28 March 2012
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UK
Anti-terrorist stop & searches target Muslim communities,
but few arrests
This analysis was first published
in Statewatch bulletin, vol 13 no 6, November- December 2003
A study by Statewatch of the figures produced by the Home Office
in December 2003 shows 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 [note:1] and resultant
arrests - England and Wales
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)
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
Year Searches
Weapons found Arrest/weapons Arrest/for other
reasons
1995 (from 10.4.95) 2,380
205
58
109
1996 7,020
187
32
371
1996/97 7,970
177
129
392
1997/98 7,970
377
103
332
1998/99 5,500
213
91
84
1999/00
6,840 59
36
195
2000/01 11,330
357
309
411
2001/02 18,900
1,367
203
485
2002/03 50,820
2,193
43
2,823
There has been a clear and dramatic rise in the use of this power
to stop and search under the 1994 Act since April 2001.
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:
Number of searches carried out under the 1994 & 2000 Acts
Searches 1994
Act: 00/01 1994: 02/03
2000 Act
West Midlands 4,718
19,036
36
Greater Manchester 1,910 7,878
509
Hertfordshire 137
6,424
-
Lancashire 74
1,573
155
Merseyside 178
1,320
-
Wiltshire 10
1,211
-
South Yorkshire
- 899
105
[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?
On the basis of the above figures it is possible to estimate
the true number of stop and searches carried out as part of the
"war on terrorism" for the year 2002/03. Overall it
can be concluded that:
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 stopped 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.
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)
Year Total
searches Resultant arrests
Terrorism Act 32,100
380
CJPO Act 39,000
-
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.
Source: Arrests for Notifiable Offences and the Operation
of Certain Police Powers under PACE England and Wales, 2002/03,
12.12.03.
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