News in 2006
07th April 2006
Police 'stop and search' ordeal
A London-based race adviser has told how she has been stopped 39 times over a life time of driving by the police for simply "being black".
Claudia Webbe, a columnist for 24dash.com, believes the Metropolitan Police force continues to suffer "covert racism".
Ms Webbe, a Labour candidate in the local elections (Islington), says she has never committed an offence and her only crime has been "driving whilst black".
The 41-year-old has been repeatedly stopped by officers in what she describes as the "life experience" of being a black person living in the UK.
Ms Webbe is an Executive Member of the National Assembly against Racism and an adviser to the 'Kick Racism out of Football' campaign.
Home Office figures released last week revealed a 14% increase in the number of black people stopped and searched by police.
Ms Webbe said: "My experience is not significant when compared to that of Black men and Black young people in particular, whose experiences are significantly more and worst. When it comes to stop and search it doesn't seem to matter what your status is."
"Stop and search is a powerful tool and, if used properly, it can detect crime. But it can also be discriminative. Police can only solve crime with the help of the community.
"The latest figures show that black people are six times more likely than a white person to be stopped and searched. The police have to live by the notion where stops are justified and, in the majority of cases, I don't think they are justified. This is then felt on the streets by the Black community and it's completely different to what is being said in the board room with Sir Ian Blair.
Ms Webbe has aired her concerns about the stop-and-search policy to Metropolitan Police Commissioner Sir Ian Blair.
She said: "We are talking to a commissioner who wants to see change. The police were making some progress after the Stephen Lawrence inquiry but those recommendations got thwarted by 9/11."
Ms Webbe is also vice chair of the Operation Trident Advisory Group, a unit dedicated to tackling gun crime.
She has seen, at first hand, how confidence has grown within the Black community towards the police.
"There are pockets of good practice and positives such as bringing more police on to the streets under Police Neighbourhood Warden Schemes and Community Support Officers at a neighbourhood level," she said.
Back in January, Ms Webbe wrote a hard-hitting column for 24dash.com, entitled: 'Police racism v Media Racism'.
She wrote: "Too little is being done to address the racism of those that operate at the frontline of policing. There is still much more work to be done to protect those vulnerable to discrimination and racism within the service and to stem the continued rise of those leaving in the face of discrimination.
"The police are the people that we are supposed to trust, they are the people governed to uphold the law, yet we know for those of us operating at the heart of our communities that they sometimes abuse that trust and as black communities we live in fear of death, serious injury, abuse, wrongful arrest and detention at the hands of the police.
"Radical action is needed in order for change to occur, so that those that have the courage to complain are adequately protected and those who suffer discrimination have proper opportunities for justice."
The Metropolitan police say they have not received notice of Ms Webbe's allegations.
A Metropolitan Police spokesman said: "We are concerned about disproportionality and the quality of stop and search encounters, and we recognise the negative perception of the police that disproportionality can create with London's communities.
"Stop and search is a vital tool in the prevention and detection of crime. Where there is intelligence that a person may be carrying a weapon, drugs or stolen property then officers have the power to stop that person and search. This has resulted in:
Hundreds of knives and other lethal weapons being taken off the streets;
Recovery of large amounts of controlled drugs, including class A;
Recovery of stolen property and,
Recovery of items (evidence) which have led to the detection of a whole range of crimes including rape, murder, robbery and serious assault.
"There has been an increase in the use of Anti Terrorism Act powers of Stop and Search since the 7 July bombings but these increases have been across all London's communities.
The spokesman added: "Stop and search must be used appropriately and proportionately. This will ensure that London's communities have trust in us to protect them."
Source: 24 Dash
