Suspect Community: People’s Experience of the Prevention of Terrorism Acts in Britain.
Author: HILLYARD, Paddy.
London: Pluto Press, 1993. xvi, 300 pages. Paperback.
“The first Prevention of Terrorism (Temporary Provisions) Act (PTA) was introduced in 1974, following the Birmingham pub bombings. Since then, more than 7,000 people have been arrested and detained under the PTA. Most have been released without any further action being taken against them. This unprecedented and draconian legislation is now appraoching its third decade on the statute book, suggesting a permanency that is belied by its title. But are such extraordinary powers needed in the `fight against terrorism’? Have the highly coercive forms of policing required to implement the Acts done anything to curtail the levels of political violence in Britain? Or have detentions under the Acts actually led to abuses of civil liberties in the community at large - and the Irish community in particular?”
ISBN: 0745307264
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