Black Police Association Chief joins platform against stop and search
redletter | 18.02.2008 20:52 | Anti-racism
Black Police Association Chief joins platform against stop and search
18/02/2008
The Chief Superintendent of the Black Police Association, Ali Dizaei, will join the platform against proposals for increased stop and search powers, tomorrow evening at Friends House in Euston.
He joins Peter Herbert, Chair of the Society of Black Lawyers, Margaret Greer, Chair of London UNISON Black Members Group (pc), and Claudia Webb, Vice Chair of the Trident Independent Advisory Group, who will discuss the implications of the proposals and the negative consequences for black and Asian youth. Kumar Murshid, Respect's GLA list candidate and former race relations advisor to Ken Livingstone, is also addressing the meeting.
The New Labour proposals, in line with the view that black and Asian youth are to blame for the problem of gun and knife crime, mean that police can stop and search anyone on the street whom they feel are a potential threat.
Under existing legislation, police need to have a reasonable suspicion for someone to be stopped and searched; forms need to be filled out and a measure of justification needed. If these proposals get through, this is effectively no longer the case.
Respect's mayoral candidate, Lindsey German, who is also speaking on the platform, said "The way to deal with gun and knife crime is to stop treating black and Asian youth as suspects, for a start. Funding for local facilities and youth centres must be increased, not cut. The education system must encourage black and Asian youth and not criminalise them. We need to look at the system under which we live, and the issues of poverty and inequality among young people in Britain today."
The meeting will take place tomorrow, Tuesday, 19th February at Friends House in Euston Road.
18/02/2008
The Chief Superintendent of the Black Police Association, Ali Dizaei, will join the platform against proposals for increased stop and search powers, tomorrow evening at Friends House in Euston.
He joins Peter Herbert, Chair of the Society of Black Lawyers, Margaret Greer, Chair of London UNISON Black Members Group (pc), and Claudia Webb, Vice Chair of the Trident Independent Advisory Group, who will discuss the implications of the proposals and the negative consequences for black and Asian youth. Kumar Murshid, Respect's GLA list candidate and former race relations advisor to Ken Livingstone, is also addressing the meeting.
The New Labour proposals, in line with the view that black and Asian youth are to blame for the problem of gun and knife crime, mean that police can stop and search anyone on the street whom they feel are a potential threat.
Under existing legislation, police need to have a reasonable suspicion for someone to be stopped and searched; forms need to be filled out and a measure of justification needed. If these proposals get through, this is effectively no longer the case.
Respect's mayoral candidate, Lindsey German, who is also speaking on the platform, said "The way to deal with gun and knife crime is to stop treating black and Asian youth as suspects, for a start. Funding for local facilities and youth centres must be increased, not cut. The education system must encourage black and Asian youth and not criminalise them. We need to look at the system under which we live, and the issues of poverty and inequality among young people in Britain today."
The meeting will take place tomorrow, Tuesday, 19th February at Friends House in Euston Road.
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