Stop and search reforms denounced as ‘discriminatory’
Changes to the way police employ stop and search powers discriminate against ethnic minorities, the Equalities and Human Rights Commission (EHRC) has claimed.
The guidelines under Section 60 of the Public Order Act will give officers broad discretion to use someone’s race as a factor in deciding to initiate a search.
The proposed changes were lambasted by the EHRC, which argued in a letter quoted by the Guardian newspaper: “We consider there is a significant risk that this provision will result in race discrimination.”
Opponents insist the search powers leave the door open to racial profiling, since it leaves it up to individual officers to make a judgment, taking ethnicity into account.
The Black Police Association also joined the chorus of criticism, calling the changes “a dangerous concession to racism”.
The EHRC reportedly warned the government that the proposals risked contravening British and European law.
But a Home Office spokesman insisted: “The proposed new guidelines make clear that ethnicity may not be used as the sole basis for stopping and searching anyone under section 60. The previous guidance does not place any explicit restrictions on who may be stopped and this change is intended to protect civil liberties.”
The government has made a theme of restoring civil liberties lost under the Labour administration, though critics suggest these proposals are moving in the opposite direction – a fact campaigning group Liberty was keen to point out.
“It makes no sense to tighten up Section 44 [anti-terror] stop and search while making Section 60 more discriminatory,” said Isabella Sankey, Liberty’s policy director.
She added: “A young black man is already 26 times more likely to be stopped and searched under S[ection] 60 than his white counterparts – we urge ministers to think again.”
