Recommendation 61

Implementation of Recommendation 61 – recording police stops

Recommendation 61 of the Stephen Lawrence Inquiry Report called for the police to record all stops as well as searches. The Home Office implemented seven pilot sites for Recommendation 61 across the country in phases beginning in April 2003. The Metropolitan Police Service was one of seven police services chosen for the initial phase of implementation.

The aim of the pilot sites was to evaluate the most effective way of recording stops. The seven areas chosen for the initial implementation tested different methods of recording police stops, either paper-based or utilising new technology, which the Home Office evaluated in order to choose the most suitable methods for national implementation, due in April 2005.

Implementation in London

Pilot site implementation in London began in the borough of Hackney on 1 April 2003 using a paper-based recording method. The Metropolitan Police Authority discussed with the Home Office initiating a London-wide implementation because we believe the capital is unique in terms of its diversity and complexities. This was not accepted (see press release 113/02), but in response the Authority made the decision to instigate a second borough implementation using a technology-based system. This began in Tower Hamlets in December 2003.

Phased implementation of Rec 61 enabled the Home Office and the police to identify the most effective approaches to recording stops and ways of working that cause the least inconvenience to the public, develop practices that will encourage public trust and confidence and are not time consuming for both the police and individuals concerned.

The implementation of Rec 61 in London took place in 5 phases:

Phase 1 Paper-based implementation in Hackney on 1 April 2003;
Phase 2 Implementation and phased evaluation.
Phase 3 IT-based implementation,
Phase 4 Implementation monitoring and evaluation; and
Phase 5 Recommended approaches to be approved by the Home Secretary.

The Authority worked to ensure that Rec 61 was implemented across the whole of London during Autumn 2004, with a phased roll out beginning on 1 October 2004.

Official definition of a stop

A police stop is defined by the Home Office as “when an officer request a person in a public place to account for themselves i.e. their actions, behaviour, presence in an area or possession of anything, a record of the encounter must be completed at the time and a copy given to the person who has been questioned, this is unless there are exceptional circumstances … a record of an encounter must always be made when a person requests it, regardless of whether the officer considers that the criteria set out has been met."

Recording police stops

New police stop recording forms were designed by the MPS and were used in Hackney and Tower Hamlets. This form is more detailed than the MPS stop & search form and it was monitored by the MPA monitored to gauge how it was received by the communities in Hackney and Tower Hamlets.

Press releases

Date	No	Title
17 Nov 04	82/04	London-wide roll out of Recommendation 61 – recording all police stops
15 Nov 04	81/04	Metropolitan Police Authority operational note: MPA launch London wide roll out of Recommendation 61 - recording all police stops
13 Aug 04	63/04	MPA Recommendation 61 Stop and Search Information Campaign Goes on the Road
10 Aug 04	61/04	“Rec 61 not about political correctness” - Len Duvall MPA Chair
09 Dec 03	101/03	Recommendation 61 in Hackney - MPA six month review
18 Jul 03	54/03	Rec 61 IT solution for London - Met must work faster
31 Mar 03	23/03	Hackney launch of Recommendation 61 - recording all police stops
26 Mar 03	22/03	Hackney launch of Recommendation 61 – recording all police stops
07 Oct 02	100/02	MPA keen to lead in recording of stops - implementation of Stephen Lawrence Report Recommendation 61 Political correctness must not stifle stop and search debate, says MPA Chair

More information

More information on stop and search can be found at: www.apa.police.uk