The Liberal Democrats have announced plans to tighten the rules on stop and search, in order to ‘change community relationships and increase the public’s trust in the police’.
In their pre-manifesto, which will be released in September, the Lib-Dem Home Office Minister Norman Baker will outline changes to the current Stop and Search rules, which proposes the mandatory use of body camera by armed officers and those in section 60 stop and search areas. It seeks to ‘eradicate target driven incentives which can cause the powers to be overused by the police’
In 2013,research by The Equality and Human Rights Commission found that black people are on average 6 times more likely to be stopped and search in comparison to their white counterparts, 29 times more likely in some areas.
“The Liberal Democrats want to transform community relations and restore the public’s trust in the police,” Norman Baker said.
“Far too many innocent people are subjected to stop and search, which is often based on crude stereotyping of minorities.
“Stop and search has led to tension, and it’s something that cannot be ignored. Liberal Democrats in Government have been taking the lead, and believe more must be done in the next parliament.”
The announcement comes at a time when police have been criticised for their indiscriminate and at times unnecessary use of Stop and Search. In Scotland parents were outraged by the overuse of stop and search on children, where by 17.5% of stop and search instances were carried out on them.
