Centre, CURB: Stop & Search Is Unconstitutional
A US federal judge has ruled this morning [Aug 12] that the New York City Police Department’s ‘stop and frisk’ policy is unconstitutional, a position that both CURB and the Centre for Justice take as it pertains to Bermuda.
The District Judge, Shira A. Scheindlin, found the policy to be in breach of the 4th amendment’s prohibition against unreasonable searches, and that it disproportionately targeted minority residents of New York City in contravention of the 14th amendment’s equal protection provisions.
The judge referenced Supreme Court case law which emphasizes that ‘stop and frisk’ is permissible so long as it meets certain conditions, the main one being that there is reasonable suspicion that the person stopped has committed, is committing, or is about to commit a criminal offence.
A Centre spokesperson said, “Citizens Uprooting Racism in Bermuda and Centre for Justice have long taken the view that the power of ‘stop and search’ in Bermuda under section 315F of the Criminal Code is unconstitutional.
“The police have sufficient powers under the Police and Criminal Evidence Act and other legislation to combat crime. These other powers, like the conditions under which ‘stop and frisk’ is permitted in the US, require individualized reasonable suspicion.
“At first glance, District Judge Scheindlin’s legal analysis largely mirrors the position publicly made by our organizations relating to section 315F in Bermuda. It is our intention to read through and understand her opinion more fully and see what lessons can be drawn for Bermuda.”
The recent Police Crime Statistics indicate that there were 861 Stop and Searches in the second quarter of 2013.
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OK Centre for Justice, one problem, we’re not the 51st state!
And your point?
Courts frequently look to how overseas jurisdictions deal with an issue especially when there is no local precedent available. In Bermuda, we look to British, European and Canadian cases all the time. We also look at American cases from time to time. So I’m not sure how your observation follows from their statement.
The observation follows the statement, as you put it, because we are not in any way subject to the 14th amendment to the US constitution.
And perhaps you could enlighten us on a few specific cases where Bermuda courts have looked to “European and Canadian” cases, and why that has any application to this issue. Since you’re such a legal authority.
Rich should change his name to snitch.. he just sounds like a racist .. lay down
The Bermuda Police have been doing this s__t 30years ago which they knew most teenagers where smoking weed and none of the white friends we hung out with never got stopped and searched!!!!!!!!! WTF
blah blah blah
I guess you was one of the white friends
um black and i used to get stopped all d time..but i don’t stay in d past. i like equality and progression better, somethin u should learn bra. such a hata
Equality ya livin in a dream world and black aint just a color its a mentality you can progress all you like Front Street still would not except you in their circle
Could you please describe what a black mentality is??
A black mentality is state of mind knowing and understanding what black people had to go through and still going through in a society that white superiority is promoted and endorsed outright or sublimely.
Any other questions ?
I got one for you…
What’s the alternative, if not equality?
You need to watch J’s comment so you can take your head out of your A**!!!!!!!!
Please we all know you a white boy or a uncle tom Billy.
And we all know you are ignorant…
lol come round d curve. show u who I really am
Blah blah blah
You need to watch J’s comment so you can take your head your of your A**
The BPS are going to fish where the fish are. If you hang with the drug users & dealers expect to get stopped & searched. Pretty simple. Like it or not if you fit the profile of the criminal chances are you will be treated as one. Don’t dress, hang around with or do stuff the criminals do. Don’t do stuff to attract BPS attention. What is so difficult to understand?
So basically we should just stop being young black males…. smh….
White privilege must be nice huh?
Now you can’t dress a certain way? Really? How do criminals dress?
Depends where you are. In Bermuda a lot of criminals dress like drug dealer rappers, as we all know.
@ Triangle Drifter you need to watch J’s comment so you can take your head out off your A** too
Mazumbo cut the racist crap. You obviously have a Dr. Brown mentality, divide and destabilize.
In the mid 60s getting frisked on the streets of Hamilton was almost a daily ritual, this happened to both me and my black mates. Those English and Carribean cops didn’t discriminate, if anything, I received it more so because I am hard-headed. But, I learned. Once I stayed away from Hamilton and showed a little respect, all of my Police problems went away.
Now I have the utmost respect for our Police and will help them in anyway I can.
Funny how time changes attitudes, maybe in time your racist attitude will change also.
