sus laws

British  

plural noun

1. slang  laws authorizing the arrest and punishment of suspected persons frequenting, or loitering in, public places with criminal intent. In England, the sus law formed part of the Vagrancy Act of 1824, repealed in 1981

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Example Sentences

This was the era of the “sus” laws, which were disproportionately used against black people, and meant police officers could detain anyone they believed had “intent to commit an arrestable offence”.

From The Guardian

During a period of sus laws and anti-union legislation, I already understood there had to be another version of freedom out there that included me, and I was busy piecing together the fragments of my own worldview.

From The Guardian

Police harassment was rife, and the notorious sus laws – where you could be arrested merely on an officer’s suspicion – were routinely abused and often ended in violence towards young black men.

From The Guardian

The rebellions in Brixton and elsewhere against the sus laws had shaken the nation; the Scarman Report was the first in Britain to take the police force to task for racial bias.

From The Guardian

Of course, this was the beginning of a bittersweet period for ethnic minorities in Britain: Enoch Powell, hostile police “sus” laws, failing schools and the emerging strife of inner-city life for immigrant communities.

From The Guardian