Terror stop-and-searches by police in decline
Police undertaking less anti-terror stop-and-searches, government figures have shown
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By Darren Estwick. |  |
Thursday, 26, Nov 2009 12:21
There has been a decline in the number of anti-terror stop-and-searches carried out by police, new government figures have shown.
The searches, which can be carried out without the need for 'reasonable suspicion', fell sharply in the last quarter.
Figures from the government presented a 42 per cent drop in April to June, following an annual increase of 36 per cent to the year to March 2009.
"Whether that drop is a blip, or is part of a trend, we simply don't know," the government's chief scientific advisor, Professor Paul Wiles, said.
Section 44 of the Terrorism Act 2000 gives police the power to stop and search individuals to prevent acts of terrorism without the need for reasonable suspicion.
They are strictly controlled by senior police officers, who must activate their use on a monthly basis.
The number of terrorism arrests in 2008/09 fell to 190 compared with an annual average since 2002 of 222. Thirty-nine per cent of those arrested were charged with an offence.
This was slightly above the rate for all indictable offences, at 29 per cent, perhaps reflecting police caution about making arrests under anti-terror legislation.