UK terror search result in few arrests
Regional-UK, Politics, 10/16/2007

The first four years of police being given special powers to stop and search terror suspects has led to fewer than 1.5 per cent arrests in the UK, according to the latest government figures.

Police officers carried out a total of no less than 111,867 stops and searches across Britain under Section 44 of the Terrorism Act 2000 since its implementation in February 2001 until March 2005.

But despite the huge number, they resulted in only 1,515 arrests, including not just for terror related offences but other serious crimes, Home Office Minister Tony McNulty revealed in a written parliamentary answer, published Tuesday.

The proportion was even lower in the area covered by London's Metropolitan Police, where there were only 684 arrests from nearly 63,000 stop and searches carried over the four year period.

The controversial powers can be used by police against anyone in an area designated as a potential terrorist target without the need to suspect a person or a crime.

Figures published last month showed that despite the very small success rate, there has been a huge increase in the number of stop and searches carried out by the Metropolitan Police.

Between April and August this year, officers carried out 32,395 stops and searches, more than the total carried out in the whole of 2006.

Previous figures have also shown that out of 22,672 stops carried out in the 12 month period between September 2005 and October 2006, only 26 led to any arrests on terrorism-related charges. It is further worth noting that many countries lump all sorts of charges and events under the label of terrorism related, when a strict definition of such acts would exclude such charges as not relevant to a strict definition of terrorism. It is further noted that government officials may be under great pressure to show terrorism events or charges as taking place in possible effort to have a reason for the large public attention and expenditures that governments like to bring to this issue.

Previous Stories:
  Money for Peace, Not War: A Plan for Immediate World Peace and Prosperity   (9/19/2007)
  Blair seeks new police powers for anti-terrorism   (5/28/2007)
  Blair weakened Britain's influence in world, poll finds   (5/21/2007)

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