News in 2006

06th March 2006

Police street-stop rule 'faces axe'

Strict anti-racism rules for when police accost suspects in the street could be dropped because they are taking up too much time, it has emerged.

Officers are currently obliged to provide everyone stopped with an on-the-spot written record stating why they were targeted.

The measure, a recommendation of the 1999 Macpherson Report which accused police of "institutional racism", was intended to reassure minorities, who are far more likely to be stopped than white people.

Its introduction 17 months ago was widely welcomed by equal rights campaigners, who said it would make the police more "accountable".

However, the Home Office confirmed that the rules were being reviewed after several forces raised concerns about the extra workload created.

The Metropolitan Police alone conducts 30,000 stop-and-searches or stop-and-accounts every month.

A recent report by its Anti-Bureaucracy Taskforce estimated the cost of filling out the forms at £720,000 annually, with front line officers' time being diverted from other duties.

The report, delivered to the Metropolitan Police Authority last month, said ministers were looking at ways of reducing the burden "as a result of concerns from the Metropolitan Police Service and other forces".

Posting or emailing the forms, and using digital pens and voice activated technology to speed up the process were said to be among the possible changes.

A spokesman for the Home Office said that a "research report" was being prepared into the issue. He said: "It's not a routine report. This is looking at the processes, and possibly the costings." The findings are due to be published at the end of the month, the spokesman added.

Source: IC Scotland