May takes on Cameron over stop and search

Francis Elliott, Richard Ford and Sean O’Neill, The Times - ‎22‎ ‎January‎ ‎2014

Theresa May is in a stand-off with Downing Street over stop-and-search powers used by police.
The Home Secretary wanted to announce sweeping curbs of the controversial tactic before Christmas but has been blocked by No 10, senior officials have told The Times.
The clash threatens to become a battle between David Cameron and Mrs May, tipped as a potential Conservative Party leader.
Despite her reputation as a hardliner on law and order, Mrs May is said to be convinced that stop and search, which gives officers wide-ranging powers to stop people they suspect of criminal conduct, causes too much resentment of the police.

She wants to limit their use of the tactic and to introduce tougher penalties for officers who use it improperly, say insiders familiar with the proposals. However, ministers believe No 10 anxious the plan could leave them open to UKIP claims they are going soft on law and order.
The Tories are braced for heavy losses at the hands of Nigel Farage’s party in the European Parliament and local council elections this spring. The Home Secretary is understood to regard reforming stop and search as a “signature policies” along with her efforts to tackle modern slavery.
The issue remains one of the most contentious in policing, with community leaders complaining that it damages relations between the police and minority ethnic communities and creates a sense of harassment among those who are stopped.
Sir William Macpherson’s report into the murder of the black teenager Stephen Lawrence raised concern about the police use of stop and search. Stephen’s mother, the Labour peer Baroness Lawrence of Clarendon, said last month it was still “a huge problem”.
The Equality and Human Rights Commission has said that “law-abiding people who feel they have been unjustifiably targeted are less likely to trust the police and co-operate with them when they have a problem.” Others question its effectiveness in fighting crime given the low number of arrests that result from the process.
When she launched a consultation on her proposals last July, Mrs May told MPs she wanted to make sure stop and search was used fairly and only when it’s needed. “At its best, stop and search is a vital power in the fight against crime. At its worst, it serves to undermine public confidence in the police,” she said.
The Home Office failed to respond to requests for comment.
A Downing Street spokesman said last night: “No final decisions have been taken on this.”