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Campbell attacks stop-and-search | Campbell attacks stop-and-search |
(2 days later) | |
Police stop-and-search powers are overused and alienating ethnic minority communities, Lib Dem leader Sir Menzies Campbell has said. | |
The Lib Dems say nearly 167,000 people have been stopped under anti-terrorism laws, but only 40 have been convicted. | The Lib Dems say nearly 167,000 people have been stopped under anti-terrorism laws, but only 40 have been convicted. |
In a speech at a mosque in Birmingham, Sir Menzies said the powers were often used in an "indiscriminate" way. | |
Police chiefs have confirmed they are reviewing the practice, so it is based more on intelligence than appearance. | Police chiefs have confirmed they are reviewing the practice, so it is based more on intelligence than appearance. |
'Unrelenting' | |
Sir Menzies said: "It is intelligence-led policing, not indiscriminate stop-and-search, that will bring success in the fight against terrorism. | |
"The police and security services must be unrelenting in their determination to track down those who plot terror attacks. | |
"Indiscriminate stop-and-search is alienating minority groups who often feel unjustly targeted. | |
"Anti-terrorism powers are meant to be exceptional powers, used occasionally and only when circumstances demand it. | |
"The fact that so many people have been stopped, and so few arrested, suggests that the powers are being used as part of standard policing techniques." | |
In January, it was revealed the Association of Chief Police Officers was working with the Metropolitan Police to develop a more sensitive approach. | |
Commander Richard Gargini, the first full-time national coordinator for police community relations, said other forces in England and Wales were also rethinking tactics. | |
A raid in Forest Gate, east London, last year was criticised as too heavy-handed. | |
One man was shot, but both he and another man arrested at the time were not charged with any offence and were released a week later. |
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