British police may require religious information from suspects; Christians, Jews oppose

(RNS) British police are considering whether to have officers ask the religion of individuals they stop to search.

The idea is a response to concerns that Muslims are being unfairly targeted for police stop-and-searches in the wake of Sept. 11.

British police officers already record the ethnicity of individuals they stop and some community groups have requested that police start asking religious affiliation as well.

Some Muslim and Sikh groups would like police to gather the information, while Christian and Jewish groups generally oppose it, according to a May 19 report delivered by Metropolitan Police Commissioner Ian Blair to the Metropolitan Police Authority.

The Evening Standard newspaper reported that a Police Federation spokesman worried about the added burden to officers already taxed by paperwork. He also said asking people to disclose their religion could inflame encounters.