Police stops increase to 2m in year, government figures show

The number of people stopped by the police in 2007 has jumped by more than one-third in the past year to nearly 2 million, government figures showed today. In the British Crime Survey published today by the Ministry of Justice, police stopped 1.87 million people in 2006/07, where people were asked to account for behaviour or actions. This was up from 1.4 million in 2005/2006. The stops required more members of the public to fill out controversial forms, a practice which has been criticised for burdening officers with unnecessary red tape. The survey is the first time the government has published full figures on the unpopular paperwork. A review of the Home Office has already suggested revamping the system, which was introduced after the racist murder of black teenager Stephen Lawrence, by replacing the lengthy forms with a... [read full story]