This article is from the source 'bbc' and was first published or seen on . It will not be checked again for changes.

You can find the current article at its original source at http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/rss/-/1/hi/uk_politics/7216815.stm

The article has changed 10 times. There is an RSS feed of changes available.

Version 0 Version 1
Stop and search changes planned Cameron backs more search stops
(about 6 hours later)
The government is to announce plans to cut the red tape that hinders police powers to stop and search suspects, the BBC understands. Police officers can be trusted to stop and search far more suspects without being accused of racism, Tory leader David Cameron has said.
Officers will be allowed to record the details of a search without returning to a police station and fill in a form. Mr Cameron told The Sun he would review rules saying officers must have "reasonable suspicion" of an offence before searching someone.
The Conservatives are also promising a major overhaul of police powers to stop and search suspects. He conceded the move could lead to more black and Asian youths being searched but he said it would also save lives.
The moves are likely to concern campaigners who say the powers are used unfairly against ethnic minorities. It comes as the government plans to extend routine stop and search powers.
BBC Political Correspondent Gary O'Donoghue says the Home Secretary Jacqui Smith is planning to make an announcement to parliament within days. Home Secretary Jacqui Smith is due to make an announcement in Parliament in the next few days on the government's strategy to combat gun and knife crime.
She is set to promise to cut the bureaucracy surrounding stop and search, and allow officers to record the details of a search without having to return to a police station and fill in a form. This is not about race. It's about stopping crime and reducing the number of victims of crime David CameronConservative leader
Extend autonomy The BBC understands she will promise to cut some of the red tape surrounding stop and search.
But the more controversial plans surround an extension to the use of routine stop and search where, in some circumstances, officers can stop people without grounds for suspicion. Currently officers who stop someone have to say why and fill out a form, a copy of which is handed to the suspect. Police say this prevents them from searching large numbers of suspects.
Both the government and the Conservatives believe local commanders on the ground should have more powers in this area - and ministers think that autonomy should be extended to the way that data on suspects is collected and monitored. Home Office Minister Tony McNulty told Sky News the government was considering scrapping the police "stop form" which officers claim can take up to seven minutes to fill out.
Currently, police can only carry out a stop and search after being granted permission by an inspector or an officer of even higher rank. Police 'racism'
In an interview with the Sun newspaper Mr Cameron said: "I am quite clear the current rules have to go." Ms Smith will also extend the use of routine stop and search where, in some circumstances, officers can search people without giving reasonable grounds for suspicion.
"We will carry out a review to see how we would do it and would implement it very rapidly under a Conservative government." Both the government and the Conservatives believe local police commanders should be given more control over stop and search powers.
Like the government, the Tory leader is also proposing to end the practice which means that officers have to return to the station and fill in a form after they stop and search someone. Mr Cameron said rules brought in to address concerns a disproportionate number of black and Asian suspects were being searched by police were "out of date".
He wants them to be able to radio in the personal details on who they have stopped. He told The Sun newspaper: "In the British police service there were problems with racism, there were problems with attitude. That needed to change. I think it has now been changed."
Mr Cameron supports allowing more junior officers to designate areas where they can randomly stop and search suspects in the immediate aftermath of a crime. Protection
The Tories say this would have helped in cases such as the murder of 11-year-old Rhys Jones, shot in Liverpool last summer, but acknowledge that their planned reforms could lead to more people being stopped and searched. Mr Cameron said it was now possible for police to carry out stop and searches "without being accused of racism".
But they insist that the changes are designed to protect those most at risk from gun and knife crime - young men from ethnic minorities. He said a Conservative government would carry out a review of the best way to increase the number of suspects being searched and any changes would be implemented "rapidly".
He said there was widespread support for more stop and search powers within ethnic minority communities.
"Stop and search rules were put in place to protect young black and Asian British kids.
"Now it's the young black and British Asian kids that are being stabbed and shot and the rules are getting in the way of protecting them."
Crime 'hotspots'
He said a Conservative government would need to work out whether the rules on "reasonable suspicion" should be scrapped altogether or replaced with the "say-so of an inspector or sergeant or lower".
"But those current laws, be in no doubt, have to go."
He added: "This is not about race. It's about stopping crime and reducing the number of victims of crime.
"The statistics are undeniable and it's clear by carrying out more stop and searches it is the black and Asian communities who will benefit most."
The government has been trialling routine stop and search powers for police in so-called gun and knife "hotspots" but the powers could shortly be extended to other parts of the country.