He's not what you'd even call "tanned" and they are not supposed to be profiling based on appearance.
Stopped and Searched under Terrorism Act!
- Thread starter WillsBabe
- Start date
He's not what you'd even call "tanned" and they are not supposed to be profiling based on appearance.
^ Since they look pretty similar, I guess that explains it.
Unless you are Asian or North African, with a beard, AND carrying a rucksack, I don't see how you'd have a problem? Half the city carry rucksacks, especially students.
I used to have a North African friend, who had a light mustache and beard, and he had some really far out stories to tell about people changing carriages when they saw him with his bag...
he ought to get a "don't freak, I'm a Sikh!" badge even if he ain't.
What harm came to him? He was inconvenienced for a day. Happens all the time.
Getting shot 7 times in the head doesn't, mind.
Yeah? Well try travelling to a Western country with an Arabic name. I am East Asian Muslim (OMG! A Mooselim who likes Star Trek? Unpossible!) and it is the custom of my people to have Arabic names even though it is not required by the religion. I don't look Arabic with my East Asian features so the Customs officers in Western countries will usually look closely at my passport. I have not yet come across blatant racial profiling or discrimination at airports but I did have to go through a customs official whose face turned sour the moment he opened my passport and read my name. I now make it a point to be extra courteous to Customs official even though it has been a 10 hour flight. From my experience, doing this will usually defuse any tension. This might backfire however, if the customs guy is ultra-paranoid and thinks since I am being nice, I might be trying to hide something. After the September 11 attack, my colleague, who is also a Muslim, got machine guns pointed at him when he went to Australia for a conference but things seems to have cooled down a bit.
One minute is too much for an innocent man, especially based on such nonsensical reasons. Admiral Satie would be so proud of you, though.
Good for him that he doesn't look "Asian", then. And if you don't think Daffy Duck's been blowing shit up, you've never watched one of his cartoons ? He's blown up planets!
So spending a day in jail, having your apartment searched, property seized, your DNA sampled, and your permanent record altered is an inconvenience?
Ah dry yer eyes. My husband was arrested and kept in a cell overnight because a stupid fucking Belfast cop didn't recognise a UK driving licence when she saw one. Then he was unarrested and thrown out at 4 in the morning.
I used to use Canary Wharf everyday to get to work and as it's the banking district I'd be at risk of getting stopped all the time especially with a backpack so after 7/7 I stopped using the tube and have driven to work everyday, saves me getting stopped and it's more comfortably then the stinky boiling hot tube.
So you agree that Police incompetence is bad, then ?
It's not ideal but then again, he wasn't harmed in any way aside from his amour propre, and the same goes for your friend.
To my mind 'incompetence' is generally harmless. Shooting someone 7 times in the head cannot be classified as incompetence.
Look, if your husband didn't mind it then that's up to him. However, other people don't want to spend nights in cells, have their property searched or confiscated and they shouldn't have to based on what coat they were wearing or if they allowed a train to go past.
How many people has it stopped from getting blown up?
Sorry, that's a matter of National Security and we can't tell you that information as it would compromise our sources and methods. Just trust us, it's working.
Big if. I have yet to see any evidence that it has.
My cousin is a copper, and you'd be surprised what they can turn up by being nosy in just this way... she's told me they manage to get murderers on the run etc, just by looking into mere suspicious behavior. I for one sleep better at night knowing they are so vigilant. All well and good to wail about civil liberties as though we live in Disneyland, but fact is, we rub shoulders with scum and vermin everyday, and the more of them they pick up, the happier I am. The minute the police slipped up, these same people would be the ones calling them lax. Damned if you do, and damned if you don't!
That's one of those questions that's impossible to answer. It's like fitting a security system to your house. How many burglaries has it stopped?
My Grandfather and Great Grandfather were police officers too, don't think I don't appreciate them. It's those setting the policies they have to follow that cause most of the problems.
I wasn't complaining about it. I was just relating the incident.
I can't think of a time when I've done a 44 on a vehicle/driver/passengers, so I have to ask - was your husband driving or walking? If he was walking he's been stopped under the wrong power (which would be 44 (2)...), which wouldn't be suprising given the quality of some of the training seen in the Met.
I have complicated and LENGTHY issues with Section 44. As a rule I think it's lazy policing as it gives officers, technically, a blanket authority to stop/search ANYONE at any time with no grounds if they want (read: misused). Why find grounds for stop and searches when you have S44...
Plus there are daily quotas in London for the number of S44 stops performed...
There is relevant intelligence that S44 does deter, deviate and stop known terrorist nominals going to central transport hubs in London (possibly performing reconnaissance intel... or going to Harrods, who knows). Still... issues.
Section 44 isn't going away - it's very much a "if you don't use it we'll withdraw it" power, so senior management push officers to perform them to ensure the Home Office allows us to keep it.
As with any stop and search, as long as it is performed professionally, reasons explained (i.e. WHY S44 is around, rather than grounds), and recorded correctly then "we", the public, should find it acceptable...
I see lots of ... in my stuff there.
Yeah, I have issues.
Hugo - probably shouldn't have typed any of that
