Institutional racism in the police?

Exactly Galaxy

Furret

Actually the question was intended to highlight the difference experienced by a (probably) white elderly woman and young black people.

That is very much a question of ethnicity.

Perhaps so Furret but it’s up to a poster to say (if they wish to, ) what ethnicity they are, and not have it demanded of them.

Can I remind you of a recent thread asking posters not to escalated discussions into something less than polite? I didn’t demand. I asked.

Well, in 70 years I've never been stopped by the police (I hope that's not tempting fate!) and I haven't heard of any of my [white] friends who have.

If you are white it is difficult to know the experience of black people. If your dealings with the police have always been respectful and courteous it may be difficult to imagine that for other people their experience is sometimes different.

It seems that some people believe all these accounts of being apprehended for no perceivable reason and being treated from the outset with suspicion and disrespect - and sometimes heavy handedness - are false. Surely the logical conclusion to that is if you are saying this, you are saying that black people, as a general rule, are either deluded or not to be trusted. That to me sounds very like racism.

The thread you refer to has nothing to with my comment, which was( in any case) polite.
I think that if any of us want to inform the forum that we are black, white, Asian etc then we would do, that’s all.
That’s it....you can either take that on board or not, up to you.

If you read my whole post , I am making the point that sometimes situations get out of hand when they don't need to. I understand that if anyone is constantly being stopped it gets tedious/starts to feel like victimization/racial profiling, etc. I have dealt with people, of any ethnicity, who start off by shouting at me. Clearly for some of them, the natural position was to get the first( virtual) punch in before I did. They would then complain that I hadn't dealt with them correctly when in actual fact I had spent half the interview trying to calm them down. The worst person I had to deal with was actually, a white woman who threatened me before I had chance to open my mouth. She was well known to us and everybody hated dealing with her.
I understand that it is more likely that certain groups will be stopped. My OH was always being stopped when the IRA were bombing on the mainland. He knew he would be stopped by the police every now and then and just took it on the chin because he fitted the profile of an IRA bomber. ( apologies to any Irish people reading this thread . FWIW I have Irish heritage too) . He clearly 'looked the part' .

Yes I am white, so was the drug dealer who had previously owned the car . Don't ask how I found out, I just did a bit of detective work myself. I suspect that he had got fed up with being stopped and got rid of his car so he wasn't stopped so often.

Eloethan

Well, in 70 years I've never been stopped by the police (I hope that's not tempting fate!) and I haven't heard of any of my [white] friends who have.

If you are white it is difficult to know the experience of black people. If your dealings with the police have always been respectful and courteous it may be difficult to imagine that for other people their experience is sometimes different.

It seems that some people believe all these accounts of being apprehended for no perceivable reason and being treated from the outset with suspicion and disrespect - and sometimes heavy handedness - are false. Surely the logical conclusion to that is if you are saying this, you are saying that black people, as a general rule, are either deluded or not to be trusted. That to me sounds very like racism.

I think that’s a reasoned and reasonable post Eloethan
I have been stopped a couple of times by police and they were courteous, DH when he was younger ( they were not so courteous) and DD1 ( not so courteous either!) however her car was the same colour and make and in the same area as a criminal, her bad luck.

Here we go again!

BTW I object to being called elderly !

Apologies Lois

Just thinking on...I have never been stopped by the police.

I have. I was putting my seatbelt in after pulling away years ago , so it was a fair cop. But again this proves nothing.

My post yesterday obviously caused a complaint and was deleted, my standpoint is that I support the laws in this country and the police that are doing their best to enforce it. Their job is to catch criminals to protect us the law abiding general public l do not believe they are institutionally racist.

I disagree with many of the posts on this thread that say otherwise.

But I do have to confess I always used to get stopped and asked to open my bags at airports Galaxy. It was a standing joke especially if travelling to conferences with colleagues. They would say ‘watch Furret...she always gets stopped’ and sure enough. ?

At customs they always but always question my 11 year . However as my neighbour says he has the face of a bugger galaxy

??

Did you mean bigger Galaxy? ?

Team GB sprinter Bianca Williams has received an apology after she and her partner were pulled over in their car in a stop-and-search by Met officers.
Ms Williams's three-month-old son was also in the car on Saturday when they were stopped in Maida Vale.
The Met has referred itself to the police watchdog after Ms Williams accused the force of racial profiling.
Met Commissioner Dame Cressida Dick told a committee of MPs officers had visited Ms Williams to apologise.

Furret

But I do have to confess I always used to get stopped and asked to open my bags at airports Galaxy. It was a standing joke especially if travelling to conferences with colleagues. They would say ‘watch Furret...she always gets stopped’ and sure enough. ?

Me too.

And patted down.
And my straw hat swabbed.
My handbag searched.

The airport sniffer dogs love me too.

Why?

I'm glad she has had an apology now, MawB.

Callistemon

The airport sniffer dogs love me too.

Why?

You need to stop carrying dog treats in your pockets! ??

???

Apologised for what ? That their car was stopped. That it
caused her distress?

The apology was for 'distress' and Cressida Dick has ordered an inquiry into when handcuffs should be used. As I understand it there is no evidence of any other wrongdoing by the police.
What concerns me is that we are going to stop the police doing their job, I know that is not a popular line to take but I think it needs to be debated.