Safeguards needed for random stop-and-search powers, committee says

MPs and peers say more tightly-drawn anti-terrorism measures introduced in March need controls to prevent human rights breaches Peers and MPs have warned the home secretary, Theresa May, that extra safeguards for new random counter-terror stop-and-search powers are needed in order to prevent further human rights breaches. The more tightly-drawn powers were introduced in March after the European court of human rights ruled that the original measures – known as section 44 – were illegal because they were too broad and lacked adequate safeguards against being abused. Those powers, under section 44 of the Terrorism Act 2000, allowed police to stop and search anyone in a designated area without having to show reasonable suspicion. Their use peaked in 2009 when they were deployed on more than 148,000 occasions, and they were regarded as key element of the counter-terrorism campaign. The new powers – introduced through an urgent remedial order in parliament to replace section 44 – are far tighter. They also allow police to stop and search people without suspicion, but can only be declared where a senior officer suspects an act of terrorism will take place. Authorisations have to be confirmed by the home secretary within 48 hours, and cannot last longer than 14 days. A report published by the parliamentary joint human rights committee on Wednesday welcomed the tighter definition, but said the remedial order, in its current form, did not go far enough. The peers and MPs said the authorising police officer must be required to explain why he or she believes there is an immediate threat of a terrorist incident. They also recommended that use of the powers should not be extended beyond 14 days without new information or a fresh assessment of the original intelligence that the threat was immediate and credible. And they said they would also prefer it if police got a judge to authorise the use of the power before they mount a counter-terror stop-and-search operation. The MP Hywel Francis, the chairman of the joint human rights committee, said: “We must ensure that the power to stop and search without reasonable suspicion does not breach the right to privacy in the same way as its predecessor. “We welcome the restrictions placed on the power by the government, but we believe it needs to be more tightly circumscribed, and it needs tougher legal safeguards if further breaches of human rights are to be avoided. “We also think the government should provide more information about why this power needs to be introduced so urgently, so that the issue can be given proper parliamentary scrutiny.” Terrorism policy House of Commons House of Lords Theresa May UK security and terrorism Human rights Alan Travis guardian.co.uk

Posted by on June 15, 2011. Filed under News, Politics, World News. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. You can skip to the end and leave a response. Pinging is currently not allowed.