The Inspectorate of Constabulary has conducted an investigation into the way police have been using their stop and search powers, and have found results which are alarming if not surprising. In fact, the only finding which was unexpected was how few searches were not properly justified: just 27%. It was confirmed that black people and young folk were several times more likely to be searched: in some cases police officers harassed these groups on a habitual basis.
Nowadays police forces are generally sensitive to the risks of rash actions exacerbating divisions within society. However, there are a few individual officers and areas in which a heavy-handed and unfair approach to law enforcement prevails. In my opinion, the Metropolitan Police is one force which fails to maintain a healthy, constructive relationship with the city it serves. This isn’t a failure to modernise: it is in part a consequence of the 30+ years of authoritarian legislation that has been inflicted on our liberal democracy.
When police can stop and search people with no good reason, can cite anti-terrorism legislation to grant themselves far-reaching powers, and are instructed to conduct their duties donning formidable weaponry (which, I am told, was once unheard of in the UK) is it any wonder they are no longer the ‘servants of the public’ that glossy ’50s public information films once praised? Again, this is an urban problem. With the nightmarish erosion of civil liberties, the authorities have adopted the line that “if you’ve got nothing to hide, you’ve nothing to fear.” That is incorrect. Take stop and search: it’s an inconvenience, it’s highly intrusive and it’s a statement that the the subject of the search looks enough of a risk to be worth stopping.
In light of this, I doubt people are unjustified when viewing stop and search as something to be avoided as much as possible. And, though this Government is far from the beacon of liberty that it would claim to be (PRISM, anyone?) I welcome the upcoming public consultation on the matter. The Home Office, it would seem, is preparing to reduce the police’s powers to a balanced level. That could be a wonderful first step in the establishment of a new, productive and amicable relationship between the public and the police. We have noble officers, but it is only with fair laws that a spirit of trust can develop.
