Stop and Search
I was searched under Section 44/2 of the Terrorism Act 2001 today. A uniformed officer stopped me as I was walking down the steps from the train platform and recited a rehearsed and well-worn spiel about me being detained under the terrorism act and that he was under orders to search me for any articles involved in an act or the preparation for an act of terrorism. I was completely befuddled, but of course I didn’t have anything to hide.
As his colleague took down my details the officer patted me down. I lifted my arms perpendicular to my body for him to have proper access to my upper body but he said “no, don’t do that, we’re not in America here.” We got to talking a little bit, and he mentioned that they find drugs and knives on people daily. He also said that as “the right to search people had been granted by the Home Office, they had to exercise that right or it was liable to be taken away”. Essentially, he said the stop and search routine was a deterrent for anyone thinking about committing such acts. So when I was standing there during the late morning rush hour, I was part of the UK deterrence to any marginalised youth against plotting terrorist acts.
I didn’t feel embarrassed standing there, a policeman patting down my legs. Inconvenienced, yes. I definitely had mixed feelings. I mean, on the other hand I have nothing to hide, and he was only doing his job that is enshrined in the law for public protection. Who knows, maybe that Transport Police Officer didn’t care for the law personally. Thing is, there’s a fine line to walk between catching terrorism in the bud and abusing a power that essentially allows anyone, anywhere, to be detained and, increasingly, kept for long periods without official charges.
The state is for the benefit of the people. Is it becoming a Leviathan, increasingly uncontrollable by the people?
November 24th, 2007 at 19:53
Funnily the same thing happened to me on Thursday too! I was off work sick, and had gone to the newly opened St. Pancras station to take some photos with my DSLR. I’d been snapping away for about 15 minutes when I noticed a nice view of the BT tower from a window. Climbing up onto a railing that was about a foot from the ground to get a better view, I had no sooner lined up the shot than I felt a tap on the shoulder asking me what I was doing. Although I wasn’t searched I was in essence ’stopped’ and they did a person check and filled in a pink form. Apparently taking a photo out of the window deviated too much from what the legions of other photographers there were doing. Like you I had then had some thoughts of public safety vs. invasion of privacy, before going to Jessops to pick up a tripod and some other stuff.
November 25th, 2007 at 0:12
I still haven’t been to the new St. Pancras. I suppose it was pretty magnificent.
For them to take note of you taking a picture out of the window is pretty extreme though. I mean - what were you possibly doing? Lining up sniper positions or something? It really is getting out of hand in some cases.