Section 60 - Your Rights

[Turns8]

Whilst I can kind of see why people were a bit miffed at having a quick search, I do tend to believe that if you aint got nothing to hide, why worry??

I do fear for the health of people that get all wound up about things that aint really all that harmful.

Maybe, but where exactly do you draw the line on what is fair and what is not?

I think it's fair enough to be stopped and searched just in case. Granted, the chances of a shirt-wearing supporter carrying any form of weaponry is extremely remote but you never know Dirk. Someone might look like a decent, honest supporter but in this day in age I wouldn't put it past the odd "normal" person to carry a weapon.

Don't get me wrong, as I said, I can see why people would be miffed especially decent, law abiding folk but at the same time, there's nothing wrong IMHO with the odd Police excercise like this.

It was the way they did it though which made the whole thing farsical....group of 10 fans walk up the esculators and get stopped...police choose the quieter part of the group (some wearing colours) and let the noisier lot through...ummm what is the point in that...it's almost like a comedy sketch where the noisey lot then stand behind the police pulling out all sorts of weaponary... if the Police want to do that sort of thing as has been mentioned before they should stop everyone getting on certain trains...if it was intelligence led football information... no matter how long it takes

[Dirk Gently]

Whilst I can kind of see why people were a bit miffed at having a quick search, I do tend to believe that if you aint got nothing to hide, why worry??

I do fear for the health of people that get all wound up about things that aint really all that harmful.

Maybe, but where exactly do you draw the line on what is fair and what is not?

I think it's fair enough to be stopped and searched just in case. Granted, the chances of a shirt-wearing supporter carrying any form of weaponry is extremely remote but you never know Dirk. Someone might look like a decent, honest supporter but in this day in age I wouldn't put it past the odd "normal" person to carry a weapon.

Don't get me wrong, as I said, I can see why people would be miffed especially decent, law abiding folk but at the same time, there's nothing wrong IMHO with the odd Police excercise like this.

Agreed - and if everyone travelling was stopped and searched there'd be no problem, or a random sample of everyone (e.g every 10th person). That would also probably yield a better success rate, but that's irrelevant.

The issue comes when only those people who are dressed in a specific way are stopped and searched - that's discrimination, pure and simple. Why should people be stopped purely because of a outdated stereotype of how they spend their leisure time?

[Hugo Boss]

Both valid points I guess.

Maybe the rozzers were under instructions to carry out the excercise just to make it look like they were doing something productive to naive members of the general public... Not that that sort of thing would ever happen of course...!!

[Forbury Lion]

Can I just ask also, why it is that at every home game at the Mad Stad and at at every away game I have been to, female and male stewards have looked in my handbag, but I have never seen them body search a male supporter? Do I have the right to refuse them looking into my handbag if they are not looking in male supporters' pockets or anything?

Take an old handbag next time and put a load of fag ash in it, tell them it's the remains of your great grandad and you bring him to every game.

Word will spread and they will no longer search your bag.

Alternatlively just refuse and ask for their name and demand to to speak to their superior.

[Royal With Cheese]

I find the targeting of football fans in colours somewhat ridiculous.
Most troublemakers deliberately don’t wear colours anyway.
Makes the whole search in this instance a complete farce.

[Forbury Lion]

If a police officer asks to search you, presumably you can ask on what grounds and what piece of legislation allows this, then ask them to explain to you your rights in full... pressumably they would then have to recite the entire blurb from the first post of this thread or would they just arrest you for wasting police time?


On a similar note, At Palace away a few years back the police were asking to see our keys and also our coins. they seemed to be wary of people going into the ground with too many coins...... now supposing I decide to empty my piggy bank to buy some halftime grub and beer, Do the police have the right to refuse me entry on the grounds that legal tender may be used as a weopon?

[bobby1413]

If a police officer asks to search you, presumably you can ask on what grounds and what piece of legislation allows this, then ask them to explain to you your rights in full... pressumably they would then have to recite the entire blurb from the first post of this thread or would they just arrest you for wasting police time?

They legally have to:

- Explain the grounds for the search
- Say what the objective is, e.g. to find illegal drugs or whatever
- Identify them selves, shoulder number
- Say which police station they are based at
- That you are entitled to a copy of the search form
- The legislation being used
- and finally, that you are detained for the search.

If you question it, then they should explain again why you are being searched. Reasonable force can be used to search you, e.g. handcuffs, physically being restrained, and in the worst case scenario you could be arrested for obstructing a police officer.

On a similar note, At Palace away a few years back the police were asking to see our keys and also our coins. they seemed to be wary of people going into the ground with too many coins...... now supposing I decide to empty my piggy bank to buy some halftime grub and beer, Do the police have the right to refuse me entry on the grounds that legal tender may be used as a weopon?

S60 is a temporary order which is used for a lot of sporting events, and mainly where the risk of violence is likely. That is where the power comes from to search for coins and things. However, it is different if being asked to simply show what you have on you, rather than being searched. Bit of a cheeky way around it, but still, it is not *technically* a search. They would have a really really hard time to refuse entry to be honest.

If you had pound coins on you which had been sanded down to a razor sharp edge then you'd be arrested for having an offensive weapon. If you happen to have 400 1p coins on you, that would increase their suspision a lot. You'd have all your details taken, and probably have the coins seized, at least until after the game had finished.

Again though, having 400 1p coins on you could be considered as being in possession of an offensive weapon as you could argue that they are intended to be used as a weapon. Although that legislation does say that you are only guilty if you have no lawful excuse or good reason for having them. A good reason being, you're a shop owner who is waiting to cash the coins in at the bank, but are doing so after the game. (God knows why anyone would, but that's just an example).