Mixed reaction over stop-and-search

Keith Jarrett, president of the National Black Police Association, suggested there should be increased use of the controversial strategy across all communities.

He said: "This is not a change in our policy, I am merely reflecting what community members have been saying to me up and down the country in the last few months.Adult members of the community are saying to me that police need to be searching young people.

"When people are saying this to me, it would be remiss of me not to mention it, and that's what I'm going to do. I'm talking about young people right across the board. They seem to be carrying weapons for protection, and we can disrupt that by carrying out random stop-and-search."

There was criticism from Milena Buyum, co-ordinator of the National Assembly Against Racism, who said the tactic disproportionately affected the black community.

She added: "It is terrible that young people are being the victims of these crimes but we need to look at the reasons for this and address them.We need to look at solving the problem not just in terms of criminal justice, but in terms of issues such as opportunities for young people in the areas where these acts are taking place."

Shami Chakrabarti, director of civil liberties organisation Liberty, said: "Stop-and-search is just one tool of policing. If overused, or overspun, it alienates more law abiding people than it protects."

MP Keith Vaz, chairman of the House of Commons Home Affairs Committee and head of Labour's Ethnic Minority Taskforce, said Mr Jarrett's comments were "extremely unhelpful".

There was some support for stop-and-search from Jan Berry, chairman of the Police Federation, which represents frontline officers, who said: "I think stop-and-search is a very useful power provided it is used intelligently. But most important is to have a visible professional police presence on the streets. Stop-and-search is a tactic that officers can use, coupled with strong community links."

Norman Brennan, director of the Victims of Crime Trust, and a serving police officer, said: "If a disproportionate number of crimes, such as muggings or shootings or stabbings, are committed in certain areas by a disproportionate number of black suspects, then surely the police have a duty to all communities to stop those that are responsible without fear of being branded racist."