THE BRUTAL Stephen Waldorf in London on 14 January has highlighted the abuse of power by London's police. It is set against the battle by the Labour the Home Secretary and make it accountable to Londoners and that of the National Council citizen's right to privacy'. this to be stopped and for more control over police power by the institution of a genuinely independent element in the police complaints procedure.
In London the Labour GLC has announced plans to bring the Metropolitan Police under local control, a demand supported by most Londoners who paid E323m in for police force the lowest clean-up rate in the country and the worst record of harassment of black and working class areas.
Everyone awaiting Sir Kenneth Newman's, the Met's new police chiet, views on how le sees the task of trying to establish- public confidence' in a police force and brutality.
That the situation vis a unwarrented shooting of GLC to remove the 'Met' from the authority of 'be an astonishing invasion of the individual The NCCL argues for vis Britain's police needs a thorough overhaul and a response those who wish to defend democratic rights is plainly revealed by the NCCL in a new pamphlet and two press releases in the space of a week.
On the Police Bill which has had first reading and is now in committee stage, the NCCL condemns BLUposals which would. give the police: • power to scaren mno cent people's homes and to inspect the contidential records and papers of docLOLS. SOLIdE WUIKCIO. priests, journalists, lawyers and other profes sional advisors. • power stop and search which would form the basis for routine searches ot men and women leaving gay pubs. clubs and meetings, and would allow the police to read diaries and address books. from Rhinoceros posters The design hots ody receig e london il bae imidle from Rhinoceros postcards. The design shows Noddy receivin Pinguding postege rom ot oero Posterds, B Perndale Road Loa on Sla.)
men • power to and lesbians dILCSL gay showing each other affection public the grounds of preventing an "affront to public decency • power to make body searches and take body samples of blood, urine, semen, saliva in police staCOnS While arguing for the enevat COT the relevant clauses from the Police Bill the NCCL has also drafted a Police Complaints Bill which proposes a fully in dependent system for deal ing complaints against the police.
Graphic examples are given in ineir new phlet A Fair Cop the TerIsa DOnCE to regulate and control their own people.
In 1976 a black middle aged couple in Stoke Newington were raided by the police early in the morning and brutally assaulted. In 1982 they were awarded f51, 392 in a civil action against the police To date no internal investigation has taken place and indeed one officer has been Sorts of romuses . These abuses are common and onty une most flagrant reach the icaalne While the NCCL is attempting to deal with the problems at the legal and level, the ballallcLdy GLC trying olice They want lome Secretar as the capital's police authority by a GLC police committee and separate police committees in the 32 boroughs withmaximum at the borough DUWCI level This would mean that the officers would become local government employees ratner than crown officers, allowed to unions and political parties.
Scotland Yard has a EuCe LudE tre roDosal are political and it is the CULLSS OHC be apolitical. This begs tho policy Cucsuoll Who more political than Thatcher's Willie Whitelaw LIL0 Home Secretary?
The proposals from the NCCL and the GLC and the abuses they are trying to prevent should be supported. The protection of democratic rights and control over police power is important.
The general framework of the DrO posals however presents more of a problem. When the NCCL argues for in-CO1obscures essentia nature of the police as a repressive arm of the state In the final analysis the police are anti-working class and anti-black and anti-labour and nothing can prettity this ugly picture A Fair Cop: reforming the Pouce complamis procedure by Patricia Hewill is published by the NCCL 21 Tabara , London SEI. (46 price El.75 plus 20p pắp) Pu652
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for Civil Liberties who are alarmed by the new Tory police bill which would, in their opinion