Tag: Scotland Yard

  • Theresa May: I will change the law if police do not halt the ‘excessive and inappropriate’ use of them

    Theresa May: I will change the law if police do not halt the ‘excessive and inappropriate’ use of them

    Theresa_mayPolice condemned for using stop and search powers on 300 children aged under five

    • Nearly 300 children under the age of five stopped and searched across UK
    • Metropolitan Police stopped and frisked 184 under-fives in last five years
    • Scotland Yard said several children often stopped for being used by adults
    • Adults known to stash drugs, weapons or stolen goods on child or in pram 

    policeNearly 300 children under the age of five have been stopped and searched by police over the last five years, it has emerged.

    According to Emma Glanfield on Daily Online, Officers across the UK have been condemned for using their powers to stop and search toddlers on suspicion of a host of offences including drug or knife crime, possession of weapons and terrorism.

    Police said that in nearly all cases, officers had carried out the searches after believing the child had been an innocent party who had been used by adults to conceal drugs, weapons or stolen goods.

    Police can stop and search children under the Police and Criminal Evidence Act 1984, which states that there is no requirement for an adult to be present during the search of under-10s.

    Officers from Metropolitan Police, the largest force in Britain, exercised their powers against under-fives the most – but Scotland Yard said it was because children are ‘among the most vulnerable in society’ and needed ‘safeguarding’.

    One former Met Police officer, who worked at border control at Heathrow Airport, said he believed stop and search powers on children were used only in exceptional circumstances.

    He said that on one occasion his team had firm intelligence that a couple with a baby were trying to transport drugs into the UK. However, when nothing was found on the two adults, officers decided not to search the child for fear of being condemned.

    He told The Sunday Times: ‘Can you imagine the headlines if we had searched the baby’s nappy and found nothing?’

    In total, Met Police officers in London have stopped and searched a total of 184 children under the age of five over the last five years.

    Greater Manchester Police was found to be the next prolific at stopping and searching children, with 45 toddlers frisked.

    While nearly 300 children aged under five have been stopped and searched across the UK during the last five years, a total of 612 children under the age of 10 – below the age of criminal responsibility – have also been searched.

    Last month, Home Secretary Theresa May announced plans to change the law regarding stop and search powers if police do not halt the ‘excessive and inappropriate’ use of them.

    Home Secretary Theresa May (pictured) announced plans last month to change the law regarding stop and search powers if police do not halt using them in an ‘excessive and inappropriate’ manner

    Ms May warned officers that she wanted to see a dramatic improvement in figures, which recently revealed that only one in every 10 of the searches ends in arrest.

    Stop and search has been frequently blamed for inflaming tensions between the public and the police.

    A recent report by the police watchdog found that more than a quarter of police stop and searches were ‘unlawful’ and risked promoting ‘major disorder’.

    Her Majesty’s Chief Inspector of Constabulary said that, in 27 per cent of cases, police failed to show they had reasonable grounds to carry out the search.

    Enver Solomon, director of evidence and impact at the National Children’s Bureau, told The Sunday Times: ‘The police should review how they deal with children and ensure they are always treated as having district separate needs from adults.’

    Releasing the figures for London, Scotland Yard said the majority of searches on children were to dectect and defer adults using youngsters to conceal weapons or drugs.

    A spokesman said: ‘The stop and search of individuals under 10-years-old represented only 0.02 per cent of total MPS stop and search activity in both 2011/2012 and 2012/2013.

    ‘Children are amongst the most vulnerable members of society. It is therefore vital that the MPS considers how best to safeguard them and promote their welfare in everything we do. ‘There are occasions when young children are concerned in crime and anti-social behaviour, and it is necessary for officers to undertake searches to allay or confirm suspicions without exercising their powers of arrest.

    ‘Any young child or baby being searched will be as a result of it being suspected that they are in some way the unsuspecting and innocent assistant in a criminal act.

  • UK: Police face racism scandal after black man records abuse

    UK: Police face racism scandal after black man records abuse

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    Crown Prosecution Service reviews decision not to charge officers heard boasting of strangling 21-year-old black man

    Scotland Yard is facing a racism scandal after a black man used his mobile phone to record police officers subjecting him to a tirade of abuse in which he was told: “The problem with you is you will always be a nigger”.

    The recording, obtained by the Guardian, was made by the 21-year-old after he was stopped in his car, arrested and placed in a police van the day after last summer’s riots.

