At present, police can stop someone if they have reasonable grounds to suspect they are carrying illegal drugs, a weapon, stolen property or something which could be used to commit a crime, such as a crowbar. Legally, this is based on Section 60 of the Criminal Justice and Public Order Act 1994 which allows a police officer to stop and search a person without suspicion.
However, according to the campaign group Liberty, Section 60 stops and searches can only take place in a specific area which has been authorised by a senior police officer, when they believe that violence has occurred or is about to occur, and where it is necessary to prevent it or search people for a weapon if one was involved in the incident.
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