Police stop-and-search forms cut

[Mudskipper]

https://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/8257961.stm

[bEN_]

Glad i'm not black.
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[Hetzer]

'Steps to Creating a Police State 101'
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"There's the horizon! Ride hard, ride fast and cut down all who stand in your way!"

[stinkwheel]

As long as they still have to fill you out a chitty.

A lot of the time they don't have them.

I was in a pub in York when the rozzers came in mob-handed (7 or 8 of them) with a sniffer dog.

It didn't like the look of me (amongst several others) and I was told to "Come through here while we search you.". I told him he had the right to search me but there was no way I was going through into the back room while he did it on account of how I didn't trust them not to plant something on me.

He wasn't happy with this so I told him that I'm not refusing to submit to a search but you have to do it here in front of everyone. If you insist on doing it in the back room, you'll find me a lot less cooperative.

He opted for the easy option.

When he'd finished I demanded my chitty. "What?".

(Loudly, so everyone else in the pub could hear)"You have the legal right to perform a stop and search, I have the legal right to insist you fill out a chitty recording that it took place."

"But I don't have any on me."

"Well you'd better get some sent over then, there seem to be a few people here that want them.".

They landed up getting some sent over in a car which took 15 minutes. By this time I'd made enough noise about how I might be being racially descriminated against if the search wasn't properly recorded that everyone else who'd been searched wanted one too. Took them fucking ages.
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“Rule one: Always stick around for one more drink. That's when things happen. That's when you find out everything you want to know.”
I did the 2010 Round Britain Rally on my 350 Bullet. 89 landmarks, 3 months, 9,500 miles.

[pa_broon74]

I was at a Mark Thomas show during the festival (ironically held at Lothian & Border Police's Social club in Edinburgh.)

They were handing out Police stop and search cards at the end. Basically, it informs the policeman that if they insist on wasting your time, you'll do the same back by issuing a complaint with the relevant chief constable. As these are investigated by fellow police officers so no redress would be likely, you then pledge to pursue the complaint with the Police Complaints Commissioner (in Scotland) and to issue civil proceedings etc etc etc...

That said, I don't think stop and searches are the bone of contention north of the border as they are down London way. I think if you want some of these cards, you can get them from his website. (Different versions to suit English/Scottish law.)


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Didn't catch anything.

[Fnatic]

Been stopped and searched twice now due to this stupid law. One of the times they said we were in a high priority terroris threat area or some bull shit. Took all our names down. Didn't search us but just wasted our time.

[stinkwheel]

I've been considering what I'll do if I'm ever stopped by a copper for no good reason again.

I believe I'm legally required to tell them who I am and where I live and to provide some means of proving my identity if asked.

I don't think I have to tell them anything else unless I want to?

This being the case, my inclination is to give my name, address and some photo ID but ONLY if they directly ask for it.

Impertinant questions like "Where are you going?" and "what are you doing?" will be ignored.

Did I ever tell you about the time I was on my way to a fancy dress party (dressed as a character from Full Metal Jacket, films theme) when a copper walked up and threatned to arrest me for being in posession of a toy plastic machine gun, 8" long with an orange plastic barrell?

I carefully looked at the people I was walking down the road with (Wonderwoman, Spiderman, Scooby Doo and the Emperor from Star Wars) and asked him what he was going to say in court when my lawyer asks him who I was with and what they were wearing.

He thought better of it.
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“Rule one: Always stick around for one more drink. That's when things happen. That's when you find out everything you want to know.”
I did the 2010 Round Britain Rally on my 350 Bullet. 89 landmarks, 3 months, 9,500 miles.

[pa_broon74]

Then of course...

There was the Aberdeen stripper who was charged with impersonating a Policeman outside the club where he was due to perform.

Apparently two plain clothes WPC's saw him and asked if he needed help, he told them who and what he was, they watched the show then arrested him for impersonating a police officer and carrying an offensive weapon.

I believe it was all eventually thrown it out of court.


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Didn't catch anything.

[stinkwheel]

[Ste]

Impersonating a police officer is an arrestable offence, therefore the police should go and arrest all those PCSOs.

[Ste]

[Phoenix]

Similar thing happened with a guy who owns or owned an ex Thams Valley police car, all the markings were still on it except the 'Police' lettering and the lights were removed. All completely legal, no laws saying you can't have battenberg on your car or blue light casings with no lights inside them. But what constitutes impersonating a police officer is open to interpretation as the intent could be there to mislead people.

[Mister James]

[Mister James]

[Mudskipper]

So looking at the form you posted Mr James, the ticking of two boxes and a couple of lines recording the grounds for the search is going to be making 'a massive saving in red tape/cutting beaurocracy/stopping wasting our fine officers time' (as is shoved down our throats in the article - read it through noting all these mentions).

I just don't buy it. Either there are more sinister reasonings, or someone required a media story showing how commited to 'cutting red tape and saving bobby's time so they can be on the beat telling lost tourists the time and reassuring the public' our leaders are...
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"You're clumsy, you eat too much and you behave like a 12 year old boy. But you know what? Every once in a while, you find a thumb."

[Mister James]

Mudskipper - yup, that's my point. As I said, the whole thing simply seems to be a PR exercise; probably one aimed at the police themselves, as they've been consistently shafted by the current government. The irony is of course that the police are the ones who best understand what a sham of a 'saving' this new procedure is.

It won't alter the public's experience of Stop/Search one iota (positively or negatively), and it won't make the copper on the street's life any easier either. If anything, the news coverage has been generally negative, so I suspect the whole affair has been yet another massive own goal from New Labour.

I don't know why they're still called New Labour, they seem to have been around forever!

[stinkwheel]

[Mister James]

Key word being SHOULD.

No legal obligation to give it there and then.

That said, no reason/excuse not to carry a 5090 pad on patrol - the 'operational demands' get-out clause is not designed to cover for laziness, but genuinely impractical situations.

[pa_broon74]

[yuri2085]

The reference to the form as a 'chitty' confuses me as every result on google for 'chitty' or 'chitty stop and search' is either about this thread or chitty chitty bang bang.