Information on Section 60

Freedom of information request reference no: 01.FOI.22.025935

I note you seek access to the following information:

1. “Info related to a Section 60, Stop and Search on 26 February 2022 at Balls Pond Drive, the names, job title and CAD numbers of all officers involved; there were at least 7.
2. Please provide us much as information(documentary evidence) as possible regarding the section 60 order.
3.Details of the area the section 60 order applied to in this case.
4. When the section 60 order commenced and when it concluded?
5.Please provide details of the person who authorised the section 60 order (including rank) and why?
6. How many black men aged 18 to 30 were stopped as a result of simply parking their car and getting out of it under this section 60 order on Saturday 26.06.2022 during the time this section 60 order was in force?
7. Referring to point 6, how many black men were released without charge?
8. Referring to point 6, how many black men were arrested and charged?
9. Please can you advice how many black men aged 18 to 30 on 26/02/22 who were cooperating with the officers, were thrown to the ground and had six/seven officers on top of them?
10.During the period 26/02/2021 and 2602/2022, how many black men aged 18 to 20 were stopped under section 60 in this area and not charged?
11. How many white men aged 18 to 30 were on the street having stopped their vehicle were approached by police officers as a result of this section 60 order, in particular the same are as Mr Ramsey on Saturday 26.02.2022 during the time the section 60 was in force?
12. Referring to point 11, how many white men aged between 18 to 30 were released without charge?
13. Referring to point 11, how many white men aged between 18 to 30 were arrested and charged?
14. How many white men aged 18 to 30 who stopped their car and simply got out of it were handcuffed, by the same group of police officers as a result of the section 60 stop and search on Saturday 26.02.2022
15. During the period 26/02/2021 and 26/02/2022, how many white men aged 18 to 30 were stopped under section 60 and not charged?”

Decision

I have today decided to disclose some of the requested information. However, with reference to your questions numbered 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, and 8, please be advised that our searches located no information. This is because there was no Section 60 order in place on 26/02/2022 at the specified location and it is therefore not possible to answer the above questions as they are reliant on a Section 60 being in place, when it was not.

Additionally, the MPS can neither confirm nor deny that any information is held in relation to your questions 1, 9, 11, 12, 13 and 14 and this response therefore serves as a partial Refusal Notice under Section 17(1) of the Freedom of Information Act 2000 (the Act) virtue of the following exemptions:.

Section 40(5B)(a)(i) – Personal Information

Reason for decision

The MPS will never confirm or deny that information is held when to do so would identify individuals, and release sensitive information about individuals into the public domain. This is because a Freedom of Information Act request is not a private transaction. Both the request itself, and any information disclosed, are considered suitable for open publication, and under Freedom of Information, any information disclosed is released into the wider public domain, effectively to the world and not just to one individual.

In most cases Personal Data is exempt from disclosure under the Freedom of Information Act as I will explain below.

To confirm or deny that a stop and search was conducted at a specific location and date could identify an individual or individuals and could release sensitive information about an individual or individuals into the public domain, thereby breaching the right to privacy afforded to persons under the Data Protection Act 2018 (DPA) and the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR).

Where an individual is requesting his or her own personal data the information is always exempt. Such information can be requested under other legislation (please see the advice and assistance section below).

Where an individual is requesting third party personal data the MPS must ensure that any action taken adheres to the principles of the Data Protection Act 2018 and the GDPR. To clarify, the Freedom of Information Act only allows disclosure of personal data if that disclosure would be compliant with the principles for processing personal data. These principles are outlined under section 34 of the DPA 2018 and under Article 5 of the GDPR.

Section 40(5B)(a)(i) – Personal Information - Section 40 of the Freedom of Information Act 2000 is designed to address information that is covered by the Data Protection Act 2018.

Under section 40(5), the MPS is not required to comply with the requirements of section 1(1) (a) i.e. the duty to inform the applicant whether or not the information is held.

In most cases Personal Data is exempt from disclosure under the Freedom of Information Act as I will explain below.

Your questions 1, 9, 11, 12, 13 and 14, in essence, seek to confirm whether the MPS conducted a stop and search at Balls Pond Drive, a street within Central North Command Unit (CN-CU), on Saturday 26/02/2022.

Should the MPS confirm that any information is held, or is not held, this would confirm whether or not a stop and search took place at that specific place on that date and would present an unreasonable risk of identification of any individuals concerned. Providing an answer in confirmation or denial that information is held would accordingly, reveal personal data and be in breach of the general right to privacy provided by the Data Protection Act 2018. For this reason, this notice accordingly does not confirm nor deny whether any crimes have been reported and represents a refusal under Section 40(5) of the Act.

Section 40(5) of the Act is an absolute class based exemption. In claiming this exemption, there is no requirement to consider whether confirming or denying whether information is held is in the public interest.

DISCLOSURE

Please see the attached spreadsheet for information relevant to your questions 10 and 15.

Please ensure that the data provided is read in conjunction with the notes page of the attached spreadsheet to ensure correct interpretation of the data provided.

Used appropriately, stop and search save lives and is an important tactic to keep Londoners safe, helping us to take drugs and dangerous weapons off our streets. Each month the Met seizes around 400 weapons through stop and search alone.

We know there is disparity in the use of stop and search in relation to gender, age and race. Sadly different crimes tend to affect different groups more than others and it remains a tragic truth that knife crime and street violence in London disproportionately affects boys and young men, particularly of African-Caribbean heritage, both in terms of being victims and perpetrators. We use stop and search the most in areas where there are the highest levels of violent crime to protect our communities. We recognise however that stop and search can have a negative impact for individuals and communities, particularly when we get things wrong. That is why we are redoubling our efforts to listen, engage and explain why we do what we do, to make improvements and build trust.

Stop and search through section 60 is a unique, preventative power which is crucially about preventing outbreaks of violent crime. Section 60 searches account for a small number of overall searches (0.77%), however we understand the impact it can have on communities. That is why the MPS policy continues to have in place restrictions around timings, authorisation level, and informing local communities when they are in place.

Stop and search is rightly scrutinised both within the MPS and externally through our Community Monitoring Groups and the Independent Office for Police Conduct. The use of body worn video is mandatory in stop and search encounters with almost all encounters recorded (more than 97%). We have been showing our body worn video of stops to borough level and London wide Community Monitoring Groups and scrutiny panels to get feedback and increase understanding. Where an individual stop has caused significant community concern we have introduced Police Encounter Panels where community representatives are able to review officers’ body worn footage.

ADVICE AND ASSISTANCE

Firstly, if the information requested relates to you (for example if you are seeking a crime report where you were the victim/witness/suspect) then you are able to request it via a Subject Access Request.

In order to make a Subject Access Request please complete form 3019 (available from any MPS Station, or by calling 020 7161 3500 available Mon - Fri between 10:00 and 14:00). Please note that proof of identification may be required to process a request. This process may also take up to one month (30 calendar days) from receipt of your completed application.

For more information in relation to Section 60, please access the published information at the link provided below:
Search Powers Under Section 60 Criminal Justice Public Order Act 1994 - SOP

Please also see the MPS website for stop and search data broken down by borough, demographics and outcomes, which may be of interest to you:
MPS Stop & Search Dashboard