Met Police Wins Top Award for Cutting-Edge Stop and Search Training
The Metropolitan Police have bagged the prestigious Princess Royal Training Award for their groundbreaking stop and search training programme. This recognition highlights the Met’s relentless push to improve how officers conduct stop and search in London.
Princess Royal Backs the Met’s Innovative Video Training
Presented by the City & Guilds Foundation and championed by HRH The Princess Royal, the award praises the Met’s dedication to investing in both its officers and local communities. The heart of the programme is an interactive, video-based exercise developed in-house by the Met’s Stop and Search Team.
Thousands Trained with Real-Life Scenarios
Since launching in 2018, over 4,000 new officers have sharpened their skills using this realistic training tool. The Central Stop and Search Team have also rolled it out to more than 350 community members and key groups like Community Stop and Search Monitoring Groups, Independent Advisory Groups (IAGs), and Youth Parliament members — all of whom have praised it.
Commander Jane Connors on Keeping London Safe
“We are very pleased to be recognised for our efforts to provide the best training for our officers in what we know is a controversial, but valuable tactic in tackling violent crime. Equipping our officers with the best knowledge and skills is vital in working towards our priority of bearing down on violence in London and keeping communities safe.
“This interactive exercise puts our officers in situations they will encounter in real life. It enables them to consider the impact of their actions in a safe environment and prepares them to go out on patrol.
“We also know that to maintain public confidence in our use of stop and search powers we must use them in a fair, effective and professional manner. This exercise helps train our staff to think about the quality of the interaction and to seek to make stop and search a positive encounter between police and public.”
In a powerful reminder of stop and search’s importance, London police seized 360 weapons in August alone—including 206 knives and 11 firearms.
