Police Stop And Search Powers Restricted

Rachel Holdsworth
By Rachel Holdsworth Last edited 176 months ago
Police Stop And Search Powers Restricted

According to the Evening Standard, the Met will only be enforcing Section 44 stop and search around prominent or crowded areas of London instead of a blanket policy across the city. The police were criticised by Lord Carlile, the government anti-terror watchdog, last month for being a bit too eager to use the legislation in a way it was never intended. So now, following successful pilots in Southwark, Brent, Tower Hamlets and Newham, the Met will use a more "targeted" approach.

We can't find any detail about this change on the main Met website however, so we have no idea in which areas you can still be searched under Section 44 (but at an intelligent guess it'll be places like busy train stations, tourist hotspots, etc). The move will definitely lead to fewer stops though, and at a time when community relations are at a pretty low ebb, this can only be a good thing.

Last Updated 19 July 2009