• Question by: Bob Blackman
• Meeting date: 20 February 2008

Mr Mayor, what do you consider to be the reasons for having stop and search in the first place?

• Question by: Bob Blackman
• Meeting date: 20 February 2008

At the moment we have extensive amounts of time that police officers have to undertake ' different people say it is different amounts of time between 11 minutes and 20 minutes ' on filling out these forms, depending on their level of ability. Do you think that might be a deterrent to a police officer exercising that judgement?

• Question by: Jennette Arnold OBE
• Meeting date: 20 February 2008

I am getting quite uncomfortable here with this discussion. Can I just put on record that stop and search is not a tool to be used against black people; that it is absolutely part of the tools and the way of working of police officers. It is not just based on their intuition, it has to be based on evidence and it is that issue about how the police, as public servants, give an account to a member of the public. Can I as well put on record that it is as relevant for our young people who are more...

• Question by: Bob Blackman
• Meeting date: 20 February 2008

What do you consider are the main purposes and benefits of filling out these forms?

• Question by: Bob Blackman
• Meeting date: 20 February 2008

Right, so you are making the view, quite reasonably, that it is a matter of judgement?

• Question by: Bob Blackman
• Meeting date: 20 February 2008

So you are happy to see the scrapping of these unnecessary proposals?

• Question by: Bob Blackman
• Meeting date: 20 February 2008

When would you expect a police officer to exercise those powers of stop and search?

• Question by: Bob Blackman
• Meeting date: 20 February 2008

In fact, filling out these forms, if they do not find anything, is a complete waste of time?

• Question by: Bob Blackman
• Meeting date: 20 February 2008

If someone has been stopped by a police officer and searched and answered detailed questions etc. do you think they are ever going to be satisfied about that being conducted in that way?

• Question by: Bob Blackman
• Meeting date: 20 February 2008

Surely the central issue here is that the police should be able to exercise possibly more frequent stops and more frequent searches in order to apprehend such criminal activity?