Police force suspends anti-terrorism searches

LONDON (Reuters) - Hampshire police said on Tuesday it had suspended the use of controversial "stop and search" anti-terrorism legislation after using the power more than 3,400 times but making no related arrests.

The force said it had taken the decision because the threat of an attack was no longer at its highest level.

But the move follows criticism of police for abusing the catch-all power contained in the Terrorism Act 2000, which allows officers to stop anyone in a designated area without the need for prior suspicion.

Lord Carlile, the government's terrorism laws watchdog, said last month that police were selecting people to stop and search under the legislation purely to create a racial balance in official figures.

Hampshire Constabulary said it used the act to stop people 3,481 times in the 2007-2008 financial year, but had made no terrorism-related arrests.

It said its authority to conduct the arrests expired in April and it had not made an application for a renewal.

"We now have suspended Section 44 Stop and Search until such time as the perceived threat is raised to the highest level," assistant chief constable David Pryde said in a statement.

Pryde said the car bomb at Glasgow airport on June 30, 2007 raised the threat of militant attacks to "critical" nationally -- the highest level, indicating an attack is imminent -- and that had an impact on the Hampshire police stop and search figures.

The national threat level is currently one grade lower at "severe," meaning that an attack is regarded as "highly likely."