Arrests under the Terrorism Act
53. In 2003-04 13% of all stops and searches resulted
in an arrest, the same figure as the year before. The percentage
of Asian stops and searches resulting in an arrest fell from 13%
to 11%. There were 8,120 stops and searches of pedestrians under
Section 44(2) of the Terrorism Act in 2003-04, 1,097 (13.5%) of
which were on Asians. These resulted in 5 arrests in connection
with terrorism (0.06%)all of whitesand 112 for other reasons (1.4%),
of which 18 (16.1%) were of Asians. Thus fewer than 1.5% of stops
and searches of pedestrians under the Terrorism Act resulted in
an arrest.[41]
54. When the disparity in the proportion of stops
and searches resulting in arrests between those carried out under
Section 44 and those carried out under other legislation was put
to ACPO, Assistant Chief Constable Beckley noted that the main
aim of the power was disruption and deterrence of terrorism, rather
than detection. He added "this is a power to be used to put
people off their plans, hence it is used in a pretty random way"
and argued that there was evidence from some forces to suggest
that it might well be having the intended disruptive effect. He
also argued that there were very strong safeguards against indiscriminate
use of the power, and that ACPO briefing had been significantly
changed to ensure the community context was taken into account.[42]
55. According to the Home Office, between 11 September
2001 and December 2004 there were 701 arrests under the Terrorism
Act 2000; 119 of those arrested were charged, and 45 of those
119 were charged with other offences as well. A further 135 were
charged under legislation other than the 2000 Act (including terrorist
offences that are already covered in general criminal law, such
as murder, grievous bodily harm and use of firearms or explosives),
and 17 have been convicted under the Terrorism Act. The Home Office
gave the following information (see table on facing page) on the
remaining 448: [43]
Transferred to Immigration Authorities
| 59 |
On Bail to Return | 22
|
Cautioned | 7
|
Dealt with under Mental Health Legislation
| 7 |
Awaiting Extradition |
1 |
Returned to Prison Service Custody
| 1 |
Released Without Charge
| 351 |
These figures add up to 702 arrests. Home Office officials have
told the Committee that this, rather than the publicised figure
of 701, is the correct total.
56. The Institute of Race Relations, a think-tank that researches
race issues in the UK and elsewhere, noted that 609 people had
been arrested for offences under the Terrorism Act between 11
September 2001 and 30 June 2004. The Institute believed that 99
of them had been charged and 15 convicted under the Act. The Institute
researched 11 of the 15 convictions and believed that six were
white non-Muslims, all members of proscribed Loyalist groups,
while only three were Muslims (two of whom had been given leave
to appeal). The Institute argued that this showed the inaccuracy
of high-profile media coverage linking Muslims to terrorism.[44]
An item on BBC Radio's Today programme reported that according
to ACPO 180 arrests were for domestic terrorism. The report also
suggested that of the 17 convictions, 3 were for Irish Republican
terrorism, 4 Loyalist, 2 Sikh and 1 Tamil, while 3 could be described
as Islamist. The programme was unable to establish the nature
of the remaining 4 convictions.[45]
57. The Director of Public Prosecutions told us that
the Irish cases were a declining proportion of terrorism-related
cases. There were a number of cases which had come to trial, some
of which were being tried, and some extremely serious cases would
come up over the next year or so. He argued that it would be necessary
to wait before making judgments about conviction rates in international
terrorism cases.[46]
58. We express in paragraph 160 our concerns about
the lack of detailed information about terrorism-related arrests,
charges and convictions. Despite the current lack of information
about terrorist cases, it is our view that in due course the majority
will probably prove to have been related to international terrorism.
Racially and religiously motivated
crimes
59. The Metropolitan Police said that racist incidents
rose from 10,883 in 1998/99 to 22,875 in 1999/2000, an increase
of 110% , but that the figure for 2002/03 (15,453) was 47% above
the 1998/99 level.[47]
60. Information provided by the Crown Prosecution
Service on prosecutions for racially and religiously aggravated
offences is set out in the following table:[48]
Prosecutions for racially and religiously aggravated
offences