More stop and searches should be carried out by Bedfordshire Police regardless of complaints says councillor

But the PCC said he doesn’t want to live in ‘a police state’

File picture of police police officers carrying out a stop and search (Photo by Christopher Furlong/Getty Images)

Bedfordshire Police should carry out more stop and searches “regardless” of any complaints that may come in, a councillor has said. But the county’s police and crime commissioner (PCC) said he doesn’t want to live in a police state where officers can stop anyone at any time. A report presented to the Bedfordshire Police and Crime Panel yesterday (December 5) said third parties have argued that disproportionality in use of police powers “impacts detrimentally” on communities’ trust and confidence in the police.

Consequently, the report added, people from Black and Mixed ethnic backgrounds “are less likely” than White and Asian people to have confidence in their local police. The panel heard that independent scrutiny of the use of stop and search by Bedfordshire Police is used to improve public confidence and trust in the way in which this is conducted. Panel member councillor Patrick Hamill (Central Bedfordshire Council) said: “From my perspective, and a lot of my residents’ [Houghton Regis East] perspective, stop and search is really an important tool.

“We get the perception that because there’s rules laid down for stop and search it restricts the way the police can act in what they’re employed to do, because they take into account communities when in fact there should be taking into account the volume of crime that’s going on within those communities. “There’s not many stop and searches going on on a daily basis in Beds Police [ten a day], we need to see more activity in that area. “Good citizens will praise the police if they increase their stop and searches, regardless of the complaints that may come in.”