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Police are not beyond reproach I was disturbed to learn the reaction of two councillors to the plight of Cllr James Allie following what he felt to be an unjustified stop and subsequent detention by police on Boxing Day. (Councillor asked to quit after police row, Observer, January 26) Cllr Allie's feeling of arbitrary treatment on grounds of race will be shared by many across London, specifically with regard to rightly controversial stop-and-search powers. Police statistics for the twelve months to December 2005 demonstrate that the black population in London are four times more likely to be stopped than the white population. Moreover, the arrest rate resulting from such stops is almost the same at just over 10% per category. (MPA stop-and-search progress report, 2005) Yet one councillor asks, rhetorically, "If they have nothing to worry about, then what's the problem?" The problem is that, despite his innocence, Cllr Allie is considerably more likely to be stopped simply for not being white. Is that not just cause for indignation and protest? Whether or not stop-and-search powers based on racial profiling get advocated by well-meaning non-racists, its effects are demonstrably racist. We should all share Cllr Allie's outrage at being stopped on the basis of a vague description reliant upon the colour of his skin. Instead, Cllr Allie's detractors would turn the scandalous use of such powers into party political cheap shots. The police have a duty to serve us all and a right to expect our cooperation in return, but they are not beyond challenge if their application of the law is partial. Shahrar Ali |
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