28 March 2012
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UK: Anti-terrorist
stop and searches figures more than double those officially admitted
- over 70,000
stops and searches, a few hundred arrests, the majority of which
"were not in connection with terrorism"
- "They will lead to
a deterioration of police community relations within the Muslim
community and a decline in key intelligence"
This study first appeared in Statewatch
bulletin, vol 13 no 6 (November-December 2003)
A special study by Statewatch of the figures produced by the Home Office on stop and search show that:
1. The number of stops and searches as part of anti-terrorist operations is more than double the official figures, 71,100 not 32,100.
2. A large number of police forces are recording anti-terrorist stop and searches under the section 60 of the Criminal Justice and Public Order Act 1994 instead of section 44.1 and 44.2 of the Terrorism Act 2000 thus disguising the real extent of stop and searches under anti-terrorist provisions.
3. The percentage of arrests resulting from stop and searches under the Terrorism Act 2000 was only 1.18% which compares unfavourably with 13% for stop and searches under the Police and Criminal Evidence Act 1984 (895,300 people were stop and searched of whom 114,300 were arrested in 2002/03).
4. The Home Office admits that that for those arrested as a result of these stop and search:
"the majority of which were not in connection with terrorism".
5. Nearly 70,000 people were stop and searched who had committed no offence whatsoever.
6. The low arrest rate and the large number of people stopped and searched suggests that these powers are being widely and arbitrarily used to little effect.
Tony Bunyan, Statewatch editor, comments:
"The consequences of these extraordinary figures needs
to be spelt out. They will lead to a deterioration of police
community relations within the Muslim community and a decline
in key intelligence. There is ample historical evidence that
indiscriminate searches may encourage more young men to become
involved in their cause. The lessons from 30 years of conflict
in Ireland have still to be learnt."
Searches of pedestrians, vehicles and occupants under
sections 44(1) and 44(2) of the Terrorism Act 2000[1]
and resultant arrests - England and Wales
3. The number of those arrested in 2002/3, 380, was 1.18% of those stopped and searched.
4. As the Home Office admits "the majority" of arrests had no connection with terrorism - nor are any figures given for the number of those arrested who are subsequently charged with an offence or those charged who are acquitted.
5. Overall 31,720 searches were carried out where people were innocent of any offence.
6. The Note in the Home Office Statistical report says:
"The table above shows the number
of stops and searches in order to prevent acts of terrorism from
1995 (from 1 April) to 2002/03 together with the number of arrests
resulting, the majority of which were not in connection with
terrorism. In 2002/03 there were 32,100 searches, 21,900
more than in 2001/02 and the highest number recorded since 1996/97.
The Metropolitan and City of London police areas saw an increase
of 19,400 and 1,100 stop and searches respectively. The increase
in the Greater London area was due to an increase in general
security throughout the year following September 11 (2001)...
Twenty-one forces carried out stop and searches to prevent acts
of terrorism in 2002/03." (emphasis added)
7. Only 21 police forces, out of a total of 43 in
England and Wales, used powers under the Terrorism Act 2000 to
stop and search vehicles and pedestrians. The largest number
of stops and searches of pedestrians and vehicles and resultant
arrests - for just eight forces (31,357 stops, 339 arrests) were:
Police force Stops
and searches Arrests
Metropolitan Police
23,441
199 (0.85%)
City of London 4,644 107
(2.3%)
Thames Valley 900 -
(0.0%)
Gloucestershire 898
3 (0.27%)
Cheshire 320
7 (2.1%)
Greater Manchester 509 12
(2.35%)
Hampshire 294
8 (2.35%)
Sussex 351
3 (0.85%)
What is strange about these figures is not that only 21 out of 43 forces used stop and search powers under the Terrorism Act 2000 but rather that those that did not resort to this power (or used it rarely) included major forces where raids are known to have occurred. For example, in Hertfordshire, Merseyside and West Midlands where the figures might have been expected to be high the Terrorism Act 2000 was only used once over the whole year.
This anomaly led us to examine other figures, those for "Searches of persons or vehicles under Section 60 of the Criminal Justice and Public Order Act 1994" under which stop and search powers are available where there is an "anticipation of violence" and where there seemed to be a very large unexplained rise between the year 2000/01 (ending in March 2001) and the latest figures for 2002/03.
Searches of persons or vehicles under section
60 of the Criminal Justice and Public Order Act 1994 and resultant
arrests - England and Wales
A comparison for a selected number of police forces between their use of this power in the years 2000/01 and 2002/03 is illuminating:
[NB: the use by the London Metropolitan Police
of this power rose from 2,813 to 8,606]
From these figures it can be reasonably concluded that
some police forces are recording "anti-terrorist" stops
and searches of pedestrians and vehicles using the 1994 Act rather
that the Terrorism Act 2000.
Taking the year 2000/01 as the pre-11 September base it would appear that some 39,000 stops and searches under the 1994 Act are attributable to anti-terrorism - a figure which is well in excess of the officially recorded use of the Terrorism Act 2000 which is 32,100.
What are the real figures for anti-terrorism stop and searches?
Searches of pedestrians, vehicles and occupants under sections
44(1) and 44(2) of the Terrorism Act 2000 and
Section 60 of the Criminal Justice and Public Order Act 1994
and resultant arrests for England and Wales (April
2002-March 2003)
Note: A rough arrest figure under the CJPO
Act 1994 could be arrived at by deducting the 2000/01 figures
from the 2002/03 ones which would give 2,103 arrests - the great
majority of which would have nothing to do with terrorism.
1. The true figure for the number of stop and searches for 2002/03 for anti-terrorist purposes was more than doubled the official figures, 71,100 not 32,100.
2. The percentage of arrests resulting from stop and searches under the Terrorism Act 2000 was only 1.18% which compares unfavourably with 13% for stop and searches under the Police and Criminal Evidence Act 1984 (895,300 people were stop and searched of whom 114,300 were arrested).
3. Nearly 70,000 people were stopped and searched who had committed no offence.
4. The low arrest rate and the large number of people stopped and searched suggests that these powers are being widely used to little effect.
5. The numbers being stopped and searched now exceeds the previous high point in 1996 and 1997 which preceded the "Good Friday agreement" in Northern Ireland in 1998.
Source: Arrests for Notifiable Offences and the Operation of Certain Police Powers under PACE England and Wales, 2002/03, 12.12.03 (pdf)
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