Anti terrorism legislation and its impact on community relations - MPA to give evidence to Home Affairs Committee

51/04
7 July 2004

The Metropolitan Police Authority’s former member Sir John Quinton will give evidence to the Home Affairs Committee on the use of police powers under terrorism legislation on Thursday 8 July 2004.

The evidence will relate specifically to Section 44 of the Terrorism Act 2000, the power to stop and search suspects, and the resulting impact on community relations.

Sir John Quinton will discuss the MPA Stop and Search Scrutiny Report, published on 20 May 2004, which contains far-reaching recommendations about the use of stop and search by the Metropolitan Police Service (MPS). The MPA views the fight against terrorism as one of the top policing priorities for the MPS and the scrutiny panel heard that stop and search is being used extensively as part of the MPS anti- terrorism strategy.

One of the areas examined was stop and search under section 44 of the Terrorism Act 2000. Community witnesses, specifically from the Muslim community, gave evidence about the negative impact of current practice, which has increased the level of distrust in the police. This has the potential to cut off valuable sources of community information and intelligence, exacerbate community divisions and weaken social cohesion. Sir John will argue that establishing a civic voluntary sector capable of engaging in constructive partnerships with the police is a critical ingredient of a reassurance strategy and in disrupting and deterring terrorism.

The MPA made 55 recommendations in all about the use of stop and search, including that section 44 should be used in a proper and targeted fashion and be more closely monitored. The Commissioner Sir John Stevens has endorsed all the recommendations relevant to the MPS and has established a Gold group to ensure their implementation.

The MPA also recommended to the Home Secretary that, as in the intent of Recommendation 61 of the Stephen Lawrence Inquiry Report, those searches under Section 44 should also be recorded and that this data be broken down into ethnicity and placed in the public domain. They also recommended that clarification is provided on the right to complain if individuals have been mistreated under all statutory provisions, including Section 44, and that information is placed in the public domain.

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