@ Felix you need to watch J’s comment so you can get your head out of your A**
Its called Post Traumatic Slave Syndrome!!!!!!!!!
Don’t be a hard- head all your life you might learn something
Mazumbo you are very good at calling people names. I will over look this weakness.
You like to spout off about slavery as though you are an authority, as though you have or are going through it. One thing that really pisses me off is individuals like you who try to slide on the blood, sweat and misery of those gone before us. It indeed make my blood boil.
Have a look at this: http://www.aljazeera.com/programmes/slaverya21stcenturyevil/
And tell me how you compare to these poor souls who are in bonded slavery today, 21st Century, sitting with your belly full, nice car(?) without a care in the world, with your hands out demanding something that is not yours! Get an education and a life! I am done with you!
Good. You promise LMAO
who the hell are you trying to fool? police only pull over or go after blacks? are you friggin stupid? iT ISNT LIKE THAT AT ALL. ONLY IN SMALL PREJUDICE MINDS.
—
Blacks commit 85% of the crimes, that is why they tend to get police in their business more – whether search or whatever. Come on man! Of course they ain’t gonna pull over a nerdy white guy or old white lady!
Where’s your proof
Where did you get those numbers from? Your rear? Some blacks commit crimes so that means police should have full power to pull over any and every black person for no reason? Some white people are racist am I to assume that all of them are? Why shouldn’t they pull over a “nerdy white guy” or an “old white lady”? You think neither have been convicted of crimes before in this world? Maybe if they pulled over more white people the numbers wouldn’t be so flawed don’t you think? White people are criminals too.
That’s part of the racist thinking society has pepertrated and ignorant people fall for it what is the % of black people locked up in Russia? LMAO
I heard someone say this yesterday on the news.
“Blacks commit 85% (or whatever it actually is) of the crime so the cops go after them more…”
Let’s look at it the other way…
“Cops go after blacks more than white folks, so there is a higher percentage of black folks that get caught doing crime.”
When we give percentages on crime, we’re only counting the crime that gets caught.
If the authorities focus more on one group, of COURSE, there’s going to be a higher rate among that group.
Agreed. But the fact is that they are focusing on people more likely to be involved in crime.
Bermuda Police state! These tyrants do what they please in Bermuda for decades!
@ Mazumbo,
I bet your white friends smoke weed at home, drive with the helmets and seat belts fastened, at the speed limit and and rarely curse off the police. take a hint!!
I did all of the above and still got stopped, its called RACIAL PROFILING!!!!! HINT !! LMAO
You want a taste of racial profiling come back to Bermy and see what Customs does at the airport. When I was in line to get searched it was interesting to see who was in line with me and who was going out the door. I ask the guy that search me was this the black line? Told me sorry I’m just doing my job my boss is the one that sent you down here. I use to hate the police but customs takes it to a new level. When I travel to any other country and they ask a few question and I’m out the door. These guy make you feel guilty as soon as you pick up the bag.
ARE YOU TRYING TO SAY THAT CUSTOMS FAVORS WHITES OVER BLACKS? IF YOU ARE YOU GET “ABSOLUTE RETARD OF THE YEAR AWARD.”
you people will try any cheap shot you can to make your lame cause seem real. shut uP!
@Expedia: Uh, actually they do. I have a relative who is a customs officer and even she gets disgusted with the profiling. She’s like “While I’m searching the black guys with the dreads, the white guy is walking right out the door with god knows what.” It HAS come up in meetings and the like-where officers get unhappy with the way their superiors profile people. Customs does a lot of profiling-when you walk up to the officer in the Immigration section, note that they always watch you as you approach-that deliberate.
They are trained to examine a person and come to a conclusion based on that observation that takes all of ten seconds. Of course they look like things like nervousness, but they are making an assessment on whether or not IN THEIR OPINION you are up to no good…so those conclusions can be based on that officer’s personal prejudices. if that officer has an opinion that all people with dreads smoke weed, that is the conclusion they will make about the person who walks up to them with dreads. If they decide you are up to no good IN THEIR OPINION, they will mark your card likewise and at the secondary point you will either be sent out the door or off to be searched…all based on the officer at the primary point-many people don’t know that. If they decide that all white people are honest, they will not single you out. If they decide that all young, black males are criminals, they WILL single you out. That is a fact.
