These statistics have been collated from a variety of different sources, which have differing ways of categorising and describing ‘race’ and ethnicity. (For example, some sources differentiate between particular black ‘groups’ whilst others do not. Some sources may just use the term Asian, others may differentiate between different Asian groups or different religious groups.) Where we have used other organisations’ statistics, we have followed the categorisation/names used by them – which means that there may be inconsistencies in terminology within and between pages.
Several anti-terrorism acts have been enacted in the 21st Century, each raising concerns about the extent to which they have curtailed civil-liberties and impacted disproportionately on BME communities.
S44 of the Terrorism Act 2000
S44 of the Terrorism Act 2000 gave police the power, in designated areas, to stop and search an individual without having any reasonable suspicion of them having committed an offence.
Between 2006/07 and 2007/08 the number of black people stopped and searched under this power rose by 322 per cent and the number of Asian people by 277 per cent.[1]
In 2010, the European Court of Human Rights ruled that stops-and-searches under S44 of the Terrorism Act 2000 were illegal as there were inadequate safeguards against abuse.
For more information see:
Campaign Against Criminalising Communities
Statewatch
Cageprisoners