Heather Kidd has called for a re-think on government proposals to extend police powers, which are supposed to prevent criminals enjoying luxury lifestyles, being given to councils and other public bodies. These could then be used against ordinary members of the public.
Local council officers and civilians employed by organisations such as the Royal Mail and Transport for London, will be given the right to search homes, seize cash, freeze bank accounts and confiscate property. These new draconian measures which Alan Johnson, the Home Secretary, is pushing through comes into force next week. The new measures will radically alter the powers of local councils to pursue families in arrears with council tax and other people in dispute with local councils.
These new measures have not been debated in parliament and has attracted criticism from many quarters including the chairman of the Police Federation, Paul McKeever, who said that he was shocked to learn that the decision to hand over “intrusive powers” to people who were not police was made without consultation or debate.
Heather said “This is just another example of the government riding roughshod over democracy and normal parliamentary procedures to introduce something that is inherently unjust and affect the lives of ordinary people.”