Sussex police launch campaign to aid understanding of stop and search powers

Sussex Police have launched a new campaign aimed at educating primary school students about stop and search powers. 

The campaign, titled 'Rewind' aims to simplfy the legislation so young people have a better understanding of the powers and know why and when the power is used. The campaign will be aimed at year 6 pupils in primary schools. 

The campaign is a concept created by the Police and Crime Commissioner's Youth Commission. 

Emma Hockley, former member of the PCC Youth Commission said: “We really wanted to raise awareness of what people our age should expect from police during a stop and search. By targeting young people with this video, we hoped they could develop a greater understanding of the process as we did whilst enjoying making the production as a team.”

Assistant Chief Constable Steve Barry said: “The message behind the Rewind campaign is simple. We’re reminding our communities that everyone has the same rights irrespective of background, ethnicity or religion, principally to be treated fairly and with respect.

“When someone is stopped and searched, we would encourage them to rewind back through the interaction, reflect and review how it went. If that person had behaved in a different way during the interaction, could their experience have been improved? Respect is two way and is required not only to the person being stopped and searched but also to the police officers carrying it out.

“Using the acronym Rewind, we’ve updated our stop and search pages with a simplified description of people’s rights to make them easier to understand."
 

Here’s what Rewind means:

Remember under the stop and search legislation, everyone has rights.

Every person who is stopped and searched is entitled to a receipt.

When stopped, the officer will give their name and the police station they work from.

If the person who is stopped has a problem understanding what is being explained by an officer, they have the right to ask for an interpreter or for an appropriate adult.

Normally the officer doing the search will be the same gender as the person being searched.

During a stop and search, the officer may ask the person who is stopped to remove their jacket or other outer clothes.

You can find out more about Rewind, the stop and search powers and watch the two short videos on dedicated stop and search pages on the Sussex Police website.