UK police forces ‘still abusing stop and search powers’ – The Guardian

Posted February 11th, 2016 in news, police, race discrimination, stop and search by sally

‘Most of Britain’s police forces are still failing to obey rules to prevent abuse of their stop and search powers, according to the police regulator, raising the prospect that the government will legislate to force them to do so.’

Full story

The Guardian, 11th February 2016

Source: www.guardian.co.uk

Stop Powers under the Terrorism Act 2000 incompatible with Article 10 – UK Human Rights Blog

‘On Tuesday the Court of Appeal handed down its judgment on David Miranda’s detention under the Terrorism Act 2000 and, while upholding the lawfulness of the detention in the immediate case, ruled that the stop powers under Schedule 7 of the Terrorism Act lack sufficient legal safeguards to be in line with Article 10.’

Full story

UK Human Rights Blog, 21st January 2016

Source: www.ukhumanrightsblog.com

Britain’s Supreme Court says targeting young black men for stop-and-search ‘benefits them’ – The Independent

‘The Supreme Court has been accused of using “stereotypes” to justify the “targeting of young black men” after five judges gave their strong backing to the police’s random stop and search powers.’

Full story

The Independent, 17th December 2015

Source: www.independent.co.uk

Mother of murdered son calls for jail time for all knife crimes – BBC News

‘The mother of a young man who was stabbed to death in west London has pleaded with judges to impose jail terms on anyone caught with a knife.’

Full story

BBC News, 11th December 2015

Source: www.bbc.co.uk

Theresa May criticises police over stop and search, and race record – The Guardian

‘Theresa May will publicly criticise claims made by Britain’s most senior police officer that a rise in knife crime is linked to falls in stop and search, branding them as a “kneejerk reaction” and “false”.’

Full story

The Guardian, 21st October 2015

Source: www.guardian.co.uk

Stop and search: the police must not revive discredited strategies – The Guardian

Posted October 20th, 2015 in news, offensive weapons, police, statistics, stop and search by sally

‘From Brixton 1981 to Tottenham 2011, all section 60 has done is cause riots and fail to stop knife crime. It will be a tragedy if police chiefs turn back now.’

Full story

The Guardian, 19th October 2015

Source: www.guardian.co.uk

Part 3 of the 2015 Immigration Bill – enforcement – Free Movement

Posted October 1st, 2015 in bills, crime, documents, enforcement, evidence, immigration, news, stop and search by sally

‘Part 3 of the Immigration Bill gives a host of new, wide powers to immigration officers.

A person with leave to enter arrives in at the airport. Schedule 19(1) and (2) – the first section of Part 3 – gives immigration officers the power to curtail leave, rather to simply determine whether leave has been given and act accordingly. So someone arriving in the UK even with the appropriate leave will now have a lingering uncertainty as to whether they will be allowed in. This is likely to affect few migrants, but is indicative of the greater powers given to immigration officers throughout the Bill.’

Full story

Free Movement, 1st October 2015

Source: www.freemovement.org.uk

Stop-and-search: Police training will challenge ‘unconscious bias’ of officers to cut down on unlawful use of tactic – The Independent

‘Hundreds of police officers around the country are to have their prejudices challenged by a training programme that aims to reduce discrimination among those using stop-and-search powers, a tactic that disproportionately targets people from ethnic minorities.’

Full story

The Independent, 22nd August 2015

Source: www.independent.co.uk

Police officers could have to give ‘face-to-face apologies’ for unwarranted stop and searches – The Independent

Posted August 18th, 2015 in complaints, disciplinary procedures, news, stop and search by sally

‘People who are stopped and searched for no good reason should receive a personal apology from the officers concerned, to help restore public confidence in the police.’

Full story

The Independent, 18th August 2015

Source: www.independent.co.uk

Black people still far more likely to be stopped and searched by police than other ethnic groups – The Independent

Posted August 7th, 2015 in news, police, race discrimination, stop and search by tracey

‘Black people are still far more likely than other ethnic groups to be stopped and searched in almost every part of England and Wales despite concerted efforts to tackle the problem.’

Full story

The Independent, 6th August 2015

Source: www.independent.co.uk

IPCC investigates Metropolitan police after teenager ‘died during pursuit’ – The Guardian

Posted July 23rd, 2015 in complaints, homicide, news, police, stop and search, young persons by sally

‘The Police watchdog is investigating Scotland Yard’s stop and searches of a teenager in the years before he died in a collision while apparently being pursued by police.’

Full story

The Guardian, 22nd July 2015

Source: www.guardian.co.uk

Met police to step up targeted stop and search amid surge in knife-crime – The Guardian

‘The Metropolitan police are to step up their use of targeted stop-and-search operations in high knife-crime areas of London due to a recent rise in stabbings in the capital.’

Full story

The Guardian, 22nd June 2015

Source: www.guardian.co.uk

Too little progress on stop and search, says police watchdog – The Guardian

Posted March 26th, 2015 in news, police, race discrimination, reports, stop and search by sally

‘Police forces have made too little progress on improving their use of stop and search powers, with too many officers lacking any understanding of their impact on the lives of young black people, an official watchdog has said.’

Full story

The Guardian, 24th March 2015

Source: www.guardian.co.uk

Police use stop and search powers on 300 toddlers – Daily Telegraph

‘Research shows hundreds of under-fives have been frisked by officers in the last five years, often because of fears they have been forced to carry drugs or guns.’

Full story

Daily Telegraph, 15th March 2015

Source: www.telegraph.co.uk

African-Caribbean people more likely to be strip-searched by UK police – The Guardian

Posted March 10th, 2015 in children, news, police, race discrimination, reports, stop and search by tracey

‘An apparently disproportionate number of people of African-Caribbean descent are being held in police cells and strip-searched, according to an official report, which also warns that children and vulnerable adults are being placed in custody because their families, health and social services cannot cope.’

Full story

The Guardian, 10th March 2015

Source: www.guardian.co.uk

Strip-searched girl’s family sues Merseyside police – The Guardian

Posted January 22nd, 2015 in children, human rights, news, police, privacy, stop and search by sally

‘A teenager who was forcibly strip-searched is suing Merseyside police for alleged mistreatment, as more and more children are subjected to the practice.’

Full story

The Guardian, 22nd January 2015

Source: www.guardian.co.uk

Police face legal action for snooping on journalists – The Guardian

Posted November 21st, 2014 in data protection, investigatory powers, media, news, police, stop and search by tracey

‘A group of journalists has launched a legal action against Scotland Yard after discovering that the Metropolitan police has been recording their professional activities on a secret database designed to monitor so-called domestic extremists.’

Full story

The Guardian, 20th November 2014

Source: www.guardian.co.uk

Home Secretary launches Best Use of Stop and Search scheme – Home Office

Posted August 28th, 2014 in codes of practice, news, police, stop and search by sally

‘Home Secretary Theresa May today [26 August] officially launched a new scheme to reform police use of stop and search powers.’

Full story

Home Office, 26th August 2014

Source: www.gov.uk/home-office

Open consultation – Revised PACE code A – Home Office

Posted August 26th, 2014 in codes of practice, consultations, police, stop and search by tracey

‘This consultation runs until Monday 20 October 2014. The draft code has a covering note and detailed table outlining the changes and their purpose with links to the paragraphs concerned.’

Full press release

Home Office, 26th August 2014

Source: www.gov.uk/home-office

Best use of stop and search scheme – Home Office

Posted August 26th, 2014 in codes of practice, news, police, stop and search by tracey

‘Guidance for police forces on the implementation of the best use of stop and search scheme.’

Full guidance

Home Office, 26th August 2014

Source: www.gov.uk/home-office