The Waltham Forest Stop and Search Group met to discuss actions from the previous meeting, updates from the Young Independent Advisory Group (YIAG) and Streetbase, and stop and search procedures. The group was also scheduled to elect a chair and vice-chair, and to note future meeting dates.

Election of Chair and Vice-Chair

The agenda included the election of the chair and vice-chair of the group. Aimee Farquhar was listed as the current chair, and Kamahl Sami-Miller as the vice-chair.

Action Notes from Previous Meeting

The group was scheduled to review action notes from the previous meeting held on 13 January 2025. These included:

• Updates on the Police Encounter Panel (PEP), including recruitment efforts and meeting locations alternating between Plaistow and Leyton.
• A request for members of the Community Monitoring Group (CMG) to attend Procedural Justice Training.
• Concerns about Coronation Gardens being a high-stop area, potentially leading to profiling, and a request for increased police-community engagement in the area.
• Confirmation of Youth Independent Advisory Group (YIAG) involvement in community engagement.
• Updates on the Spark to Life Initiative, which provides support to young people with negative stop and search experiences and offers training to police officers.

Body-Worn Footage Viewing Sessions

The group was scheduled to note that only one body-worn footage viewing session took place in the last quarter. Zenith McIntyreallen, Stop & Search Member, reportedly attended the session and found no major concerns or exceptional stop-and-search incidents. Inspector Kamran Qureshi from the Metropolitan Police added that previous sessions had received positive feedback.

YIAG and Streetbase Updates

The agenda included updates from the Youth Independent Advisory Group (YIAG) and Streetbase. The YIAG had previously raised concerns about inappropriate behaviour in training settings and the need for police recruits to understand how their actions affect young people. Streetbase had no major updates due to inactivity over the holiday period.

Quarterly Statistics and Stop and Search Procedures

The group was scheduled to discuss quarterly statistics, police training, and stop-and-search procedures. Key discussion points from the previous meeting included:

• The Spark to Life Programme and how to improve its impact.
• Recruit Training & Continuous Learning, including concerns about whether recruits absorb training properly and a suggestion for follow-up assessments.
• Concerns about officer behaviour and reports of inappropriate behaviour from new recruits during training.
• Issues around whether officers properly apply their training and whether their actions align with procedural justice¹.
• Monitoring & Accountability, with concerns that officers who fail to follow procedures do not always receive additional training.
• The need for cultural change within policing, encouraging officers to challenge colleagues when misconduct or poor practices occur.

Other Business

The agenda included a section for other business, covering various topics related to stop and search:

• Stop and search reviews applying to both uniformed and detective officers.
• The process for filing complaints, including the 31-day limit due to body-worn footage storage.
• Community engagement and police training initiatives in Waltham Forest and Haringey.
• Police accountability and misconduct investigations handled by the Department of Professional Standards.
• Concerns about poor police engagement in the borough and calls for stronger collaboration between community groups across London.

Future Meetings

The group was scheduled to note the provisional meeting dates for 2025/26: 21 July 2025, 6 October 2025, 26 January 2026, and 27 April 2026.