GovWire

These studies examine the police use of s60 stop and search during a pilot to relax the conditions of their use. The qualitative research report summarises police officers and community scrutiny leads views on the relaxations. The quantitative report describes the pattern of s60 authorisations before and during the pilot using a range of data.

The lowering of the rank of the authorising officer and reduction in certainty around anticipated violence were the relaxations most valued by officers. There was a marked shift towards inspector-led authorisations during the pilot. The duration and extensions relaxations were felt to increase flexibility but had less operational impact. Interviewees believed that proactively communicating s60s to the public was often critical to their execution.