Impact Evaluation Results from the Training Pilot

• In Event: Can Training Improve Stop and Search Practice? Evaluating a Training Pilot RCT in England and Wales

Abstract

This paper reports on findings of a randomised control trial study of the College of Policing stop and search training pilot within six police forces. The study uses a combination of survey data and administrative stop and search records to assess outcomes. It tests the hypotheses that trained officers: have greater stop and search knowledge; have attitudes more favourable to good practice in police-public interactions; more often follow legal procedures during searches; more often treat people in a procedurally just fashion during search encounters; less often search when grounds are weak; and show less ethnic bias in stop and search decision-making. In addition to this hypothesis-testing, the paper presents analysis of surveys and police data that highlight a range of factors apparently relevant to stop and search practice. These may present a useful target for future policy initiatives to manage police officers’ street-level stop and search practice.

Authors

• Joel Miller, Rutgers University

• Banos Alexandrou, The Research Advisory Service