Sorry about the typos!
You need to watch J’s comment so you can take your head out of your A**
I have a comment that I would like to make..! It is a summary offence to obstruct a Police Officer in the execution of his duty.Remember the fine line between obstructing the Police in the execution of their duty and so called constitutional rights ….just remember that when you seek to handcuff the Police and hamstring them from doing their job because you want to smoke a little weed or carry a weapon or contraband….Just remember. you might be a victim sometime of your over zealous percieved ..Constitutional rights…or worse your loved ones or family….!Thank G-D for the Bermuda Police Service….!It aint broke…..stop trying to….Fix It..!
“It ain’t broke” yeah….right
No I got a thought to add on to yours, why don’t the hooligans read the above story and realize that the police stopping and searching them is unconstitutional, so this way they would feel more safer and then they the hooligans can go around shooting up the country more.
They can terrorize neighborhoods at night and even sometimes during the day depending how they feel,then while they are doing that.please allow the center for Justice home addresses to be know so these same jack bunny’s can stop by to thank them.
The point is people are arguing about what is legal or not, has it been working is more the point, and I have seen enough in this island to know that the Bermuda Police department need all the teeth they can,so please tell the center for justice and CURB to go around a curb and smoke something to hopefully take their foot out of their mouth.
Mr. Santucci, have you been stopped & searched under saction 315F? This law was another PLP blunder, to get a grip on the gang violence,(after saying we had no gangs)good intent but can open the door to abuse, when a 83 year old man is stopped under section 315F you have to ask some questions. To take away my basic right to travel from point A to point B without being treated like a commom criminal. This law has took us back 100 years!
CURB…
What a joke.
for all those who may be a little naive, kindly take a look at the link below to see how certain groups are perceived, and thus, treated differently.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8ABRlWybBqM
Thanks J this is something E$, Y-Gurl and facts need to watch so they take their heads out of their A**!!!!!!!!!!!
Disturbing video though I’m not at all surprised. I wonder if wecan do a study on how whites perceive black government? That’s where the real treasure is.
Still happens in my everyday Bermuda life!!!!
Denying adults access to ganja is unconstitutional,and stop and search tactics which should be aimed at gun men who seemingly ride from place to place firing with impunity not wasting resources on possession of a benign plant.
It should apply for Bermuda too. They should not be allowed to stop people to search them because they feel like it. We have a right to freedom of movement un-obstructed by anyone. Look it up. It’s too much of this country slowly becoming a Police state. When driving in NYC I was stopped becaus my rear light was busted. Not because they felt like stopping for what they call here a rutime check or search and seizure BS.
Exactly.
The police here could stop 90% (at least) of the vehicles here on the basis of speeding!!
And stop 90% every weekend outside every bar especially after the Rugby Classic for DUI!!LMAO
Bermuda is another world…it’s NOT in the USA either!
The case has already gone back before the Courts for a ‘stay’ (which means the NYPD can continue searches) and, according to US reports, will be appealed. So, no conclusions can be drawn at all about the relevance or not of the Bermuda law. Interestingly, not one of the tens of thousands of searches conducted in Bermuda has been subject to a writ before a Bermuda Court.
people we always talk about the heart ache when we are the victims of crime, i would like for the police to say how successful they have been with stop and search, i bet many lives have been saved and businesses have remained secured through this process. i guess if you are stopped and searched and you’re not a criminal one should be happy that the police care about the populace safety.
Abolishing Civil Liberties in the Name of Fighting Crime.
Hey Desilva, I’m not bothered by stop and search as long as a WPC is assigned to hook me up
To provide clarity, the 2006 PACE Act contains Stop & Search powers and requires probable cause, as does other legislation e.g. Misuse of Drugs Act. CURB and the Centre for Justice have no issue with this legislation. However, Section 315F of the Bermuda Criminal Code, added in 2005, provides Stop & Search powers WITHOUT probable cause. Anyone, anywhere, at any time can be stopped in an area designated by the police. To paraphrase a lawyer at a Centre for Justice meeting in 2012 – “these kinds of powers to Stop and Search WITHOUT probable cause are only introduced when a country faces war or substantial terrorist attack like 9/11.”
