police immigration swoop on camden tube station yesterday - is this legal?
rikki | 28.07.2004 18:10 | Indymedia | London
immigration officers, police, and transport police blocked people coming on and off the tube at camden for more than two hours yesterday afternoon and randomly searched members of the public they didn't like the look of. this exercise of police state control must surely be challengable in the courts, and the erosion of civil rights must be stopped.
immigration vans parked near camden tube - one detainee was in a holding cage
yesterday, tuesday, 28th july, immigration cops, cops, and transport cops descended on camden tube to carry out (possibly illegal) search and detention on tube customers between 4pm and 6pm. previous similar excercises have been observed at victoria and finsbury park stations.
transport police checked tickets of people leaving the tube at the station. meanwhile, anyone boarding at camden had to pass betwen two rows of cops, numbering around a dozen. they all had surgical gloves on, ready for searches, (most white, and a few in a fetching bright blue colour). they picked on anyone looking a bit foreign, and also anyone looking a bit 'alternative/crusty'.
substantial searches took place. the foreign looking ones were handed over to immigration officials dressed in flack jackets, and some were carted away to black unmarked immigration dept vans with holding cages (see photo).
i asked some people who were stopped what reasons were given. one had been suspected of using a child photocard, while over sixteen - they had been searched, though no grounds were given for the search. another had been sniffed by a police drug dog, although a search found no evidence of drugs - they had been asked for name and date of birth details as well as a very thorough search. a third had been searched having been told that the search was 'just routine' - a clear breach of the law of stop and search, which is only allowed if there is a 'reasonable suspicion' of an offence.
these police swoops must be of questionable legality, and are a serious erosion of civil rights. i have seen posts about them on indymedia before, but this is the first one i've actually witnessed.
transport police checked tickets of people leaving the tube at the station. meanwhile, anyone boarding at camden had to pass betwen two rows of cops, numbering around a dozen. they all had surgical gloves on, ready for searches, (most white, and a few in a fetching bright blue colour). they picked on anyone looking a bit foreign, and also anyone looking a bit 'alternative/crusty'.
substantial searches took place. the foreign looking ones were handed over to immigration officials dressed in flack jackets, and some were carted away to black unmarked immigration dept vans with holding cages (see photo).
i asked some people who were stopped what reasons were given. one had been suspected of using a child photocard, while over sixteen - they had been searched, though no grounds were given for the search. another had been sniffed by a police drug dog, although a search found no evidence of drugs - they had been asked for name and date of birth details as well as a very thorough search. a third had been searched having been told that the search was 'just routine' - a clear breach of the law of stop and search, which is only allowed if there is a 'reasonable suspicion' of an offence.
these police swoops must be of questionable legality, and are a serious erosion of civil rights. i have seen posts about them on indymedia before, but this is the first one i've actually witnessed.
rikki
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