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1,700 terror searches but none the next - why?

Steve Hammond
19/12/2006

SEARCHES of mainly Muslim terrorist suspects by Greater Manchester Police have plunged from over 1,700 to zero within the space of a year.

But senior police officers are denying that a change in policy towards Muslims has caused the staggering fall in the search figures.

According to a GMP report on race and diversity there were 1,737 searches conducted under the Prevention of Terrorism Act (PTA) in period April 2004 to March 2005. This is a rate of five a day over the 12-month period.

All but a handful of these searches took place at Manchester Airport and the vast majority of people searched were Muslims. But in the next 12 months the situation altered dramatically.

The report continues: "The Force conducted no PTA searches in 2005/06 as there was no operational reason to do so and other powers proved to be sufficient."

Asked about the remarkable difference between the two periods Assistant Chief Constable Rob Taylor, who is in charge of diversity policy at GMP, said in the 2004/05 period officers were "acting on the basis of specific information concerning a threat." He added that in the later 12-month period there had been no specific information requiring terror searches,

He added that more recently at the Labour Party conference in Manchester, PTA searches had been made.

The huge rise in terror searches of Muslims following the 9/11 and 7/7 terrorist attacks has caused concern in the Islamic community.

The Home Office say each search should be "intelligence lead". Critics of the policy claimed that often there is no serious intelligence and police are simply "pulling in" Islamic looking people for searches, especially at airports.


| Submit CommentSubmit Comments | View CommentsView Comments(6)


Most recent 2 of 6 user comments

   I dont have a problem with Muslims at all, you nugget. I was saying of course 911 happened. Cobra you have just admitted you got a problem with white guys so your the racist. grow up. Isnt it funny how all the comments on here are based on stories where white people are involved. But when an asian man gets sentenced to Rape then no one leaves a comment. Something rotten in denmark
Leonard, Rochdale
12/02/2007 at 15:55
   Er,sorry guys....who flew the planes in to the towers?YOUNG MUSLIM MEN!who blew up the trains in London?YOUNG MUSLIM MEN!who stand outside Mosques with their faces covered burning US flags?YOUNG MUSLIM MEN!who tried to detonate a bomb on a train recently,but failed?YOUNG MUSLIM MEN!!Which British subjects keep getting found in Afghan/Pakistani terrorist training camps,training to be suicide bombers...right again,YOUNG MUSLIM MEN!!
INESCAPABLE FACTS,BOYS!, UK
19/01/2007 at 22:57
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