Note, in a country of 64,000 (including expats)Blacks make up just over 50%. If you only count Bermudians, then Blacks make up approximately 70%. Statistically 90% of those S&S are people of colour. No matter which way you look at the figures profiling is going on.
The major issue is that innocent people are being stopped WITHOUT probable cause. Not only has the Federal Court in the U.S. decided that under their law it is unconstitutional, but also the European Court of Human Rights have also issued a ruling against this kind of S&S. Both Centre for Justice and CURB have sought separate legal opinions as to whether it is unconstitutional and both opinions have stated it is unconstitutional.
Lynne you are correct that under section 5 of the Police and Criminal Evidence Act 2006 an officer must have reasonable grounds for suspecting (s)he will find something stolen or prohibited before conducting a search of a person. This legislation is wholly different to s.315F of the Criminal Code Act for a number of reasons. The most important is that 315F is solely connected with a search for offensive weapons, and it is important to remember this. It is not about looking for drugs, or stolen items or any other prohibited items, it is weapons and weapons only.
With that in mind, and the fact that there have been gang related shootings happening over a number of years, and that these shootings are continuing with three last weekend, police have an ongoing reason to effect 315F searches in order to search for weapons.
That brings us on to who the police search and why there is a disproportionate number of young black males searched. The police are looking for weapons, gang members have been proven to carry weapons, and court records show that gangs are predominantly made up of young black males. It follows that police are going to stop and search a higher proportion of young black males.
I totally agree that the wording of 315F – especially clause 5
“A police officer may….stop any person or vehicle and make any search he thinks fit whether or not he has any grounds for suspecting that the person or vehicle is carrying weapons or articles of that kind”
is flawed when read in isolation, but in the context of the section read as a whole, 315F is only in effect:
“If a police officer of or above the rank of inspector reasonably suspects—
that incidents involving serious violence may take place in any locality and that it is expedient to give an authorisation under this section to prevent their occurrence”
In conclusion, the police are dealing with ongoing gang activity and the possession and use of weapons in the community, if the use of stop and search helps to take weapons of the streets, which has happened (most recently last month in Somerset I believe) then I think the police should use it.
Additionally at a presentation given by the Centre for Justice last year, a lawyer stated that legislation like Section 315F of the Criminal Code is normally only introduced if a country is about to go to war or face a 9/11 type terrorist attack. One has to ask why such a piece of legislation sits in our criminal code!
Police have been searching people without genuine probable cause for decades since the “misuse of (some) drugs” act lowered the bar and the majority populace have not historically had an issue with roadside strip searches,profiling,police brutality because their drugs of choice are legal so hey,who cares if they rough up those druggies.CURB do a little more research, a lot of what we see transpiring is as a result of failed legislation under this act which needs to be repealed if we have any regard for justice.
lynne, after doing nothing for so long about the gangs, this was the best the PLP could come up with! What a shame!
Because they have absolutely no clue how to deal with any situation without restricting or revoking the rights of ordinary citizens. They will promise to get rid of “gang violence” and tell you these measures help to aid just that and all they ask for in return is your silent obedience. Having full control over the populace will make crime that much easier to control, what a wonderful life.
There are Terrorism Laws in all Countries to deal with terrorism!
The current 315F flows from the UK legislation intoduced in 1994 to deal with what
was termed antisocial behaviour including football violence.
Over time it was used to deal with gang violence in the UK and that is likley why it was imported to Bermuda?
It sits on our criminal code becuase there was unprecedented violence that required such an unprecendented response.
Meanwhile, A judge is allowing the NYPD to resume certain stop-and-frisk tactics in the Bronx after ordering they be halted because they were unconstitutional.
http://www.nydailynews.com/new-york/federal-judge-lifts-nypd-stop-and-frisk-ban-bronx-article-1.1245600
The Police found a gun on one of the young men they stopped and searched.The gun was tied to a series of crimes.You still think they should not search our young men?
our whole gang problem is about the illegality of weed, and will continue until weed is legalized. the politically rich benefit from it, and the politically poor get trampled by the police state and shot. all prosecution in Bermuda is selective. like it or not, Bermudians are a weed smoking culture, top to bottom. the lying wretched govt must surrender and let us grow our own weed. the struggle continues……….