    The man, from Beckton, east London, said he was made to feel “like an animal” by police. He has also accused one officer of kneeling on his chest and strangling him.

    In the recording, a police officer can be heard admitting he strangled the man because he was “a cunt”. Moments later, another officer – identified by investigators as PC Alex MacFarlane – subjects the man to a succession of racist insults and adds: “You’ll always have black skin. Don’t hide behind your colour.”

    The Independent Police Complaints Commission referred the case to the Crown Prosecution Service on the basis that three officers, including MacFarlane, may have committed criminal offences.

    The CPS initially decided no charges should be brought against any of the police officers. However on Thursday, the service said it would review the file after lawyers for the man threatened to challenge the decision in a high court judicial review. MacFarlane has been suspended.

    The inquiry began after the victim handed his mobile phone to a custody desk in Forest Gate police station and told officers he had been abused.

    Earlier, he had been driving through Beckton with a friend when he was stopped by a van containing eight police officers from Newham borough. London’s streets were flooded with police who had been drafted in to contain the rioting.

    The officers arrested the man on suspicion of driving under the influence of drugs and told him he was being taken to a police station to be searched. After being taken into the van, the man was also arrested for missing a previous magistrates court appearance. No further action is to be taken in relation to the suspected driving offence.

    It was once inside the van and handcuffed that the man said he was assaulted by police. He described having his head pushed against the van window and said one officer placed his knees on his chest and began strangling him. “I couldn’t breathe and I felt that I was going to die,” he said.

    The man said he decided to turn on the recording facility of his phone after MacFarlane allegedly made sexually explicit references about his mother and telling him he would be “dead in five years”.

    In the recording, the man sounds agitated; he raises his voice to complain about his treatment and in places insults the arresting officers. The verbal exchange lasts several minutes.

    When the man tells an officer: “you tried to strangle me”, the officer replies: “No, I did strangle you.” The officer adds that he strangled him “‘cos you’re a cunt” and that the man had been “kicking out”. In relation to the strangling, the officer says: “Stopped you though, didn’t it?”

    Minutes later MacFarlane, who is white, begins abusing the man. After a period of silence, he can be heard telling him: “The problem with you is you will always be a nigger, yeah? That’s your problem, yeah.”

    The man reads out MacFarlane’s badge number and complains that he had subjected him to racist comments: “I’ll always be a nigger – that’s what you said, yeah?”

    MacFarlane replies: “You’ll always have black skin colour. Don’t hide behind your colour, yeah.” He adds: “Be proud. Be proud of who you are, yeah. Don’t hide behind your black skin.”

    Shortly before the recording ends, the man can be heard saying: “I get this all the time.” He then tells the officer: “We’ll definitely speak again about this … It’s gonna go all the way, it’s gonna go all the way – remember.”

    The man’s lawyer, Michael Oswald, said: “By his own efforts our client has put before the CPS exceptionally strong evidence and we share his astonishment that the CPS have reached a decision that no police officer should be prosecuted on the basis of that evidence. We do welcome their agreement to review that decision and we now await the outcome of that review.”

    The CPS initially said charges should not be brought against MacFarlane because the remarks did not cause the man harassment, distress or alarm.

    Grace Ononiwu, deputy chief crown prosecutor for CPS London, said: “Lawyers for [the complainant] have written to the CPS and asked us to review our decision. I have considered the matter personally and directed that all the evidence should be reconsidered and a fresh decision taken by a senior lawyer with no previous involvement in this matter.”

    Speaking to the Guardian, the 21-year-old was visibly shaken when recounting the ordeal. “It’s hard to explain, but it makes you feel like a piece of shit – it makes you feel not even human,” he said.

    “I was glad that I had it on the recording. I knew that if I had it saved I could show that I had been abused.

    “It’s not right. We’ve just got different skin colour – underneath it we’re all the same.”

    The Metropolitan police confirmed in a statement that it received a complaint on 11 August about alleged “racial” remarks and oppressive conduct.

    “These are serious allegations; any use of racist language or excessive use of force is not acceptable.”

    The force said it had referred the case to the IPCC and that one officer had been suspended.

    MacFarlane’s solicitor, Colin Reynolds, said: “The officer has been the subject of an investigation, has co-operated in that and been advised he is not to be the subject of criminal proceedings.”

