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If anything good has come out of recent events it is this: We are finally having a frank discussion around stop & search, and to be honest, it’s well overdue.
If we’re ever going to get to the causes of the disproportionality, we need to be honest about how & why it is used.
If we’re ever going to get to the causes of the disproportionality, we need to be honest about how & why it is used.
Let’s have some context: Stop & search targets street level gang crime, drug dealing, knife crime/weapons etc. 59% of all searches are for drugs. With cannabis having such a strong smell and cannabis residue and paraphernalia so easy to identify it’s easy to see why.
Stop & search rates increased due to a spike in violent crime. While officers are tackling violent crime, cannabis is easily identified. Officers investigate, they engage & their grounds become apparent. A search is then conducted. Knives are harder to identify.
The gangs - These gangs most often stick to their ‘turf’ to conduct their criminal activity. They are usually the economically poor estates around London. Let’s just be honest, these estates aren’t your leafy Surrey streets. Some of them are extremely tough places to live.
While most of the residents are good people, just families working hard for their children, there are also hardened criminals who terrorise the estates in gangs.
According to the gang matrix these gangs are 75% black African Caribbean and 99% male. The average age is 18 years.
According to the gang matrix these gangs are 75% black African Caribbean and 99% male. The average age is 18 years.
These statistics aren’t because black people are more disposed to gang culture, it’s more likely linked to various social and economic reasons such as the poverty cycle, that has over generations ensured poorer ethnic minority families ended up housed in these estates.
The crime -
Between 2008-2018 the Met proceeded against 30,476 people for knife crimes. Of these the majority (14,527) were African Caribbean. 9744 were white, with Asian people coming in third at 3443.
Between 2008-2018 the Met proceeded against 30,476 people for knife crimes. Of these the majority (14,527) were African Caribbean. 9744 were white, with Asian people coming in third at 3443.
Black people make up nearly half of the knife crimes proceeded against, and tragically nearly half of all murder victims - and suspects are black.
So while stop & search is controversial, it does take knives off the streets and it undoubtably saves lives.
So while stop & search is controversial, it does take knives off the streets and it undoubtably saves lives.
Police officers are tasked to tackle these gangs, they patrol the estates where they operate, they target the age group (15-19 year olds make up the largest proportion of stop & search). Demographics context - In some areas such as Lambeth nearly 50% of 15-19 year olds are black.
Police also use intelligence to target the habitual knife carriers, those most likely to be carrying a knife, and the gang members. Those involved in revenge killings, drug frauds and turf wars.
While these statistic don’t show the whole picture and there are other factors, for the police officer on the streets of London, this is the daily grind: The tit-for-tat gang feuds. We know the murder of a young man will naturally be followed by an attack on a rival gang member.
I have no doubt that for some there is an unconscious bias, but the statistics go some way to explain why, police officers aren’t perfect. However, if we can learn how to do things better we want to. We want to search the right people, we don’t want to alienate black communities.
We just want to catch the criminals.
What’s the answer? It’s clear we need to address gangs, poverty, and drug use through community investment. Defund the police is often shouted, this is not the answer. While we are defunding the police, we’ve got another violent gang attack.
What’s the answer? It’s clear we need to address gangs, poverty, and drug use through community investment. Defund the police is often shouted, this is not the answer. While we are defunding the police, we’ve got another violent gang attack.
There is an argument for legalising drugs, especially cannabis. There are failings in the criminal justice system, the situation is complex. Police officers could be better at engagement, explaining ourselves and our tactics, handcuffing is clearly an area we can do this.
However, by simply blaming ‘racist police’ we are not being honest, we must address the real problem: Why are young black men in London disproportionately killing each other and how can we stop it?
