Distretto Nord

La PSNI perquisisce anche i bambini di 3 anni

Police search three-year-old child

Stop and SearchChildren as young as three have been stopped and searched by the PSNI, the Belfast Telegraph can reveal today.

Almost 2,300 under-16s have been stopped by police in the last 12 months — an average of six every day and more than double the previous year’s figures.

That includes 27 who were aged nine and under. The youngest was just three years old, according to figures obtained by this newspaper.

Criminal experts said the huge rise in stop and searches involving children pointed to a change in policy by police, however the PSNI insisted the powers were used “only when necessary”.

The PSNI would not be drawn on its reason for the increase so it is not known if the searches could be related to a rise in dissident activity or a change in the way such figures are recorded.

According to figures released under Freedom of Information, some 2,299 under-16s were stopped and searched by the PSNI during 2008/09. That is more than double the 1,066 stop and searches carried out in the previous 12 months.

The age of criminal responsibility in UK law is 10.

Children’s Commissioner Patricia Lewsley said she intends to write to the new Chief Constable Matt Baggott to ensure that young people were treated appropriately.

“I recognise the potential for concern around the issue of young people being stopped and searched,” she said.

“I will be raising the matter with the Chief Constable, including the need for the PSNI to use child-friendly ways of explaining stop and search procedures to young people.”

Paul O’Connor from the Pat Finucane Centre said the PSNI was in danger of alienating a new generation of people by over-using its powers.

“This simply beggars belief. It doesn’t take a PhD to realise that you are going to alienate an entirely new generation through the rampant use of stop and search powers,” he said.

Stop and search – the law

stop and searchPolice can stop and search someone under the Police and Criminal Evidence (Northern Ireland) Order 1989 — more commonly known as PACE.

Officers can stop and search an individual or vehicle in any public place if they have reasonable grounds to suspect they will find stolen or prohibited articles.

Section 44 of the Prevention of Terrorism Act 2000 also allows stop and search if officers have a reasonable suspicion people may be involved in terrorist activity.

During 2008/09 there were in excess of 18,000 stop and searches using PACE legislation in Northern Ireland, and recent figures also show a marked increase in the use of stop and search under the Terrorism Act.

Police used special powers 2,488 times in the last quarter of 2008, 245% up on the same period in 2007.

The Policing Board’s Human Rights Committee scrutinises the PSNI’s use of stop and search powers.

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René Querin

Di professione grafico e web designer, sono appassionato di trekking e innamorato dell'Irlanda e della sua storia. Insieme ad Andrea Varacalli ho creato e gestisco Les Enfants Terribles.

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