    Estelle du Boulay, director of the Newham Monitoring Project, said: “Sadly, the shocking treatment of this young man at the hands of police officers – both the physical brutality he describes and the racial abuse he claims he suffered – are by no means unusual; it compares to other reports we have received. What makes this case different is the victim had the foresight and courage to turn on a recording device on his mobile phone.”

    She compared the incident to the case of Liam Stacey, a student who was jailed for 56 days for posting offensive comments on Twitter after the on-pitch collapse of the Bolton Wanderers footballer Fabrice Muamba.

    On Friday Swansea crown court rejected an appeal from Stacey, who used racist terms against other Twitter users.

    When the student was sentenced in a magistrates court on Tuesday a senior lawyer at the CPS, Jim Brisbane, said: “Racist language is inappropriate in any setting and through any media. We hope this case will serve as a warning to anyone who may think that comments made online are somehow beyond the law.”

  • ‘Anonymous’ hackers intercept conversation between FBI and Scotland Yard on how to deal with hackers

    ‘Anonymous’ hackers intercept conversation between FBI and Scotland Yard on how to deal with hackers

    A conference call between Scotland Yard and the FBI has been intercepted and published by a member of the computer hacking group Anonymous.

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    By Duncan Gardham, Security Correspondent

    The conversation concerned a young member of another hacking collective who was cooperating with the police in Britain but also involved officers joking about cheese and Sheffield.

    The hacker apparently managed to access the call after getting into an FBI email which gave details of the call. The email was also posted online.

    Writing on the Twitter account, AnonymousIRC, one hacker said: “The FBI might be curious how we’re able to continuously read their internal comms for some time now.”

    The email referred to an investigation on both sides of the Atlantic into a number of hacking groups. It read: “A conference call is planned for next Tuesday (January 17, 2012) to discuss the on-going investigations related to Anonymous, Lulzsec, Antisec, and other associated splinter groups.”

    The recording refers to the on-going court case against Ryan Cleary, arrested last June for his alleged role in the group LulzSec, and reveals legally sensitive information.

    It also refers to a 15-year-old listed as a member of CSLSec – meaning “can’t stop laughing security”– a copy-cat group of hackers with just three members.

    British police officers explain that the young man was arrested before Christmas for an incident involving his school and that he claimed to have taken part in a hacking incident called “Operation Mayhem.”

    “Basically he’s doing all this for attention, he’s a bit of an idiot,” one officer says. They add that he has written a confession through his school that runs to two sides of A4 and one officer says he writes about “how he got involved, whet he’s done, almost clearing the slate now he’s come to the notice of the police.”

    “A smack from mum and dad is behind it all,” the officer adds, saying he is “just another juvenile, another wannabe character.”

    One anonymous member tweeted: “Man you’re f*****g dumb. It’s a conversation discussing anonymous/lulzsec and your wanna-be ass. your UK agent calls you an idiot.”

    The young man, who is not being named by the Daily Telegraph for legal reasons, has sent out a number of tweets responding to the posting saying: “lol [laughs out loud] I’m UK not USA, no FBI can touch me. Idiot…why wud FBI talk about me? I’m not even US & haven’t been arrested. I’m still here ain’t I? lol…I haven’t heard it yet…& I haven’t got a UK agent lol.”

    At the beginning of the conversation, the British officers discuss cheese and the merits of Sheffield.

    One officer appears to refer to the city as a “khazi” slang for toilet – and tells an American colleague: “You’ve missed nothing, it’s not exactly a jewel in England’s crown.”

    They also refer to a colleague as an “old school detective but mad as a box of frogs” and seem to think the Bullring shopping centre in Birmingham is actually in Sheffield.

    The FBI confirmed hackers had intercepted a confidential phone call, and said it was hunting those responsible.

    An FBI spokesman said: “The information was intended for law enforcement officers only and was illegally obtained. A criminal investigation is under way to identify and hold accountable those responsible.”

    Scotland Yard said: “We are aware of the video, which relates to an FBI conference call involving a PCeU [Police Central e-crime Unit] representative.

    “The matter is being investigated by the FBI. At this stage no operational risks to the MPS have been identified; however, we continue to carry out a full assessment.”

    Anonymous is a loosely-organised group of hackers which has claimed responsibility for attacks against corporate and government websites all over the world.

    www.telegraph.co.uk, 03 Feb 2012