TEENAGERS have made a film with police to ensure young people know their stop-and-search rights.
Youngsters from Gosport, Havant-based charity Music Fusion and Gosport police created a video together explaining people’s rights in police stop and searches.
They acted out different scenarios with the help of officers from Gosport, highlighting key facts about stop and searches.
Tyler Palmer, 15, a Year 11 pupil at Brune Park School in, Gosport and member of Rowner Youth, took centre stage in the video.
He played the person being stopped as Sergeant David West from Gosport police station conducted the search.
He said the group thought of reasons why police want to search young people, including to find drugs, weapons, alcohol and cigarettes.
The group then talked about why police had searched them before and focused on their age group and clothing, especially because they wore hoodies. ‘
Me and a couple of my mates had been searched by police before,’ Tyler said.
‘That was just for wearing hoodies, so we thought we’d do this to change people’s perspectives of us. The officer we did it with told us two out of every 10 searches they find something – what about the other eight?’
The video explains that an officer must say why and what they are looking for but also says the young person should not wind up the police.
And it also explains that the detained person is not under arrest and that the officer must tell the person being searched who they are and what station they are from.
The officer must then complete a form and give it to the young person.
Sgt West commended the honesty of the young people who took part, saying it helped officers and young people work together.
Tyler was joined by Declan Bannon, 15, Lucas Hopwood, 15 and Lewis Fisher, 14 along with others from Rowner Youth to make the video, along with help from Jinx Prowse, CEO of Music Fusion.
Tyler said that just after the film was made an officer tried to search him without saying why but Tyler told him his rights and the officer stopped.
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