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STOP AND SEARCH |
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60. That the powers of the police under current legislation are required for the prevention and detection of crime and should remain unchanged. |
Accept The powers of the police to stop and search suspects in Scotland are different from those in England and Wales. Nothing in the Macpherson Report casts doubt on the continuing need for the powers available in Scotland. Lead responsibility: Scottish Executive |
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61. That the Home Secretary, in consultation with Police Services, should ensure that a record is made by police officers of all "stops" and "stops and searches" made under any legislative provision (not just the Police and Criminal Evidence Act). Non-statutory or so called "voluntary" stops must also be recorded. The record to include the reason for the stop, the outcome, and the self-defined ethnic identity of the person stopped. A copy of the record shall be given to the person stopped. 62. That these records should be monitored and analysed by Police Services and Police Authorities, and reviewed by HMIC on inspections. The information and analysis should be published. 63. That Police Authorities be given the duty to undertake publicity campaigns to ensure that the public is aware of "stop and search" provisions and the right to receive a record in all circumstances. |
Requires further consideration The recommendations would require a large bureaucracy to implement, which would be justifiable if there was a problem which could be addressed through the recommendations. There has not been the same criticism in Scotland about the use of police powers to stop and search against ethnic minorities as there has been in parts of England. However, there is a need to guard against complacency. The results of the pilot projects proposed by the Home Secretary will therefore be taken into consideration in reaching a final conclusion. ACPOS will separately consider the implications of introducing such schemes for the Scottish Police Service. Lead responsibility: Scottish Executive |
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RECRUITMENT AND RETENTION |
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64. That the Home Secretary and Police Authorities' policing plans should include targets for recruitment, progression and retention of minority ethnic staff. Police Authorities to report progress to the Home Secretary annually. Such reports to be published. |
Requires further consideration There are difficulties in setting meaningful targets for some Scottish forces due to the small size of the force and the comparatively small ethnic and overall populations in their areas. However, the Home Secretary has set targets for all forces in England and Wales. Strathclyde has already set and achieved internal targets to increase the number of officers from ethnic minorities. Generally the number of ethnic minority officers in Scottish forces falls below the proportion of ethnic minorities in the local population. There is, on that basis, room for increases in the number of ethnic minority officers employed. As a first step, ACPOS are to recommend a 1996 publication by the CRE, "Race and Equal Opportunities in the Police Service - A Programme for Action", to forces to assist them to set up templates for good practice in recruiting and retaining staff from ethnic minorities. Forces will also set up mechanisms to monitor their performance, which can be inspected by HMIC. The question of target setting will be considered further by the Scottish Executive, not just for the police but for the whole of the public sector in Scotland. The Executive is keen to develop performance indicators for recruitment, retention and progression of ethnic minorities across the public services. Lead responsibility: Scottish Executive and ACPOS |
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65. That the Home Office and Police Services should facilitate the development of initiatives to increase the number of qualified minority ethnic recruits. |
Accept There are examples of good practice in this area in a number of Scottish Police Forces. These will be exchanged through the ACPOS Equal Opportunities Network, reporting to the ACPOS Personnel and Training Committee. Lead responsibility: ACPOS |
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66. That HMIC include in any regular inspection or in a thematic inspection a report on the progress made by Police Services in recruitment, progression and retention of minority ethnic staff. |
Accept Equal opportunity generally is a feature of all HMIC reports. A thematic on Equal Opportunities was carried out in 1995. A further thematic report will be commissioned in due course. Lead responsibility: HMCIC |
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PREVENTION AND THE ROLE OF EDUCATION |
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67. That consideration be given to amendment of the National Curriculum aimed at valuing cultural diversity and preventing racism, in order better to reflect the needs of a diverse society. |
Accept in principle There is no National Curriculum in Scotland and the responsibility for the delivery of the curriculum rests with education authorities and head teachers. Advice was provided by the then Scottish Office Education and Industry Department which sought to ensure that similar points to those contained this recommendation are emphasised. The Scottish Consultative Council on the Curriculum has published two booklets, "Equal Opportunities in Practice" and "Equal Opportunities, A Statement of Position" to promote an ethos of equal opportunities in all school activities. They also recommend that all educational establishments should have a policy on equal opportunities. The issuing of detailed guidance on equal opportunities in schools is the responsibility of education authorities and head teachers. Curriculum advice also aims to value cultural diversity, prevent racism and reflect the needs of a diverse society. The publication "A Route to Equality and Fairness" (1999) provides clear advice to schools on how to evaluate the effectiveness of their efforts to combat discrimination and achieve equality of opportunity. In addition, the Government 5-14 programme and some secondary school subjects provide pupils with the opportunity to learn about the values of citizenship, which relates to how we should treat each other and should encourage an appreciation of diversity within society. Scottish curriculum advice reflects the needs of a diverse society and that every effort is made to ensure that this remains a prominent emphasis. The Scottish Executive will, however, consider whether any further curriculum advice should be sent to schools and education authorities in order to reflect better the needs of a diverse society, for example the advice on citizenship education currently being developed by HMI Audit Unit. Lead responsibility: Scottish Executive |
