Ihre Papiere, bitte!

A lot of people are getting up in arms about proposals to give the Police the power to stop and question you as to your identity and movements. At present, provided they have reasonable grounds for suspecting that you're up to no good, they have the right to stop and search you, but you are under no legal obligation to answer any questions they might put to you. The suggestion is that "stop and question" may be seen as less intrusive and confrontational than "stop and search", but to me, the crucial word is "stop". Provided I'm not breaking the law, the idea that the Police should be able to require me to stop what I'm doing or where I'm going - whatever follows - is totally unacceptable, particularly if, as has been suggested, they can do this on a purely random basis, for no particular reason. Police state, here we come!