Academic

Scanners On The Streets Of London; Suspicion Not Required

By Dan Filler

A couple of weeks back, I blogged about the Canadian Supreme Court's decision to prohibit suspicionless dog sniffs in schools and bus depots.  I was impressed with the Court's protection for individual liberty.  England, it seems, is going in precisely the opposite direction - and for reasons familiar to Americans.

There has been a perceived surge in knife violence in London of the past year.  In response to public concern, and much to the pleasure of London's new Conservative mayor, the city's Metropolitan police has begun to set up airport style scanners  on the streets of London.  Pursuant to Section 60 of the Public Order Act, police can compel individuals to pass through these metal detectors even with absolutely no quantum of suspicion.

Section 60 is a potent piece of legislation.  Among other things, it provides that where the police reasonably believe "that incidents involving serious violence" may take place in an area, constables can "stop any pedestrian and search him or anything carried by him for offensive weapons or dangerous instruments" and " stop any vehicle and search the vehicle, its driver and any passenger for offensive weapons or dangerous instruments" - whether or not the constable has any grounds to suspect the individual or vehicle has weapons.

The British aren't allergic to aggresive policing.   The widespread use of public cameras (CCTV), for example, may be an effective deterrent and investigative tool.  And many people will argue that they only intrude on legally unprotected conduct: that which one does in public.  But it all feels very 1984 when you come to accept state supervision of most of your life outside the home and office.  Speaking personally, and notwithstanding its possible benefits, the whole idea of Closed Circuit Televison throughout a city skeeves me.  In case you are unaware of their ubiquity, get this statistic: there are probably over 4.2 million CCTV cameras around England.  1 for every 14 people.

Now come the scanners.  It appears that they're being employed strategically in high crime areas - as Section 60 requires.  Not everyone will be subject to them, but this only means that they likely have significantly disparate racial and economic impact.  In any case, their arrival at all changes one's sense of liberty.  I don't shoplift, but my heart still races when I pass through theft detectors.  Today they are only in selected high crime areas; tomorrow they may be in every train station and public park.

I suppose it might conceivably be justified if London were on the edge of its destruction.  But I don't see the evidence for that.  Even the whole knife crisis is worthy of serious scrutiny.  It all sounds so very Mods and Rockers.

Full post as published by The Faculty Lounge on May 16, 2008 (boomark / email).