Fight back against racist policing
by TJ Diniz Mota, Leeds and West Yorkshire Socialist Party
London’s police frequently serve not as they claim to be protectors of all communities, but as enforcers of inequality, especially for Black and other minority residents. Black children aged 10-17 who are stopped and arrested by the Met Police are around 15% less likely than their white peers to be offered diversion programmes — mentoring or counselling that can prevent early criminalisation — even after accounting for offence type and prior history, according to a report by the Youth Endowment Fund. In knife-crime cases, just 17% of Black children were diverted, compared with 35% of white children. This goes beyond coincidence; it’s structural inequity.
Stop-and-search powers exacerbate the problem. Black people in London are stopped about 5.5 times more than white people; Asian people about 1.4 times more. And yet, when white Londoners are searched, crime is more often detected — 30.5% lead to further action, versus 26.7% for Black people. These tactics do little to reduce crime — increases of 10% in searches, correlate with less than a 2% drop in drug offences. Meanwhile, youth of colour are framed as ‘dangerous’ and subjected to over-policing, especially in poorer working-class areas of London.
Child Q
Case in point: ‘Child Q,’ a 15-year-old Black schoolgirl in Hackney was strip-searched in a school medical room without an appropriate adult during her period over an unfounded suspicion of cannabis possession. Two officers were eventually dismissed for gross misconduct, but her trauma — and broader community distrust — still stand as testament to systemic failure.
And the Met is rolling out more invasive surveillance in Black and minority neighbourhoods around the city with facial-recognition cameras. It’s no surprise that diverse Croydon is the borough where permanent facial-recognition cameras are being deployed first. Although they claim false positives are rare, watchdog groups disagree and, upon deeper investigation, find otherwise. Given the facts and the Met’s history, how can we trust its claims and that it won’t be used to criminalise us?
The Met isn’t an impartial body. It operates in a society bereft of public investment, especially youth and mental health services. Under-resourced communities become visible only when targeted, not supported. Instead of being stepped on by the system, residents should be heard, protected, supported.
We need democratic working-class control of the police, with local communities having the power to hire and fire, and with them directly accountable to the people of the area. Stop-and-search must be slashed and strictly overseen; diversion programmes properly funded; safeguarding powers in schools for under-18s must be reformed so parents, legal support, and appropriate adults are present; and community bodies – not the Home Secretary – deciding policing priorities.
When working-class districts are properly resourced with youth, mental health support, decent jobs and affordable council housing, fewer young people will be criminalised and we can have real democratic control of our communities.