StopWatch (Campaign)
Encyclopedia
StopWatch is a joint venture between a range of civil society organisations, activist and human rights groups, academics and campaigners. StopWatch was established to address concerns about the use of Stop and Search powers in the UK with regards to law, community relations and civil rights. Its primary target is addressing the significant ethnic dis-proportionality in the use of stop and search however, it also aims to review the use of powers which do not require reasonable suspicion to order a stop and search such as section 60 and to ensure effective monitoring and accountability are employed in conjunction with Stop and Search powers. It also aims to promote more effective methods of policing that do not have the same impact upon civil liberties and community relations.
The StopWatch Campaign involves: Equanomics UK; Federation of Student Islamic Societies
(FOSIS); Mannheim Centre for Criminology, LSE
; Muslim Safety Forum; NACRO
; Not Another Drop;Open Society Justice Initiative
; Release
;The Runnymede Trust
; School of Law, King’s College London; Second Wave
; and Turning Point
.
Theresa May
. Previously police officers were, in certain defined areas, able to use anti-terrorism legislation to stop people without requiring reasonable suspicion that they were actually involved in terrorism. Under the new proposals police officers would no longer have this license. However, StopWatch has drawn attention to changes to the Police and Criminal Evidence Act 1984
which would remove requirements for the collection of key data such as name, and whether any injury or damage resulted from the incident.
StopWatch was officially launched on the 18 October 2010 by the Reverend Jesse Jackson at Kings College London. Reverend Jackson's has previously addressed similar issues in the US with his Rainbow PUSH
coalition in New York.
One of StopWatch’s key targets is a 50% reduction in dis-proportionality in stop and search figures. Since StopWatch formed statistics were released indicating that Black people were 26 times more likely to be stopped and searched.
Members of StopWatch have stated that their aim is not to eliminate stop and search powers per se, rather to help create a more responsible, and measured approach to its use and to Police officers’ interaction with the public generally.
The StopWatch Campaign involves: Equanomics UK; Federation of Student Islamic Societies
Federation of Student Islamic Societies
The Federation of Student Islamic Societies is a national umbrella organisation aimed at supportingand representing Islamic societies at colleges and universitiesin the United Kingdom and the Republic of Ireland...
(FOSIS); Mannheim Centre for Criminology, LSE
London School of Economics
The London School of Economics and Political Science is a public research university specialised in the social sciences located in London, United Kingdom, and a constituent college of the federal University of London...
; Muslim Safety Forum; NACRO
NACRO
Nacro is a registered criminal justice charity operating in England and Wales. It is not formally linked with Sacro in Scotland or NIACRO in Northern Ireland.-History:...
; Not Another Drop;Open Society Justice Initiative
Open Society Institute
The Open Society Institute , renamed in 2011 to Open Society Foundations, is a private operating and grantmaking foundation started by George Soros, aimed to shape public policy to promote democratic governance, human rights, and economic, legal, and social reform...
; Release
Release (agency)
Release, founded in 1967 by Caroline Coon and the late Rufus Harris , is a UK agency that provides legal advice and arranges legal representation for people charged with the possession of drugs...
;The Runnymede Trust
Runnymede Trust
The Runnymede Trust is a leading pro-multiculturalism think tank., Its aim is to generate intelligence for a "multi-ethnic" Britain through research, network building and policy engagement...
; School of Law, King’s College London; Second Wave
Second wave
Second wave may refer to:*Second Wave, a fictional terrorist group from the television series 24*Second-wave feminism, a period of feminist history lasting approximately from the late 1960s through the 1980s*2 Tone Ska, also known as Second wave Ska...
; and Turning Point
Turning Point
Turning point may refer to:* A a point at which the derivative changes sign. See stationary point, in mathematics* A climax , in narrative structure* A discrimen, one of the two marked points on a cursus or classical-period race-track...
.
History
StopWatch formed in the summer of 2010 in response to concerns about the use of a variety of stop and search powers, a ruling by the European Court that in certain powers were illegal, and in the context of proposed amendments to Section 44 powers by new Home SecretaryHome Secretary
The Secretary of State for the Home Department, commonly known as the Home Secretary, is the minister in charge of the Home Office of the United Kingdom, and one of the country's four Great Offices of State...
Theresa May
Theresa May
Theresa Mary May is a British Conservative politician who is Home Secretary in the Conservative – Liberal Democrat Coalition government. She was elected to Parliament in 1997 as the Member of Parliament for Maidenhead, and served as the Chairman of the Conservative Party, 2003–04...
. Previously police officers were, in certain defined areas, able to use anti-terrorism legislation to stop people without requiring reasonable suspicion that they were actually involved in terrorism. Under the new proposals police officers would no longer have this license. However, StopWatch has drawn attention to changes to the Police and Criminal Evidence Act 1984
Police and Criminal Evidence Act 1984
The Police and Criminal Evidence Act 1984 is an Act of Parliament which instituted a legislative framework for the powers of police officers in England and Wales to combat crime, as well as providing codes of practice for the exercise of those powers. Part VI of PACE required the Home Secretary...
which would remove requirements for the collection of key data such as name, and whether any injury or damage resulted from the incident.
StopWatch was officially launched on the 18 October 2010 by the Reverend Jesse Jackson at Kings College London. Reverend Jackson's has previously addressed similar issues in the US with his Rainbow PUSH
Rainbow/PUSH
Rainbow/PUSH is a non-profit organization formed as a merger of two non-profit organizations — Operation PUSH and the National Rainbow Coalition — founded by Jesse Jackson. The organizations pursue social justice, civil rights and political activism.In December 1971, Jackson resigned from...
coalition in New York.
One of StopWatch’s key targets is a 50% reduction in dis-proportionality in stop and search figures. Since StopWatch formed statistics were released indicating that Black people were 26 times more likely to be stopped and searched.
Members of StopWatch have stated that their aim is not to eliminate stop and search powers per se, rather to help create a more responsible, and measured approach to its use and to Police officers’ interaction with the public generally.