ECHR rules s44 Terrorism Act stop and search illegal!

In a case with serious implications for the use of the Terrorism Act 2000, the European Court of Human Rights in Strasbourg has ruled in the case of Gillan and Quinton v UK that the use of stop and search powers under s44 Terrorism Act 2000 is illegal.

The rumour is that the Metropolitan Police have been told to suspend the use of such searches pending further guidance from the government, which may have to amend or repeal the existing law.

The judgment referred to the lack of controls over how the powers are used, that no reasonable suspicion is required, and statistics showing that the power is disproportionately used against black and asian males. Also, since the Act was introduced, the total of searches recorded by the Ministry of Justice went from 33,177 to 117,278.

A serious blow for government policy on terrorism. Guardian article here.

Police "arresting people just to get their DNA"?

Sound unlikely? Well, it's one of the conclusions drawn by the independent Human Genetics
Commission as part of their report into the DNA Database entitled "Nothing to Hide, Nothing to Fear?".

The report suggests that, according to one former senior police officer, arrests are now made for every possible offence with one goal of this being to record as many people's DNA as possible.

The report is a very critical one and suggests that Parliament should decide as to the role of the database, and particularly on the issue of keeping innocent people's DNA.

The Times illustrates the potential absurdity of this by highlighting the case of Tesfaye Smith (below) who had a DNA sample taken after a friend's father accused him of stealing Pokemon cards when Tesfaye was 12 years old.

For AS level students, a comment about the alleged overuse of the power to arrest for all offences introduced when PACE was amended by SOCPA 2005 would be a nice way to show ther examiner you have your finger on the pulse!

DNA database - victory for our rights, or foolish lefty hand-wringing?

Looks like the government have dropped plans to retain the DNA data
of innocent people on their database for between 6 and 12 years.

This follows a European Court of Human Rights ruling that keeping such data indefinitely was unlawful in the case of S and Marper v UK (2008).

Current developments are an interesting insight into the passage of a bill through parliament (which we will look at next year as part of Sources of Law) as the government is having to make concessions to its opponents in order to get the majority of the Policing and Crime Bill past Parliament.

Do you think that such data should be kept on people or not, and why? Are we striking the right balance between police powers and civil liberties?

Comments please...

New powers for the police to hack into your PC!

Interesting article in the Independent here. Needs authorisation from a Chief Constable. No need for a warrant though!

Another step on the road to a police state or a proportionate response to cybercrime? Read The Times on the same story here for a bit more depth.

Dominic Grieve of the Conservative party sees this as a potential threat to privacy - what do you think?

Search under warrant

Good video here from the Home Office showing an example of a drugs raid carried out under warrant:

Police powers self-test!

Have a go at this great exercise on police powers from St Joseph's school on Tyneside - great for revising detention of suspects at the police station...

42 days - ace speech by Diane Abbott

(If video does not display click here for a transcript).

Is she right? Let me know what you think - make a comment!

Is the law tough enough as it is? The government and some tories think not!

For more on the government's (now doomed?) proposals and an analysis of the position in other countries have a read of this and this...

Powers of Arrest

For information about Powers of Arrest have a look here or for more detail here.

The five powers you need to know for the exam are

• Section 24 of PACE (as amended by SOCPA 2005);


• S24A PACE (Citizen's arrest);


• Arrest for Breach of the Peace;


• Arrest under s46A of PACE (1984) for breach of bail conditions; and


• Arrest under warrant - s1 of the Magistrates' Courts Act (1980)

The various Codes of Practice under PACE are here. Have a look at Code G on arrest.

Thinking point: Have a read of the Daily Mirror article here. Do the police's powers of arrest under PACE now go too far?

For wider commentary on the increase in the power of the state over the individual, read this article by Henry Porter. Is he right?

Stop and Search... know your rights!

For a good overview of your rights if the police want to stop and search you, have a look at Liberty's guide here.

The Home Office also have guidance on it here, or have a look at the West Midlands Police's guidance here.

It's also worth reading an excellent guide published by the Home Office called "Stop and Search Explained - how police powers work in the community". And have a look at this video for a variety of views on using stop and search!

Also, have a look at Code A which governs stop and search under PACE 1984 here.

It's interesting to note that despite the extensive powers available to the police under s60 of the Criminal Justice Act 2003, the government want to extend police powers to stop and search without a reason still further for 24 hour periods where they believe serious crime is being committed.

Is this a step too far? Have a look at the above article. Do you share David Cameron's confidence that it will not damage community relations? AS students - your views please! Make a comment below.