between Black communities and the police
opinion
31.07.2019
StopWatch UK on the Partly Political Broadcast podcast
Katrina Ffrench speaks to Tiernan Douieb about standards of policing in the UK
media
09.07.2019
LSE podcast on The colour of injustice event
You can now catch up with The London School of Economics podcast discussion of the seminal report The Colour of Injustice.
media
26.06.2019
Funding announcement
We are delighted to announce that the Esmée Fairbairn Foundation has provided Stopwatch with a grant!
09.05.2019
The colour of injustice: ‘Race’, drugs and law enforcement in England and Wales
New report documents the disproportionate impact that drug law enforcement continues to have on black and minority ethnic communities in England and Wales
research
13.10.2018
‘STOPPED AND SEARCHED UP TO THREE TIMES A DAY’
‘Not only is the Matrix completely ineffective at combating the crime it claims to want to tackle, our research suggests it makes crime more likely’ – Katrina Ffrench, Chief Executive of StopWatch
18.09.2018
'Being Matrixed' event to be held in Westminster
Portcullis House to host panel, StopWatch to chair
projects
01.09.2018
Driving While Black: Stopwatch and Liberty call for an end to discriminatory policing on our roads
StopWatch and Liberty release ‘Driving While Black,’ a new report which raises concerns that not only are drivers targeted because they are Black, but a new offence and search powers, which would tie road traffic policing to immigration enforcement, will increase the incentive for racial profiling
projects
14.12.2017
Stop and search may be down, but ethnic disproportionality is increasing
New figures released by the Home Office today show that despite major reforms, racial and ethnic disproportionality is increasing
news
26.10.2017
Letter to The Times
Read our letter to The Times, published 12.8.17, in response to their article (9.8.17) which wrongly claimed criminologists blamed the reduction in the numbers of stop and search for the increase to police recorded knife-related crime.
14.08.2017