Under the Police and Criminal Evidence Act 1994 (often referred to as "PACE") stop and search can legally only be carried out where there is "reasonable suspicion." This is defined as below :
The Home Office Stop and Search Manual 1.11 For most stop and search powers a police officer must have reasonable grounds for suspicion. Paragraphs 2.2–2.11 of PACE code A define ‘reasonable suspicion’.The key points are:
> it must have an objective basis in fact, information and/or intelligence;
> it should normally be linked to accurate and current intelligence or information;
> it can be based on some level of generalisation stemming from the behaviour of a person in a particular situation;
> it can be based on a distinctive item of clothing or other means of indicating membership of a group or gang, combined with reliable information or intelligence on the carrying of weapons or controlled drugs.
Code A also states that:
> Reasonable suspicion cannot be justified or supported by personal factors alone, or by generalisations or stereotypical images.
> The effective use of ‘reasonable suspicion’ is likely to be based on a range of factors. (This helps prevent abuses of power and increases public confidence.)
> Race equality duty makes it unlawful for police officers to discriminate on the grounds of race, colour, ethnic origin, nationality or national origins when using their powers. The stop and search powers must be used fairly,
responsibly, with respect for the people being searched and without unlawful discrimination.
1.12 It is vital that officers understand what constitutes reasonable suspicion, and know how to apply this in practice. Officers should also understand that they must not search anyone, even with their permission, where no power to search exists.
1.13 Only under very specific circumstances are the police granted powers to stop and search without reasonable suspicion. Section 60 of the Criminal Justice and Public Order Act 1994 and section 44 of the Terrorism Act 2000
allow officers to use stop and search where there is a threat of public disorder or to prevent acts of terrorism, respectively. In both cases the powers have to be authorised before use.
The fact that it was only football supporters who were stopped and searched, whilst other passengers travelling on the same trains were not stopped makes it makes it clear that this search yesterday was based on "generalisations and stereotypes" of football supporters. The fact that all football supporters, not just Reading supporters, were stopped shows that there was no evidence on which these searches could have been based. The fact that searching travelling supporters was justified by officers with the rationale that "Leeds are playing at Millwall today" further demonstrates the randomness of this - if the Police had specific intelligence they would have targeted specific parties involved, instead of ALL football supporters.
I am convinced this was purely a "fishing trip" - with Police targeting football supporters to see what they could find. Anyone who knows anything about football supporters (and you'd like to think that would include the police) will know that anyone likely to cause trouble or carry a weapon to a match will not be travelling "in colours". Above all, searches like this are pointless - it would be extremely easy for anyone to purchase a knife at any hardware store between Paddington and their destination.
Knife crime is a problem, but I would suggest that it is a problem for the whole of society, and football fans are no less likely or more likely to carry weapons than any pother section of the public. So why were only obvious football supporters targeted yesterday?
I, for one, am completely and utterly fed up with us being discriminated against just because we choose to spend our leisure time watching football. It is absolutely outrageous and we should not have to stand for this sort of treatment. I will be putting in an official complaint to Thames Valley Police tomorrow on behalf of supporters - I firmly believe that they have no justification in law for these searches.
I've also posted another thread giving advice for any supporters who are stopped and searched.
