Stopping and searching

Article published: Thursday, June 10th 2010

The Home Office revealed today tens of thousands of people have been stopped and searched by police in the street under the controversial Section 44 of the Terrorism Act 2000. There have been 40 operations which have been deemed unlawful use of the anti-terror laws, three of them in Greater Manchester.

Last year 148,798 people were stopped and searched under the act, which stipulates that anyone can be stopped without need for suspicion of an offence being committed. It has been used to search photographers, journalists, and protesters with an arrest rate of 0.5 per cent of those searched.

In response to the statement, 14 police forces have stated that they will find and apologise to those unlawfully searched for serious breach of civil liberties.

Senior police officials have maintained that there is a need for the continuation of invasive stop and search measures. Chief Constable Craig Mackey of the association of Chief Police Officers said: “Powers to stop and search can play an important part in keeping our communities safe from terrorism, but should always be used in a proportionate way.”

Corinna Ferguson, a lawyer who acted in court for human rights group Liberty, said: “We are grateful for the government for making these blunders public, but they merely highlight the ongoing dangers of secret stop and search authorisations.”

If you have been wrongly searched and feel that you are owed an apology by the Greater Manchester Police, let MULE know via the usual address – editor [at] manchestermule.com.

More: News, Policing

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