I have recently become aware of a procedure called "stop and account" in which police stop people
and ask them what they're doing, where they're going, etc. (i.e. ask them to "account" for
themselves) and then give them a "stop and account" form.

This happened to some activists in Greater Manchester in June 2007. The police were called to a
demo, and when the police arrived the activists were in the process of leaving, but the police
forcibly detained the activists, asking them what they were doing. The activists did not reply and
kept asking under what powers they were being detained, to which the police would not reply. The
activists were held until the police spoke to various "witnesses" (I use that word loosely because
no offence had been reported) and ascertained whether any of them wanted to make a complaint against
the detained activists. The activists were then released and offered "stop and account" forms.
Fortunately, the activists videoed the whole incident, despite threats made by the police that the
camera would be seized if they continued filming. The activists made a complaint of unlawful
detention, which was rejected by Greater Manchester police, but later upheld on appeal to the
Independent Police Complaints Comission.

I just want to remind people that there is no power of "stop and account". Basically this is just
the police walking up to people and saying randomly "What you up to then?". There is no power to
detain people to ask them to account for themselves. People are free to answer if they wish or to
walk away and say nothing. I recommend the latter. This is different to "stop and search" for
which there are of course statutory powers of detention if the police have reasonable suspicion that
people are in unlawful possession of certain items, or if a relevant authorisation is in force. It
is also different to either arresting people or asking for people's details for issuing a summons
where the police have evidence that the person has committed an offence. In the Manchester case,
the activists were not searched and there was no evidence that the activists had committed an
offence. The police were detaining them to find out if there was evidence that they had committed
an offence, which was unlawful.

There are several lessons from this story. Firstly, don't be intimidated by police asking you what
you're doing. Unless they are actually searching you (for which they need reasonable grounds that
you're carrying something you shouldn't be, or a relevant authorisation) or they have reasonable
grounds to suspect you of a specific offence, you can walk away. Secondly, video all interaction
with the police and don't be intimidated by their threats to seize your camera or to arrest you, and
it's not against their human rights to film them. Thirdly, complaints can succeed if they're
supported by evidence, but you'll probably have to appeal to the IPCC. The purpose of the initial
investigation (which is carried out by the force you're complaining against) is to find ways to
reject your complaint or make you withdraw it.