A critical review of “stop and search” by police as contained in Section 60 of the Criminal Justice and Public Order Act 1994
Police are expected to protect the civilians from harm through the use of the power given to them by the government when they are attending their duty of Stop and search. The activity raised riots in August 2011 in Brixton because the police treated citizens in an uncivilized way. The main objective of this activity is to make sure the criminals are arrested before they commit the intended crime.
The government gives police the powers to search people in a place within a given period if they suspect the safety of people and their properties are threatened. But most the searches are not successful since the way the police misuse the power they are given, and this creates the differences between the public and the constable. Police practice the stop and search activities unfairly since they stop some group for a search and leave the other group; this is led to discrimination. Search is done to people alleged to be carrying an offensive weapon or dangerous object intending to commit crimes. The searching is helpful since it helps in securing members of the community from violence and it and also the destruction of properties (Costigan and Stone, 34). This essay will provide a critical review of police powers when it comes to searching for people.
Section 60 explicitly states that a senior member of the Association of Chief Police Officers (ACPO) can initiate a stop and search operation. The authorizing officer needs to have reasonable grounds before undertaking the processes (Miller, 964). If a search is done, the planned criminal activity will be disrupted by police officers. The stop and search powers contained in section 60 of the Act emanates from changes made on section 44 of the Terrorism Act that had been declared unlawful by the European Court of Human Rights (Michael,45). For example, in Gillan and Quinton v UK, the court ruled that section 44 had failed to safeguard human private life and abuse. Since this section 44 can only be implemented on vehicle seizures.
The Stop and search section is reasonably credible because its execution is discharged within a restricted geographical context. The Stop and search Act was improved to focus on a particular suspected region rather than random unsuspected areas previously executed under section 44. The stop and search provision under section 60 enhances precision under senior police authorization to contain crime. A suspected crime scene can be provided by metropolitan police hence preventing further destruction or disruption of a planned crime. Don't use plagiarised sources.Get your custom essay just from $11/page
Once authorized to initiate a “Stop and Search” operation, police officers can effectively restore law and order in the community. Senior police officials also engage with members of the community to gather intelligence allowing officers to implement strategies best suited for a given area. According to Stop and search in England (2010), a radical study reveals that 13,175 stop and search operations have been conducted in the 2018/19 fiscal year in England and wales. The Act has received criticism particularly section 60 for authorization protocol. Some metropolitan police officers in wales and England feel that the chain search is too chain long; hence crimes can be initiated while awaiting approval from senior officers. Police officers cannot start the procedure unless they get authority from senior police constable or their deputy otherwise, it would be a contravention of the law. Awaiting the approval can create room for crime to be executed; hence some officers feel that more reviews and regulation are required to be made on the law. An amendment authorizing police officers to initiate “stop and search” for reasonably impending crime plan by specific individuals in a restricted area would be highly effective.
Fundamental research revealed that the ‘Stop and Search’ provision under section 60 was discriminately being executed. Statistics showed that blacks and Asians within the England and Welsh territory were likely to be stopped and be searched than other minority groups. Metropolitan police have not justified the disproportionate execution of ‘Stop and search’ provision over the years. The “Stop and search’’ provision continues to receive critic just like section 44 of the terrorism Act for discriminative execution. Groups advocating for human rights reiterate that police need to exercise their warrants and search lawfully and fairly across all members of society irrespective of their skin colour, origin and race. The Act is apparent on reasonable crime and tools that could aid criminal activity, susceptible location, and searching in a reasonable duration.
In 2011, riots were observed in England for excessive use of ‘Stop and search’ rights bestowed on the police by the 1994 Act. The public outcry depicts habits by police officers who exert more pressure on members of the public while exercising the stop and search directives. For example, many community members in London believe that the police generally have a pre-determined stereotype of certain ethnic minorities. According to Stopwatch, an organization to bring fairer practices to policing in the UK, many Londoners account this as standard misuse of police power (Qureshi, 466). Excessive force has led to a negative public attitude towards the police in England and Wales, and communities are insisting on the need of police officers to be fair while engaging the public by rationally enforcing search authority.
The London riots of 2011 portrayed the public frustrations and anger on discriminative police dispensation of the Stop and searched rights (The Observer, 60). Grievances relating to inequality on police service was a significant cause of the riots. Had the police been professionally fair in dispensing their services, such destructions and injuries would never have happened. People were also injured during the search by police personnel while executing search orders. The provisions of the Act, particularly section 60, was violated substantially.
