TEENAGERS were given the unusual opportunity of training officers in stop and search as part of a pilot scheme.

Young people came together at the Score centre in Oliver Road, Leyton, this evening with officers from the police's Territorial Support Group to impart advice on how to effectively stop and search youths without causing unnecessary offence.

The young people taking part are part of the Youth Independent Advisory Group working with the police and council on enforcement issues and many shared negative experiences of their contact with police.

Sara Afriyie, 18, of Montague Road, Leytonstone, said: “In any job you should be professional and working with the public you should be polite. You can de-escalate the situation by being professional.”

Zara Tariq, 19, a criminology degree student, formerly of Walthamstow, said: “If you tell someone to shut up and get against the wall and they have their boys with them, they don't like it. They are proud and just want respect.”

The teenagers carried out role plays with the officers of mock stop and search procedures and the officers explained the difficulties they sometimes encounter confronting large groups, some of whom may be carrying weapons.

PC Rob Wheewell said afterwards that the training was useful and helped him to realise that young people want more information about why they are being stopped.

He said: “Sometimes they don't want to listen when we are on the street, but maybe we need to to persevere more. But we don't just drive down the road and pick people out to stop for no reason. Most of the stops are intelligence led.

“But it can be frustrating from anyone's point of view – I don't blame them for getting upset.”

The teenagers will also be patrolling with the TSG, monitoring their stop and searches in boroughs across London and making recommendations to senior police officers on how they should conduct these operations in future.

If the scheme is successful it will be rolled out across London and possibly nationally.

Cabinet member for community safety, enforcement and protection, Cllr Afzal Akram, said: “Ninety per cent of people will say they have a negative experience of stop and search because they are being stopped. If we can get more positive experiences that would be good.

“The police need to learn how to interact because the initial three seconds of contact is the most important. But we have a good police force who are willing to look at different views and see how things can be improved.”

The training scheme comes just three weeks after a Her Majesty's Inspectorate of Constabulary (HMIC) report was published which looked at policing public protests said officers should return to a model of approachable, impartial and accountable policing based on minimum force.