Police must "re-think" stop and search powers

LONDON, Feb 15 (Reuters) The police's use of stop and search powers needs to be rethought and Britain's current terrorism alert system changed because it is almost meaningless, a senior London official said today.

Fewer than 30 people out of more than 22,600 stopped by police under controversial security powers were arrested for terrorism-related offences figures, according to figures from London's Metropolitan Police Authority (MPA).

Lord Toby Harris said the statistics, combined with a year-long consultation held among diverse groups across the capital, showed that the stop and search power was probably doing more harm than good.

''It's certainly by no means clear that the widespread use of the power has brought the benefits to the police's anti-terrorism efforts that justifies the loss of community support that seems to be emerging,'' he said.

Harris, the Home Secretary's representative on the MPA which oversees the London force, said only 27 people were held under suspicion of terrorism out of 22, 672 stooped in the year to September last year.

Another 242 were arrested for other offences.

''Twenty-seven arrests producing the level of dissatisfaction, concern, anger and distance I think is something we need to look at,'' he told a conference in London.

His comments echo those expressed recently by Richard Gargini, the coordinator for community engagement for the Association of Chief Police Officers.

Gargini told Reuters last month that senior officers believed people should only be stopped on the basis of prior intelligence.

Under anti-terrorism legislation introduced in 2000, officers have the power to stop and search people in an area seen as being at risk from terrorism even if they are not suspected of breaking the law.

Muslim groups have argued that the power has disproportionately been used against them since the July 7, 2005 suicide attacks in London.

However of those stopped 16 percent were described as Asian, while 12 percent of London's population is Asian.

''The disparity is not as great as the perception of it,'' Harris said.

He said the findings of an MPA consultation to be published next week would call for more information to be given about Britain's security alert system which was launched last August.

The five-tier system -- currently set at ''severe'' whereby an attack was highly likely -- was brought in by the government in a bid to be more open.

''If you are publishing the threat level there should be some sort of statement as to what people should expect as a result,'' Harris said. ''Otherwise it is meaningless''.

He said the extra information should indicate if there would be more bag searches at airports, more searches at particular locations and what individuals themselves should be doing.

REUTERS SP KN2014