deldaley
31-01-2008, 03:10 PM
Who can police stop and search?
Police can stop and search anybody they like provided they have reasonable suspicion (they used to be called 'sus’ laws) that they might have been involved in a crime.
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This can include a belief that the individual is carrying an offensive weapon.
Police can also stop and search anyone without reasonable suspicion under section 44 of the Terrorism Act.
What are the rules?
Stop and search powers were codified after the Brixton riots in 1981 which were a reponse to heavy-handed policing in the area.
Under the Police and Criminal Evidence Act 1984, powers to stop and search must be used fairly, responsibly, with respect for people being searched and without unlawful discrimination.
The Race Relations (Amendment) Act 2000 makes it unlawful for police officers to discriminate on the grounds of race, colour, ethnic origin, nationality or national origins when using their powers.
The intrusion on the liberty of the person stopped or searched must be brief and detention for the purposes of a search must take place at or near the location of the stop.
How many are involved?
In 2005 there were 839,977 stops and searches and more than four million stops.
So what’s the problem?
Police complain there is too much red tape involved.
When they stop and search someone they have to fill in a form. Since the Macpherson inquiry into the murder of Stephen Lawrence, they have had to fill in a form just for stopping someone.
Each can take upto seven minutes to complete, is considered a chore and adds up to thousands of man hours a year.
Why the forms?
Because the black community claimed it was being disproportionately targeted by the police.
A young black man was seven times more likely to be stopped that a white youth.
The forms were intended to keep an eye on the ethnic balance.
What are the parties proposing?
The Government is considering designating certain hot spot areas for random stops and searches, much as is now allowed under anti-terror laws.
They would also dispense with the forms but police would still record details on hand-held recorders.
The Tories are also promising to get rid of the red tape and free the police to stop more people.
What’s wrong with that?
Nothing except Labour has promised in the past to reduce police paperwork and there will be anger among minority groups if they feel they are being discriminated against - which is how the controversy started nearly 30 years ago.
Police to be granted stop and search freedom
Police will be given more freedom to stop and search suspects, the Prime Minister pledged today.
Gordon Brown said a review of current powers would be made public next week, but promised it would lead to a reduction in the bureaucracy which police complain often makes them reluctant to pull suspects over.
Police require permission from senior officers to stop and search
He was speaking during Commons clashes at Prime Minister's Question Time with Conservative leader David Cameron, who demanded he scrap lengthy forms which officers must fill in each time they stop someone.
Mr Cameron said: "For more than three years the Conservative party has been arguing that we should scrap the form that police have to fill in every time they stop someone. It is a foot long and takes seven minutes to complete.
"In just one police area in one year, they had to fill in 79,000 forms - that is 9,216 hours of valuable police time."
The Prime Minister replied: "Under this Government we are taking action to reduce bureaucracy in the police."
Mr Cameron's description of the paperwork as a "colossal waste of police time" follows his own pledge to increase the level of stop and search, even if it created unease in ethnic minority communities.
In an interview with today's Sun newspaper, he said: "This is a moment in our history when we have to wake up, sit up and have massive social, political and cultural change.
The police state is nearly upon us !!!
Police can stop and search anybody they like provided they have reasonable suspicion (they used to be called 'sus’ laws) that they might have been involved in a crime.
Police to be granted stop and search freedom
Inspector to warn on plans for 'super-jails'
Simon Heffer: Why the majority see the police as their enemy
This can include a belief that the individual is carrying an offensive weapon.
Police can also stop and search anyone without reasonable suspicion under section 44 of the Terrorism Act.
What are the rules?
Stop and search powers were codified after the Brixton riots in 1981 which were a reponse to heavy-handed policing in the area.
Under the Police and Criminal Evidence Act 1984, powers to stop and search must be used fairly, responsibly, with respect for people being searched and without unlawful discrimination.
The Race Relations (Amendment) Act 2000 makes it unlawful for police officers to discriminate on the grounds of race, colour, ethnic origin, nationality or national origins when using their powers.
The intrusion on the liberty of the person stopped or searched must be brief and detention for the purposes of a search must take place at or near the location of the stop.
How many are involved?
In 2005 there were 839,977 stops and searches and more than four million stops.
So what’s the problem?
Police complain there is too much red tape involved.
When they stop and search someone they have to fill in a form. Since the Macpherson inquiry into the murder of Stephen Lawrence, they have had to fill in a form just for stopping someone.
Each can take upto seven minutes to complete, is considered a chore and adds up to thousands of man hours a year.
Why the forms?
Because the black community claimed it was being disproportionately targeted by the police.
A young black man was seven times more likely to be stopped that a white youth.
The forms were intended to keep an eye on the ethnic balance.
What are the parties proposing?
The Government is considering designating certain hot spot areas for random stops and searches, much as is now allowed under anti-terror laws.
They would also dispense with the forms but police would still record details on hand-held recorders.
The Tories are also promising to get rid of the red tape and free the police to stop more people.
What’s wrong with that?
Nothing except Labour has promised in the past to reduce police paperwork and there will be anger among minority groups if they feel they are being discriminated against - which is how the controversy started nearly 30 years ago.
Police to be granted stop and search freedom
Police will be given more freedom to stop and search suspects, the Prime Minister pledged today.
Gordon Brown said a review of current powers would be made public next week, but promised it would lead to a reduction in the bureaucracy which police complain often makes them reluctant to pull suspects over.
Police require permission from senior officers to stop and search
He was speaking during Commons clashes at Prime Minister's Question Time with Conservative leader David Cameron, who demanded he scrap lengthy forms which officers must fill in each time they stop someone.
Mr Cameron said: "For more than three years the Conservative party has been arguing that we should scrap the form that police have to fill in every time they stop someone. It is a foot long and takes seven minutes to complete.
"In just one police area in one year, they had to fill in 79,000 forms - that is 9,216 hours of valuable police time."
The Prime Minister replied: "Under this Government we are taking action to reduce bureaucracy in the police."
Mr Cameron's description of the paperwork as a "colossal waste of police time" follows his own pledge to increase the level of stop and search, even if it created unease in ethnic minority communities.
In an interview with today's Sun newspaper, he said: "This is a moment in our history when we have to wake up, sit up and have massive social, political and cultural change.
The police state is nearly upon us !!!