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UK: Random stop and search

01 January 1993

In early December 1992 random stop-and-search of vehicles came back to city streets. In London, Operation Rolling Rock saw task forces of 45 armed men with sniffer dogs stopping vehicles, which were searched by men in body armour. The road blocks were taken up in Manchester a few days later. Their trigger was the IRA bombing campaign in the run-up to Christmas, and their apparent aim to detect and deter bombers. But it was reported that in the weekend of 5/6 December, when 83 vehicles were stopped in east London three arrests had been made for possession of cannabis. Liberty's John Wadham expressed concern that the stops appeared unlawful, and would be bound to lead to increased harassment of Irish and black communities.

Under PACE, there must be reasonable suspicion of stolen or prohibited goods to justify a search of a vehicle, and Scotland Yard have been lobbying the Home Office for months for the power to stop and search at random. But, despite the early evidence that such stops are being misused and could lead to scenes not witnessed since the early 1980s in Britain, there seems to be little concern that the police might be breaking the law; they themselves deny that the stops are random, and the Home Office says there are no plans for legislation to give the police random stop powers (Observer 6.12.92 Guardian 7 8.12.92).