The Law Society has criticised plans to extend police powers in a Government Bill which would set up an FBI-style crime fighting agency.
The Serious Organised Crime and Police Bill, announced in the Queen’s Speech, would bring about a radical shake-up of the organisations and powers to fight major crime.
It will also overhaul the powers of police officers contained in the Police and Criminal Evidence Act 1984 (PACE), extend the powers of Community Support Officers and create a new offence of religious hatred.
The Law Society fears the police will be able to arrest people for all offences rather than those carrying custodial sentences as at present, or, for example, if the alleged culprit refuses to give their name and address.
Law Society chief executive Janet Paraskeva said: "We are opposed to empowering the police to arrest for all offences. The police would have a power to arrest however minor the suspected offence. That is not an appropriate balance between the liberty of the citizen and the needs of the police."
The Bill is also likely to include a new ‘super-warrant’ enabling multiple uses and targeting of offenders with multiple addresses.
Janet Paraskeva said: "This raises serious questions of police accountability and effective judicial oversight. The warrant weakens judicial control over the exercise of a very serious interference with the rights of the citizen, and appears intended to apply to every property in relation to which a suspect would have rights of occupation, control, or even access."
The Law Society is also concerned that judicial authorisation should be sought to prevent indiscriminate application to solicitors’ offices.
It is unclear whether the Bill will allow drug-testing at the actual point of arrest or at the police station. Either way, the Law Society fears that around 600,000 currently arrested but not charged could be compulsorily drugs tested.
In particular, the Law Society is concerned that the Bill will allow police to compulsorily DNA-swab or fingerprint people merely suspected of, but not even arrested for, an offence.
Janet Paraskeva said: "This would represent a major increase of police powers at the expense of the liberty of the individual and could have grave implications for the relationship between the police and minority ethnic communities."
Existing powers in PACE mean that samples would not necessarily have to be destroyed even if the person from whom they are taken is not arrested.
As regards creating an offence of religious hatred, the Law Society believes it should be extended to other groups, including those affected by homophobic attacks.
Janet Paraskeva said: "The Government is in serious danger of overstating the threat to public order and national security and bringing in draconian new laws which will take away centuries of hard-won rights. Taken together with other plans to tackle terrorism and law and order, we fear that they are taking a serious step in the direction of a police state."
