AOG
It's an intelligence-led operation, isn't it? The police are using targeted methods to detained those wanted in connection with criminal activities, in the same way that they do at football matches (violent disorder) and Glastonbury (drugs).
At Glastonbury in particular, the police randomly stop cars driving into the area to perform searches for drugs...same used to happen in the 90s when police used to break up raves.
Your last statement however, confuses me. I understand that the police DO use powers of 'stop and search'. I assume this because travelling on the London underground, I've regularly seen people stopped and searched.
Just to double-check that, I went to the Met website, and it seems to back up what I thought:
http://www.met.police...andsearch/what_is.htm
Did you think that the police DON'T use these powers, or we're thinking of winding them down?