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Police restrict stop and search powers to 'high-risk' locations
Martin Bentham, Home Affairs Editor17 Jul 2009
The Met is to drastically curb its use of anti-terrorist stop-and-search powers from next week in an attempt to address concerns it has been using them on too many innocent Londoners.
From Monday, the force will only carry out the searches around high-risk locations such as prominent buildings or crowded places that could be vulnerable to attack.
The new strategy will end the previous blanket use of the searches, which were introduced under Section 44 of the Terrorism Act of 2000. Unlike any other stop-and-search power, it allows officers to frisk people even if they have no grounds for suspicion.
The Met's new curbs are a response to criticism by politicians and community leaders, who said the powers were being misused and used excessively, particularly on ethnic minority groups.
The Government's anti-terror law watchdog, Lord Carlile of Berriew, also rebuked the force over the searches, warning that they should be used only when "genuinely justified" by a clear risk of terrorism. More than 150,000 Section 44 searches have been carried out in London since October 2007.
A Met spokesman said the force still viewed the Section 44 search powers as an important means of preventing possible attacks, but was responding to public concern by adopting a more "targeted" approach. He said: "In future they will be used in specific areas, such as sites of key strategic importance and crowded places, rather than across whole boroughs. We have listened to what communities have said."
The revised approach follows a pilot scheme in April in four London boroughs -Southwark, Brent, Tower Hamlets and Newham - in which the searches were conducted only in tightly defined areas. The result was a significant drop in the number of people searched and the change will now be extended permanently across the capital. The curb also follows consultation with groups including the Muslim Safety Forum, the Community Monitoring Network, human rights group Liberty, and the Metropolitan Police Authority. It is also based on new guidance from the National Police Improvement Agency.
Ministry of Justice figures revealed a sharp rise in the number the searches in London since the failed Haymarket and Glasgow bombings of 2007. There was a 322 per cent rise in black people searched and 277 per cent for Asians, compared with an 185 per cent rise for white people.
Reader views (8)
what makes you think all the 'terrorits' are non white, maybe you need not be so narrow minded and take in all the media feeds you....look outside the box plenty of white terrorrits bomber out there!!!
- Mn, london, 20/07/2009 11:01
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Surj, if you read the article it says "The curb also follows consultation with groups including the Muslim Safety Forum" that provides a large answer to one of your questions.
However consider a large justification for this policy was initially said to be finding knives among the Yobs
- Trunk, US, 19/07/2009 00:44
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I like this, " The Met's new curbs are a response to criticism by politicians and Community leaders who said the powers were being misused and used excessively, particularly on ethnic minority groups" I would like to know which party Political criticized most?PC gone wrong.My community leaders never said any thing about misused of power, may be this paper can exactly tell us which community leaders?
- Surj, london, 17/07/2009 17:12
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Honestly - why would the Police stop and search white OAPs or Chinese Tourists - when all the terrorist attacks are by non-whites? In the 1970's at the height of the IRA attacks - were the Police stop and searching Carribean Men? Of course not - you stop and search the likely criminals - and they just happen to be BME at the moment!
- Gary, amersham, 17/07/2009 16:26
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No doubt that when there is another terrorist attack on London (as Bob, Cheam says - a high risk location), there will be a big queue of all these human rights muppets saying that the police should have done more!
- Jh, London, 17/07/2009 15:20
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'high risk' locations such as um.. London?
- Bob, Cheam, 17/07/2009 14:46
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Crash Gordon's Nu Labor policies on crime continue to fail...
- Georgie, Islington, London, 17/07/2009 13:14
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So the terrorists will move to "low" risk areas. Sweet.
- Bj, London, 17/07/2009 13:07
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