Conclusion: The Three Levels of Governance of Police Stops

This chapter draws together the threads from across the book to argue that while the legal, social, political and historical context of policing and systems of governance and reforms to policing are important, ultimately reforms and governance systems carried out in silo do not tend to solve problems in the actual practice of police stops, and a holistic approach is required. A necessary—and currently rare—requirement is data on police stops. It is evident that more in-depth comparative research (including broad empirical study) is needed across Europe to facilitate learning and sharing of best practice so that all nations are in the best possible position to ensure that police stops are used in as equitable, efficient, effective and accountable a manner as possible.