In the know

Throughout July, officers from Surrey Police and Sussex Police joined other forces across the UK to shine the spotlight on the “fatal five” factors considered the main causes of serious injury or fatal collisions on our roads. These factors are dangerous or careless driving, driving while distracted such as by using a mobile phone, drink or drug-driving, driving at excess speed, and not wearing a seatbelt. Across both forces during July, officers stopped 3,205 vehicles and issued more than 2,000 fixed penalty notices (FPNs) and traffic offence reports (TORs). 188 arrests were made, and 170 drivers reported for summons for driving offences. 697 roadside breath tests were issued and 260 roadside DrugWipe tests issued. Surrey and Sussex Roads Policing Unit (RPU) Chief Inspector Chris Tinney said: “Operation Spotlight coincides with the rise in deaths and serious injuries which occur in July, with on average more than 2,700 people killed or seriously injured in the UK each July over the past five-year period – which is all the more reason to drive safely and be more vigilant.”

For the last 6 weeks, Surrey Police, with the support of Foley Boxing Gym at Imber Court - East Molesey, have been running free boxing sessions for young people between the ages of 11 and 17. Over the summer holidays we’ve had youngsters of all ages, sexes and backgrounds attending the sessions. The two trainers, Gary and John, make the hour a lot of fun, as well as working the group hard! We’ve had some great feedback from parents and also from the boxers themselves. PC Phil Jebb, one of the Youth Engagement Officers for Elmbridge said: “Boxing has so many positives. As well as a way of keeping fit, it can be a focus for young people to channel their energies in a positive way. It can also support them with building their self-esteem and managing their mental health. Hopefully giving the young people this opportunity will ignite a passion in boxing and, with the help of the Foley, they can continue attending their weekly sessions for years to come. After the great success of the summer sessions, we will look to do the same again next summer, as it’s a great way for us to engage and help young people in the area”.

Our officers are given powers such as stop and search and using force, to keep you safe. When we talk about force, this can range from an officer putting their hand on their TASER to handcuffing, which is the most common use of force. We regularly review how we use these powers to make sure we're being fair and to understand if specific communities are more impacted than others. We know that in these areas Black communities are disproportionately affected. Looking at the figures of Surrey residents who we stop and search, we are 3.2 times more likely to stop a Black person than a White person. The figure is based on our census data and in real terms, this accounts for 125 Black people stopped compared with 1,924 White people stopped in the 12 months to June 2024. Our disproportionality figure rises to 5.3 when we consider people travelling through Surrey who aren’t accounted for by our census data. When it comes to officers using force, the way we record data regionally doesn’t allow us to look at only Surrey residents but research in previous years indicates around 44% of cases involve people who don’t live in Surrey. Looking at our overall data, you are 5.7 times more likely to have some form of force used against you if you are Black compared to a White person. It's important that we scrutinise the reasons behind these figures. We conduct regular dip checks of our records, and our External Scrutiny Panel reviews disproportionality and Body Worn Video footage every three months. Any feedback is included in officer training plans and escalated to supervisors if needed. When we look at the find rate between different ethnicities the statistics are very similar and through our robust scrutiny practices, we’re confident that our communities are not treated differently in their interactions with officers based on the colour of their skin. However, this doesn’t explain why you’re more likely to be stopped or have force used on you if you’re Black and so we’re looking deeper into what’s going on. We’re having discussions with our Race Advisory Group and in the coming months we’ll be working with colleges to speak with students about their experiences. We also plan to work with academics in relation to potential research on this. To build our understanding and improve our practices, we need to hear from people impacted by stop and search. We encourage anyone who has been stopped by Surrey officers to share their experience by contacting StopandSearch@surrey.police.uk. For more detailed information and statistics, please visit our website: Stop and Search | Surrey Police

Throughout 2024, we have continued to support and fundraise for the Mary Frances Trust, chosen as our Chief’s Charity for this year. Surrey Police officers, staff and affiliated organisations have all been involved in the fundraising efforts, from charity concerts and sponsored runs to donations from teams. The Mary Frances Trust is a mental health and emotional wellbeing service for adults in Surrey. They work alongside people experiencing any kind of emotional or mental health issues for as long as they need, while challenging the stigma attached to mental illness.

Anyone can access mental health support from the trust, with no waiting lists or time limits. They provide support through online or face-to-face meetings, and also have a range of wellbeing groups/activities that communities in our county can be a part of.