Police want to search rail passengers

Senior British Transport police officials have told MPs that they want to change the railways' "conditions of carriage" to close a loophole that means officers using mobile knife-detecting arches at stations have no legal power to search someone who sets them off unless they have a reasonable suspicion that they are breaking the law. This would mean that passengers who buy a London train or tube ticket would automatically be giving their consent to be searched.

The transport police chief told MPs they could currently use the arches only to scan people who volunteered to go through them, unless they had a reasonable suspicion the travellers were breaking the law.

As I see it, if they don't have "reasonable suspicion" that you are breaking the law then they should simply leave you alone to continue your journey, Oh of course, I forgot - we are all under permanent suspicion because they are the authorities and we are not, therefore we must all be planning to blow up the country!!!!!

"In effect, a suspect may not be searched, even where consent is provided, in an absence of 'reasonable suspicion'; a procedural stumbling block to the unfettered use of knife arches," said transport police evidence to the MPs' inquiry into knife crime.

So, "an absence of reasonable suspicion" is a procedural stumbling block now, I always thought it meant that they had no reason to suspect you of anything and left you alone but I guess I'm old fashioned about these things.

In relation to policing the railways, one [possibility] may be to have as a condition of carriage, when people purchase a ticket, that they agree to being searched."

Well, that's me off public transport then! Pity about the carbon footprint.

Read more on the guardian website

http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk/2009/jan/13/knife-crime-police-gang-violence