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68. That Local Education Authorities and school Governors have the duty to create and implement strategies in their schools to prevent and address racism. Such strategies to include:
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Accept in part A Scottish Anti-Bullying Network has been set up to help schools deal with all forms of bullying, including racist bullying and abuse. Good practice in dealing with bullying and other related incidents, including those which are racially motivated, is also disseminated through the Scottish Schools Ethos Network, which has over 1000 member schools. A circular issued in 1997 advised schools to put arrangements in place for monitoring and recording incidents of violence against school staff (including those motivated by racism or sexism). Statistics were published at a national level in February 1999, but these did not separately identify the motivation for incidents. Authorities will shortly be advised that from academic year 1999/00, the data collection will be extended to allow racially motivated incidents to be separately identified. The Scottish Executive, along with schools and Local Authorities, has already begun to consider the need to record information on racist incidents within each school. A new system of exchanging data electronically with schools and Local Authorities is being developed. This data exchange includes the recording of all types of incidents in schools, including characteristics such as racist motivation. The target is that all secondary schools in Scotland are expected to be participating within this system by September 2000 and all schools in Scotland by 2002. In the meantime, in response to the recommendation, the Scottish Executive proposes to advise schools not in the electronic system to start recording incidents in their own management information systems or manually. A circular to that effect will be issued to local authorities as soon as possible, although the data protection aspects will have to be considered. The circular will also make clear that all racist incidents should be reported to the parents/guardians of pupils involved and the local authority. School Boards in Scotland have a different role to governing bodies in England; they are advisory bodies and have no executive role in the management of the school. It is therefore proposed that School Boards do not get involved in individual incidents but are given a report on incidents in the school (including racist ones) every year. School Boards do have a role in developing school policies, including those on bullying, and the Executive is committed to helping School Boards fulfil that role more effectively through guidance and training. The Scottish Executive does not agree with the recommendation to publish the number of racist incidents on a school-by-school basis. There is a similar concern in Scotland to that raised in the DfEE response; that this approach may discourage the reporting of racist incidents and would unfairly penalise schools who are approaching the issue in an open and honest way. There are also concerns that to release this information for each school would disclose the identity of individuals. The information currently available on rates of exclusion does not include the ethnic background of excluded pupils. However, following a circular issued to Local Authorities in April 1998, more detailed information on excluded pupils has begun to be collected for the academic year 1998-99. This information will include the self-defined ethnic identity of pupils and will be published at a national level. For the reasons outlined above, the Scottish Executive does not propose to disseminate school level information. The Scottish Executive is committed to a target of a reduction in exclusions in Scotland by a third by 2002. The more detailed exclusion statistics will enable authorities to identify groups at greatest risk of exclusion and to tailor their efforts to reduce exclusions accordingly. From April 1999 £24 million is being invested in providing a programme of alternatives to exclusion in Scotland. Schemes include in and out of school support units, additional teaching support, programmes of personal and social development and work placement opportunities. Lead responsibility: Scottish Executive |
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69. That OFSTED inspections include examination of the implementation of such strategies. |
Accept Inspections of schools in Scotland are carried out by HM Inspectors of Schools (Scotland). Inspections are carried out against a framework of performance indicators, published in "How Good is Our School". Issues of cultural diversity within the curriculum; the treatment, care and welfare of pupils, including bullying and racial harassment; discipline; and the sense of equality and fairness within schools are dealt with in the evaluations made by HMI. Specific guidance on evaluating an ethos of equality and fairness has recently been published by HMI in partnership with South Ayrshire Council in " A Route to Equality and Fairness". HMI are now reviewing inspection guidelines and performance indicators to ensure that issues arising from the Report are addressed, including staff development for HMI. Consideration is being given to a specific task to examine the position in schools and education authorities in relation to the Report's findings and recommendations. Lead responsibility: Scottish Executive |
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70. That in creating strategies under the provisions of the Crime & Disorder Act or otherwise Police Services, local Government and relevant agencies should specifically consider implementing community and local initiatives aimed at promoting cultural diversity and addressing racism and the need for focused, consistent support for such initiatives. |
Accept The Scottish Executive is keenly aware of the importance of multi-agencies initiatives at local level in combating racism in society. National approaches can help but will not reflect unique local circumstances. The Scottish Executive therefore supports examples of local multi-agency working and encourages COSLA and ACPOS to spread examples of successful local initiatives amongst their members, and to consider the role of community safety partnerships in this area. Lead responsibility: Scottish Executive |
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