Email: LambethYouthSafetyForum@mail.com
29th June 2021.
Introduction.
This paper provides a summary picture outlining the publicly available data in relation to Lambeth Police Service and Lambeth’s Black and/or BAME communities. For context, some additional national and regional figures are also included.
National.
The percentage of UK Black people aged 16 and over who had confidence in their local police, by ethnicity from 2017 to 2020 dropped from 76% to 64% [1]
London.
The Mayor of London Sadiq Khan has recently launched a Mayors Action Plan [2] focused on tackling the disproportionality of the Metropolitan use of police powers, improving trust and confidence among London African and Caribbean descent communities and consulting on improving police accountability. To help inform these discussions he has also launched a Mayors
Action Plan Dashboard[3] that provides access to key data in relation to trust, confidence and disproportionality.
The Dashboard allows viewing of Met performance in relation to disproportionality and public perception in Lambeth in some detail
Only 46% of Black London residents think the police are doing a good [4] job.
A study conducted by University College London published in the Guardian Newspaper in 2020 reported that all the stops and searches conducted by Metropolitan, City of London and British Transport Police officers on young Black males meant they were 19 times [5] more likely to be stopped and searched in London than white males.
Race complaints [6] against Metropolitan Police Officers have risen by 90% since 2018. Of 7300 complaints made over the last nine years, only 59 (0-8%) were upheld.
Between April 2019 and March 2020 in London, there were 18 stops and searches for every 1,000 White people, compared with 71 for every 1,000 Black people.
In 2019-20 the Met used restraint [7] 18 times on Black people for every 1,000 of the pop. For white people, restraint was used five times per 1,000 of the population.
Knife Crime in London.
Met figures show [8] that in 2008 African and Caribbean victims of knife crime stood at 1,866 and rose to 2, 991by 2018.
White victims over the same period were 3,948 in 2208 rising to 5,281 in 2018.
Lambeth residents' perceptions of police.
Across all public perception indicators [9] people’s opinions about Lambeth Police have worsened across all indicators.
Lambeth residents express [13] the lowest level of public trust and confidence in London that Lambeth Police officers will treat them fairlyLambeth stops and searches. (S&S)
Stop & Search volumes from May 2019 [10] – May 2020 inclusive – 17,933, and Southwark – S&S volume May 2019 – May 2020 inclusive – 18,434
Positive outcome runs[11] at 24% meaning that 76% of stop and search results in No Further Action. (NFA) In Lambeth, that amounts to 25,000 people per year. being routinely stopped for no purpose.
64.6% of those stopped and searched in the 12 months to April 2021 were Black, compared to 27.4% who were White and 5.1% Asian.
In Lambeth, Black Individuals were 5 times more likely to be stopped and searched compared to White Individuals, with Asian individuals 1.7 times more likely to be stopped and searched.
64.6% of those stopped and searched in Lambeth in the 12 months to April 2021 were Black, compared to 27.4% who were White and 5.1% Asian.
S&S increased massively during the lockdown.
The percentage of positive outcomes [12] ( an arrest was made) in relation to S&S in May 2021 was 5.1% the vast majority for drugs offences.
White people are S&S [14] at a rate 22.5 per 1000 in Lambeth and Black people at a rate of 96 per 1000.
Lambeth (5th) and Southwark (3rd) are both in the top 5 London[15] boroughs for stop and search.
The consequence of being disproportionately policed is increased entry into the criminal justice system.
The average prison sentence for Black people in 2009[16] was 20 months. For Whites, it was 15 months.[17]
By 2018 for Black people it had risen to 28 months and for Whites, it was 18 months.[18]
Lambeth Police Accountability Structures.
There are no public Black community public police accountability forums re policing in Lambeth.
· The LIAG’s minutes are not publicly available, neither are its terms of reference, the method of joining the group, nor its full membership (other than Chair and Vice Chair) are not publicly known.
· Safer Lambeth Partnership Executive minutes are confidential and there is no transparency re genuine and authentic community accountability.
· Lambeth Safer Neighbourhood Board. The Mayor’s Office has accepted that SNB’s across London are not working and is wanting to consult re improved arrangements.
· Lambeth Stop and Search Monitoring Group no longer meets and is entirely dysfunctional.
Conclusion.
The Mayors Action Plan is timely. Lambeth Police need to enter genuine consultation with Lambeth’s black communities to co-produce new police accountability and anti-racist policing framework for Lambeth.
[1] Confidence in local policing. Crime, justice, and the law. Ethnicity Facts and Figures. UK Government Published 12th May 2021.
[2] Action Plan- Transparency, accountability and Trust in Policing. Mayors Office for Crime and Policing (MOPAC) published on 13th November 2020
[3] Mayors Action Plan Dashboard (MOPAC) Updated Q4 2021
[4] Mayors Office for Policing and Crime Public Voice Dashboard June 2021
[5] Young black males in London ’19 times more likely to be stopped and searched’ Guardian Newspaper published 3rd December 2020
[6] Race Complaints Against Met Up 90% in two years. London Evening Standard. Published 4th June 2021
[7] Met Police are four times more likely to use force on black people BBC News. Published 30th July 2020
[8] Ethnicity of people proceeded against and victim of knife crime Calendar Years 2008-20198 (up to 30-11-2018) Metropolitan Police Service. Freedom of Information request. Published by Met. police.UK 7th January 2019
[9] Mayor’s Office for Policing and Crime Public Voice Dashboard June 2021
[10] Search Volumes for Reporting Period: May 2019 to end of May 2021 Published by Met. police.UK May 2021
[11] Ibid (10) S&S R12 2021 Summary tab
[12] Ibid (10) Outcomes Summary tab
[13] Ibid (1) Satisfaction Demographics
[14] Ibid ((6) Searches Demographics
[15] The London Boroughs are where you’re most likely to be stopped and searched by police. Published by MyLondon.News 16th May 2021
[16] The average length of custodial sentences. Published by Ministry of Justice www.gov.uk 8th October 2020
[17] Ibid (11)
[18] Ibid (11)
