UK police watchdog finally gets off its butt to investigate terrorism detention-and-search of children, theft of electronics

By Cory Doctorow at 6:07 am Thursday, Sep 10

The UK police watchdog is finally looking into the widespread use of anti-terrorism stop-and-search powers by cops. The event that spurred them into it? Two plainclothes cops stopped a 43-year-old man and his 11-year-old daughter and her six-year-old friend. They took the man's USB sticks, phones, camera and CD, made him stand in front of a CCTV to be photographed, and then they searched and photographed the children.

They never told the man where he could go to get his property returned. They never returned it. Where I come from, that's called "being mugged."

The Independent Police Complaints Commission (IPCC) said todayit would "manage" the investigation into the incident in July, meaning that an independent investigator will control the inquiry conducted by the Met's Directorate of Professional Standards...

In a statement today, the IPCC said: "The complainant states that, when he asked under what legislation his property was being seized, he was told it was under section 44 of the Terrorism Act 2000. He also complained that he was given no information as to when he could retrieve his goods or who to contact in order to do so, and that there was no communication from police despite assurances that he would be told when he could collect his things."

Police investigated over stop and search of man and children under terror law