The Metropolitan Police have removed the names of one thousand young black men from a controversial database of gang members, almost a third of the database. The Gangs Matrix consists of the names and details of people that the Met perceive to be in a gang and likely to commit violence. The majority of the names removed were in what is called the ‘Green Banding’, meaning that they were found to have very low rates of offending and victimisation levels, if any at all, in the year before and after removal.
Eight Met police are probed after an innocent black female student was pinned to ground and punched numerous times, once at the police station allegedly assaulted again in the cells and was subjected to a strip search in the cell in front of male police officers.
Met police officers told they must justify pre-arrest use of handcuffs, read more...
The core messages that everyone should remember are:
Defend you if arrested / charged by the police:
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Make a complaint about or sue the police:
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Provide support for prisoners:
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Challenge the lawfulness of legislation or policies:
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This is when a police officer or PCSO stops you in a public place and asks you to account for yourself and may ask you:
This is when a police officer stops and then searches you, a vehicle and anything you're carrying.
This is when a police officer stops a vehicle.
The police officer or police community support officer must explain why you're being stopped and why you're being asked to account for your actions or presence in an area.
In almost all cases, you should be offered a record of the stop and account or stop and search at the time it happens.
The police use these powers to help make the local community safer by preventing and detecting crime. Naturally, public cooperation is an essential part of that.
Stop and search most often happens in public places. However, there are some powers, such as searching for firearms or drugs, which allow police to search people anywhere.
If you're in a public place, you may be required to remove your coat or jacket and your gloves, unless you've been stopped in relation to terrorism or where the officer believes you are using clothes to hide your identity.
If the officer asks you to take off more than this, or anything you wear for religious reasons, such as a face scarf, veil or turban, they must take you somewhere out of public view. This doesn’t mean you’re being arrested.
The Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC)
The officer must be polite and respectful at all times. We are committed to continuously improving standards around the delivery o service to our communities.
We're aware that the process may take a little time but it should be handled quickly and professionally. The police officer may ask a few questions and then, if they consider it necessary, will search you.
The search is not voluntary. If you don’t cooperate the officer can use reasonable force to conduct the search.
If the officer has a body worn video camera they'll record the encounter unless it's considered no longer necessary or proportionate.
If you're in a vehicle
A police officer can legally stop any vehicle at any time and ask to see driving documents, check the condition of the vehicle or deal with driving offences. This is not a stop and search and you may be given documentation relevant to road traffic matters. If the entire process ends there, this is considered a ‘vehicle stop'.
It becomes a stop and account if you or any passengers with you are asked to account for themselves.
If a police officer then searches the vehicle or persons in it, this is a stop and search.
Information you'll receive during a stop and search
The Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC)
In the context of the police complaints system, the law describes a complaint as any expression of dissatisfaction with a police force that is expressed by or on behalf of a member of the public.
You can complain directly to the police/other organisation (see ‘Who can I complain about?’ below for a list of the other organisations) or via the IOPC. If you complain via the IOPC, your complaint will be sent direct to the organisation involved. They will assess your complaint and contact you about how it will be handled. The IOPC will not be involved with this initial assessment of your complaint.
If you are trying to raise concerns about something you have seen on social media or in the news or heard about from another person, please read this further information.
Before you submit a complaint, we recommend that you read the information in the drop-down sections below.
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They consider our website to be an important part of this collection and the historical record.
The Library of Congress preserves important cultural artifacts and provides enduring access to them. The Library's traditional functions, acquiring, cataloging, preserving and serving collection materials of historical importance to foster education and scholarship, extend to digital materials, including websites. The libary web archives are important because they contribute to the historical record, capturing information that could otherwise be lost. With the growing role of the web as an influential medium, records of historic events could be considered incomplete without materials that were "born digital" and never printed on paper.
Web archive collections are made available as permissions, Library policies, and resources permit. The Library will generally wait at least one year from initial capture of our website before making it available to researchers.
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