Stop and searches

London's Haringey police have halved the number of stop and searches carried out and are using the tactic more effectively, in a more intelligence-led and targeted way; stopping the right people, in the right locations and for the right reasons.

This financial year to date the borough has seen an improved arrest outcome rate and a reduction in *violent offences such as knife crime (-3.4%), robbery (-29.1%) and serious youth violence (-21.7%) 

Latest figures published on the MPS publication scheme show that, while over the last year the amount of stop and search by police in the borough has halved (from 1,261 to 534), the percentage of those then arrested has increased (8.6% arrest rate in June 2011 compared to 14.4% in June 2012).

The approach to *Section 60 has also changed, with senior officers demanding significant intelligence before approving the power. Senior Haringey officers have granted no Section 60 authorisations since the end of February.

Other measures to increase the effectiveness of the use of the power include: 

An officer's conduct when executing the power has been a focus of the borough's senior leadership team during recent Senior Leadership briefings given to all staff.

All new PC recruits to the borough now undergo an induction programme, including a stop and search workshop and a community orientation session in which community members feed back their experiences and views on stop and search and policing with consent.

The Haringey Twitter account @MPSHaringey also aims to increase accountability, help explain processes and respond to peoples' concerns. On 24 July, anyone following the @MPSHaringey twitter account would have received tweets covering a shift with the borough's Gang Intervention Unit, during which the officers stopped and searched several men following an urgent 999 call reporting a possible assault near the North Middlesex Hospital.