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Stop-and-search powers and political harassment
• AS Councillor Abdul Hai rightly says, anti-terror powers have become “a way of police stopping people without a legitimate explanation” (Terror searches ‘more targeted’, August 27).
Under section 44 of the Terrorism Act, police can impose stop-and-search without any grounds for suspicion about a specific individual.
Refusal to co-operate becomes a “terrorist” crime. This power is often used to carry out racist or political harassment, as well as to demonstrate the supposed need for such arbitrary powers, that is for government-driven propaganda.
This illegitimate basis will continue, even if searches become “more targeted”, as Camden police have indicated.
Meanwhile the ordinary criminal law authorises stop-and-search if police have reasonable grounds for suspicion about an individual. But this power is inadequate for the political purposes of anti-terror laws. How can we stop state terror searches?
LES LEVIDOW
Campaign Against Criminalising Communities www.campacc.org.uk
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