Your Rights

Below are some questions that members of the Hampshire Constabulary Youth Advisory Group asked PC Laux.

How can the police justify keeping innocent people’s DNA on file if they have been brought in for questioning and there’s ‘no case to answer’? 

There are laws and rules that apply to the retention and use of DNA.  Police abide by these rules.  If someone is innocent then their DNA is destroyed – as are fingerprints.  It is worth noting that the police do not make the rules for DNA.

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Is Stop and Search a valid policing technique or another step towards a police state? 

Stop and Search is a valid technique and is governed by the Police
and Criminal Evidence Act and the Codes of Practice. Another way of looking at Stop and Search is like this - If your house had been burgled, and your grandmother had all her jewellery stolen, then you would expect us to stop and search a suspicious person and do our best, within the law, to catch the offender and recover the property. Over the years police powers in respect of stop and search have actually been eroded.

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Do ASBOs achieve anything?

ASBOs are a tool to control bad behaviour – anti-social and criminal.  ASBOs are just one tool, and other aspects need to be addressed as well.  It is worth noting that before ASBOs are given an ABC (Acceptable Behaviour Contract) is put in place and if the ABC is breached then the process to obtain the ASBO involves many partners – social services, education, youth offending team, housing, local authority and the police are just one of these agencies.  ASBOs are usually obtained by the Local Authority, not the police.  An ASBO is one of the last resorts, after other attempts to ensure local residents can live peacefully have failed.

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When can the police use force at the football?

Stewards ‘police’ inside football stadiums.  Football clubs have a protocol/service level agreement with the police to outline who does what.  Basically stewards are expected to deal with seating issues, including standing up, swearing, chanting, minor disturbances and ejections.  Police deal with more serious disturbances and support stewards if support is required.  So police can use force, as is appropriate.

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