Met chief halts ‘blanket’ use of stop and search
Scotland Yard is to scale down its use of a highly contentious stop-and-search power.
The Met will halt its use of the Section 44 orders as a "blanket" weapon in the fight against terrorism.
The move was ordered by Commissioner Sir Paul Stephenson after consultation with groups including the Muslim Safety Forum and Liberty.
The power, which was introduced in the Terrorism Act 2000, allows officers to stop and search without reasonable suspicion. It has been in force across London since the 7/7 bombings.
Anti-terrorism chiefs ordered an escalation of its use after the attempted bombing of the Tiger Tiger nightclub in Haymarket in June 2007. But government figures released last week showed minority communities were disproportionately targeted.
The number of black people stopped under the power rose by 322 per cent, compared with a rise of 277 per cent for Asians and 185 per cent for white people. Police will keep the power in force around "iconic" terrorism targets such as Buckingham Palace and Downing Street, but officers will have to rely on other powers if they are to stop and search suspects elsewhere.
Details of new tactics, to be implemented across London this summer, were being outlined by anti-terrorism chief Assistant Commissioner John Yates to the Metropolitan Police Authority today.
A pilot scheme has started in Southwark, Brent, Newham and Tower Hamlets — the four boroughs where the power has been most contentious.
Sir Paul said: "We might need to be a little more discerning about how we use it. Recently we've been using it as a blanket power. We should be more targeted about it, but I certainly do not want to lose that power."
In a document to the MPA Mr Yates admits the power has damaged community relations and reversed the "fundamental principle" that people should only be stopped when there is reasonable suspicion.
Mr Yates said in future there is no reason why officers cannot use Section 43 of the Terrorism Act which allows officers to intervene if they have reasonable suspicion.
Under the new plans Scotland Yard will reserve the right to use the power in special circumstances to "prevent and deter". It could be used at major train stations and places where people gather in large numbers. Critics of the Section 44 power say that it has little effect in combating terrorism. Police argue that it is effective in disrupting terrorist plots.
Since October 2007, the Met has conducted 154,293 Section 44 stop and searches. Lord Carlile, the anti-terrorism watchdog, has criticised the police for misusing the tactic. Civil rights group Liberty said only six in every 10,000 stops resulted in arrests.
