The Question of Who Gets Stop-searched by the Police has Dominated Essay

The Question of Who Gets Stop-searched by the Police has Dominated Debate - Essay Example Within these ‘sensitive’ zones, the senior police officials were given the power to search any individual even without grounds for reasonable suspicion and seize materials allegedly used for terrorism, whether or not there are any actual grounds for believing that the materials were actually present, or used for terror acts. The law enforcement agencies are also under no obligations to justify their search action and the Police Community Support Officers (PCSOs) are vested with this special power, when there is a uniformed police officer accompanying them. The stop and search powers were supported by House of Lords in R (Gillan) v Commissioner of Police for the Metropolis in 2006.1 Due to high instances of racial profiling in the process of stop and search, UK police have faced widespread criticisms for their methods used, with rising concerns amongst human rights activists and political circles on â€Å"racial profiling† leading to demands and proposal to restrai n UK police from conducting the stop or search with racial bias. Various levels of scholarly, policy and legal, analyses have been conducted, with focus on stop and search and its application and distribution across varying social groups (different ethnic, religious and racial minorities).2 In the studies related to stop and search, the leading question that has taken the limelight is who gets searched, but the more important questions that have been often been neglected concern how people get stop-searched, and whether stop-search does more harm than good. This article will explore the impacts of stop and search and the methods used, and study to see whether it is a more important aspect in this entire issue, than focusing only on who is stopped and searched. Discussion The power to Stop and search The power to stop and search in section 44 under UK Terrorism Act 2000 allows any uniformed police officer to stop any individual (a pedestrian) or a vehicle located within the ‘se nsitive zones.’ Section 44 has resulted due to various extensions to UK Prevention of Terrorism (Temporary Provisions) Act 1989 made applicable through the Criminal Justice and Public Order Act 1994 and the UK Prevention of Terrorism Act 1996. UK parliament implemented the measures were implemented by the UK parliament as responses to the bombings in London by the Irish Republican Army in 1992, 1993 and 1996 (in Docklands). The UK government contended that the newly established powers provided a chance to repress the terror acts and protect the citizens. The Section 44 of the UK Terrorism Act 2000 now states: 1. An authorisation under this subsection authorises any constable in uniform to stop a vehicle in an area or at a place specified in the authorisation and to search — (a) The vehicle; (b) The driver of the vehicle; (c) A passenger in the vehicle; (d) anything in or on the vehicle or carried by the driver or a passenger. 2. An authorisation under this subsection a uthorises any constable in uniform to stop a pedestrian in an area or at a place specified in the authorisation and to search — (a) the pedestrian; (b) anything carried by him. 3. An authorisation under subsection (1) or (2) may be given only if the person giving it considers it expedient for the prevention of acts of terrorism. 4. An