Despite the good intentions listed under section 60 of the Act, metropolitan police in England and wales have occasionally been criticized for their execution of “stop and search” provision. The aspects of delayed ‘Stop and Search’ implementation due to senior police authorization could have been avoided through an amendment to section 60 of justice and public order Act. The permission does not need to come from the constable because such protocols seem to consume time hence the inability to arrest the condition on time. If the Act could be amended to allow any metropolitan police officer to authorize and initiate a stop and search operation, lethargic response to crime scenes would be eliminated (Qureshi, 466). Importantly, disrupting planned crimes and confiscation of deadly weapons would also be done timely hence protecting human life and property. Further amendments must be done on section 60 of the Act.
The aspect of the discriminative dispensation of Stop and search right by police officers across England and Wales could have been avoided by police officers. Through professional sensitization, senior officers ought to have mobilized metropolitan officers to reasonably exercise the Stop and search right. Targeting a specific race is quite unprofessional as it reflects disproportionate dispensation of the law. Continuous police sensitization about section 60 would avoid public outcry as police would treat all the groups equally irrespective of their race, gender or origin. Persistent police sensitization ought to be taught to stamp out all sorts of discrimination in the profession.
A large proportion of society has also criticized the use of excessive force while executing the “stop and search” by police. A good example is photographers’ protests in 2010 against police ‘ Stop and search’ excessive force (Joel Miller,954)It is essential for police professionals to humanely handle individuals while executing their right as outlined therein under section 60 of the Act.
In conclusion, section 60 of justice and public order Act was an improvement of section 44 of the terrorism Act. The ‘Stop and Search’ provision gives metropolitan police the right to search for suspicious groups or items meant to perpetrate violence. The authorization must be granted by a senior police officer, a fact that has been criticized for delayed responses. Police have been criticized for discriminating the blacks and Asians in England and wales are they are viewed targets. Amendments to section 60, coupled with police sensitization, can help eliminate these challenges.
Work cited
Arne, L., Michael. B (2015). The causes and consequences of the 2011 London riots. Pp. 34-67 [on-line]. Available from: https://blog.oup.com/2015/03/social-forces-london-riots/
Costigan, R. and Stone, R. (2017). Civil Liberties & Human Rights. 11th and. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
Qureshi, F. (2007) ‘Policing: An International Journal of Police Strategies and Management The Impact of Extended Police Stop and Search Powers under the UK Criminal Justice Act 2003’, Policing: An International Journal of Police Strategies and Management, 30(3), pp. 466–483. Available at: http://search.ebscohost.com.ezproxy.derby.ac.uk/login.aspx?direct=true&db=edshol&AN=edshol.hein.journals.polic30.44&site=eds-live (Accessed: 20 December 2019).
Joel Miller (2010) ‘STOP AND SEARCH IN ENGLAND: A Reformed Tactic or Business as Usual?’, The British Journal of Criminology, 50(5), p. 954. Available at: http://search.ebscohost.com.ezproxy.derby.ac.uk/login.aspx?direct=true&db=edsjsr&AN=edsjsr.43610810&site=eds-live (Accessed: 20 December 2019).
Qureshi, F. (2007) ‘Policing: An International Journal of Police Strategies and Management The Impact of Extended Police Stop and Search Powers under the UK Criminal Justice Act 2003’, Policing: An International Journal of Police Strategies and Management, 30(3), pp. 466–483. Available at: http://search.ebscohost.com.ezproxy.derby.ac.uk/login.aspx?direct=true&db=edshol&AN=edshol.hein.journals.polic30.44&site=eds-live (Accessed: 21 December 2019).
Stone, R., 2008 (7th Edn.) Textbook on Civil Liberties & Human Rights. Oxford: OXFORD University Press.
The Observer (London, England) (2019) ‘Police accused of abusing easier Stop and search;
Campaigners say the Met in London is frequently misusing extra powers granted by Sajid Javid’. Available at: pp45-67
http://search.ebscohost.com.ezproxy.derby.ac.uk/login.aspx?direct=true&db=edsgao&AN=edsgcl.582335660&site=eds-live (Accessed: 20 December 2019)