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Laura welcomes new stop & search rights campaign
March 13, 2001 12:00 AM
Cllr Laura Willoughby, the Parliamentary Spokesperson for Islington North, has today welcomed the first ever national campaign to tell people their rights when stopped and searched by the police. The campaign was launched yesterday by Dr Ruth Henig, Chairman of the Association of Police Authorities (APA) and is supported by comedian Richard Blackwood and Gurbux Singh of the Commission for Racial Equality. The campaign features "Stop & Search - Know Your Rights" leaflets and publicity material produced in eight languages. The APA, whose member authorities oversee local policing and safeguard community interests, devised the campaign in direct response to a key recommendation of the Lawrence Report. The report found that stop and search was a ajor cause of distrust in the police, particularly among minority ethnic communities. Cllr Willoughby said, "I helped at a youth debate on racism at the Commission for Racial Equality several years ago, and several young people from Finsbury Park highlighted that they and their friends were stopped regularly by the police. "Stop and search has long been an area on tension between the police and the young and minority ethnic groups. This campaign will ensure that those young people, and other Islington residents know their rights when stopped and searched and feel more confident during encounters with the police. And it should encourage police officers to ensure they use stop and search appropriately."
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