London Riots: Searching for a Stop

Data from two large-scale surveys of Black and Minority Ethnic (BME) and White young men in London were analysed to measure the extent and impact of police stops on their attitudes to policing and Metropolitan Police Service officers. Using procedural justice theory as a framework for analysis, the perceived presence or absence of trust, respect, neutrality, and voice for those stopped compared with those not stopped in both groups is described. Four main findings are identified: the proportion reporting they had been stopped in the last year was substantially greater for the BME than for the White males; overall, the majority of both BME and White males (whether or not stopped) were positive about policing in London; however, negative and statistically significant differences were noted between those stopped and not stopped for both the BME and White groups. Officers paying due regard to delivering procedural justice is proposed as a preventive to future public disorder. Language: en