To ask Her Majesty’s Government what is their assessment of recently published figures relating to stop-and-search operations undertaken by the police.

My Lords, stop and search is a vital tool in preventing, detecting and reducing crime. Increases in stop and search reflect the importance of these powers to support effective policing, enabling the police to intervene and disrupt. We are working with community groups to ensure that this power is exercised proportionately and fairly, and raises community confidence.

My Lords, I thank the Minister for that response. The figures show that black people are almost eight times more likely to be stopped than people from white communities. Furthermore, stop and searches under Section 44 of the Terrorism Act have trebled in the past year. The situation in relation to ethnic minorities is disturbing. Does the Minister agree that action must be taken to curb this unacceptable trend and that the police must exercise their powers with care and caution?

My Lords, the noble Lord asked two questions. On disproportionality, we are not happy with the figures that have been produced. We are working to improve them, the key to which, and indeed to effective policing, is community support. We have therefore put in place a package of measures as part of the police pledge to treat everyone fairly and with dignity. A new form of trial known as POP—problem oriented policing—has been used in Staffordshire which we hope to extend. On the noble Lord’s second point about the number of people who have been stopped under the Terrorism Act, those stop and searches are for reasons which are well understood, not least what my briefing calls euphemistically “the incident” in Haymarket in 2007.

My Lords, is the Minister aware that use of the powers under the Terrorism Act is putting a severe burden on young black men in this country? We are told by the figures that they are more than eight times more likely to be stopped. That trend was reversed after the Macpherson report. Does the Minister have any proposals to ensure that the police use their discretion wisely rather than pick on people who are usually much better citizens than criminals, and who are now being disfranchised of their right to walk the streets of Britain in peace?

My Lords, as I said in the previous answer, the community has a major part to play. Eighty-seven per cent of the stops were in the Metropolitan Police area. We have an extensive community programme which represents each of the 12 boroughs, with community involvement and independent advisory groups. Those involved meet each month and have before them all the figures on the three forms of stop and search that exist under Sections 44 and 60 of PACE. That is where we want to understand where there has been misuse of stop and search. Guidance is given to police officers, which is built up into a bigger picture. A quarterly meeting takes place with representatives from the entire Metropolitan Police area, including the Metropolitan Police Authority and community groups. Latterly, there has been set up at a national level a stop-and-search community panel chaired by Doreen Lawrence. It, too, meets quarterly and has representatives from the police, the Home Office, the Police Federation, community groups and others to ensure that, as far as possible, we eliminate any disproportionality.

My Lords, the Minister referred to a POP in Staffordshire. I am not sure that, if given a broader name, it would be known as the “West Midlands pilot”, but, if not, perhaps I may ask about the West Midlands pilot on stop and search, which was designed to reduce the number of forms being filled in and resulted, so the Home Secretary claimed, in a greater clampdown on knife crime. When will this pilot be reported on?

My Lords, the noble Baroness raises two questions. Perhaps I may deal first with the second one, on knife crime. The issue rightly came to great prominence in London because communities in which it was happening were very concerned and supported police in their stop-and-search programmes. Those have been successful in reducing crime in that area. We hope that we shall see an end to the killing of young people in London, or at least a reduction in serious violence towards them. The readiness to carry weapons seems also to have been affected because that, too, has reduced. We hope to maintain the support of communities and young people. I am pleased to say that Operation Blunt on knife and gun crime has had that support.

On the noble Baroness’s question about the pilot, it was of course Sir Ronnie Flanagan’s report which suggested that we should use the expensive but efficient electronic equipment that we have to reduce form-filling. That is ongoing and we believe that it will be successful.

My Lords, will the Minister indicate what level of stop-and-search figures there are for the Greater Manchester area and, in so doing, does he agree that the Greater Manchester police force has done sterling work in reducing the level of gun crime in that area in the past 12 months or so?

My Lords, I join the right reverend Prelate in congratulating the city of Manchester, its police force and the police authority on a very successful campaign against gun crime. I am afraid I do not have the actual figures for Greater Manchester, but I will seek them and make sure that they are sent to him.

My Lords, does the Minister accept that communities generally support the use of the Police and Criminal Evidence Act allowing police to stop people when they have reasonable suspicions, but that it is the misuse of the Section 44 powers under the Terrorism Act that upsets them? Will he make sure that that abuse, where it happens, ceases?

My Lords, there is a difference. Section 44 powers, which are policed heavily—a senior police officer has to be involved and the Home Secretary has to give approval within 48 hours—are used for a particular reason at a particular location and are therefore not targeted or profiled in any way. Because things do not happen, it does not necessarily mean that we have misused the power; it may well be that the use of the power has preventing things happening.

My Lords—

I am sorry, my Lords, we have hit the clock.