Methodology
Someone who is stopped and searched is usually asked for their ethnicity. The circumstances of a stop and search may affect the accuracy of this information.
This can be seen by the high rate of stop and searches for the ‘Other’ categories within most ethnic groups. For example, 44% of stop and searches of Black people in the year ending March 2020 were assigned to the Black Other ethnic group.
Population data from the 2011 Census is used to work out the rate per 1,000 people in each area. Read more about the problems using Census data.
Stop and searches are not spread evenly across England and Wales. For example, the Metropolitan Police made 80% of all searches of Black people in the year ending March 2020. National rates are influenced by the higher number of stop and searches involving certain ethnic groups and the differences in populations in certain police force areas.
National rates are an average of all police force areas, and may not reflect the rates in any individual police force areas.
For these reasons, we no longer compare ethnic groups using relative likelihoods (such as ‘5 times as likely’) for England and Wales as a whole.
April 2018 – March 2019
The police conducted 4,568 stop and searches under PACE Section 1 across the area covered by Devon and Cornwall Police.
This was a reduction of 5% from the previous year.
There were 0 stop and searches under Section 60 Criminal Justice & Public Order Act, a power which doesn’t require individual reasonable suspicion.
April 2017 – March 2018
The police conducted 4,809 stop and searches under PACE Section 1 across the area covered by Devon and Cornwall Police.
This was a reduction of 5% from the previous year.
There were 0 stop and searches under Section 60 Criminal Justice & Public Order Act, a power which doesn’t require individual reasonable suspicion.
April 2016 – March 2017
The police conducted 5,084 stop and searches under PACE Section 1 across the area covered by Devon and Cornwall Police.
This was a reduction of 18% from the previous year.
There were 0 stop and searches under Section 60 Criminal Justice & Public Order Act, a power which doesn’t require individual reasonable suspicion.
Stop and account
Devon and Cornwall Police do not record stop and accounts.
This data covers stop and search of individuals under the following acts: section 1 of the Police and Criminal Evidence Act 1984 (and associated legislation including section 23 of the Misuse of Drugs Act 1971) – the police can stop and search someone they think is carrying items like stolen property or drugs
section 44/47A of the Terrorism Act 2000 – the police can stop and search someone if they suspect an act of terrorism is about to take place (after authorisation by a senior officer) section 60 of the Criminal Justice and Public Order Act 1994 – the police can stop and search someone within an authorised area to prevent violence involving weapons
The data shows that, between April 2019 and March 2020:
97% of all stop and searches in England and Wales were under section 1 of the Police and Criminal Evidence Act
3% of stop and searches were under section 60 of the Criminal Justice and Public Order Act
no stop and searches were conducted under section 44/47A of the Terrorism Act, so data isn’t included in the chart and table
there were 17,927 stop and searches under section 60
6,396 section 60 stop and searches involved White people, the highest number out of all ethnic groups for this legislation (35.7% of all section 60 stops)
4,480 section 60 stop and searches involved Black people (25.0% of all section 60 stops)
#BlackLivesMatter was founded in 2013 in response to the acquittal of Trayvon Martin’s murderer. Black Lives Matter Global Network Foundation, Inc. is a global organization in the US, UK, and Canada, whose mission is to eradicate white supremacy and build local power to intervene in violence inflicted on Black communities by the state and vigilantes. By combating and countering acts of violence, creating space for Black imagination and innovation, and centering Black joy, we are winning immediate improvements in our lives.
We are expansive. We are a collective of liberators who believe in an inclusive and spacious movement. We also believe that in order to win and bring as many people with us along the way, we must move beyond the narrow nationalism that is all too prevalent in Black communities. We must ensure we are building a movement that brings all of us to the front.
We affirm the lives of Black queer and trans folks, disabled folks, undocumented folks, folks with records, women, and all Black lives along the gender spectrum. Our network centers those who have been marginalized within Black liberation movements.
We are working for a world where Black lives are no longer systematically targeted for demise.
We affirm our humanity, our contributions to this society, and our resilience in the face of deadly oppression.
The call for Black lives to matter is a rallying cry for ALL Black lives striving for liberation.
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Some Questions for Me to Answer
Why was the dataset chosen?
I have chosen stop and search data because I felt I could raise awareness to Corrupt Policing in the UK and inspire change to the way we police in this country so that the innocent POC people of this country are not targeted by police for their skin colour.
The UK is enjoying the "thank god we are not like America" slogan but not acknowledging the racism in our own country. The UK has had racism embedded in its roots ever since we colonised other countries of the world and enslaved their people. It is racism that has funnelled down generations and thrives in rural White populated spaces that we also face today.
How does your design communicate with your intended audience?
My design communicates through colourful and imaginative infographics, providing information about stop and searches in England and Wales.
It highlights the amount of unproportionate amount of Stop and Searches against Black people in the UK, for example, "the Black Other group had the highest rate overall with 157 stop and searches per 1,000 people – this group includes people who did not identify as Black African or Black Caribbean, or were not recorded as such" (GOV.UK 2021)
It highlights the amount of unproportionate amount of Stop and Searches against Black people in the UK, for example, "the Black Other group had the highest rate overall with 157 stop and searches per 1,000 people – this group includes people who did not identify as Black African or Black Caribbean, or were not recorded as such" (GOV.UK 2021)
How does your design or media theory impact the data set you chose or the final design?
My design brings imagery, warmth and a personal touch to the data compared to how it was presented originally. My design highlights the parts that are important to know. Shining a light on the people that are affected by the results of racial bias in policing. It Is bringing the numbers and words on a data page to life and making it easier to understand.
How did I make this?
To make this behance journal I used data that can be found down in my Bibliography and I used Adobe Products such as Adobe Spark, Adobe Photoshop and Adobe Illustrator to create the front page, infographics and titles. All of them were saved as PNG files so that the graphics could stay at high quality when being arranged.
Bibliography
Black Lives Matter. n.d. “About - Black Lives Matter.” Accessed February 27, 2021. https://blacklivesmatter.com/about/.
GOV.UK. 2018. “Population of England and Wales.” uk-population-by-ethnicity/national-and-regional-populations/population-of-england-and-wales/latest. https://www.ethnicity-facts-figures.service.gov.uk/uk-population-by-ethnicity/national-and-regional-populations/population-of-england-and-wales/latest.
GOV.UK. 2021. “Stop and Search.” Stop and Search - Gov.UK. https://www.ethnicity-facts-figures.service.gov.uk/crime-justice-and-the-law/policing/stop-and-search/latest.
Stop Watch. n.d.
“Devon and Cornwall Police.” your-area/area/devon-and-cornwall. Accessed February 27, 2021. https://www.stop-watch.org/your-area/area/devon-and-cornwall.
