ROTA PRESS RELEASE: FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Friday 23 August 2019
The Coalition of Race Equality Organisations send an open letter to the Home Secretary
“Priti Patel please don’t politicise the police”
A coalition of 20 race equality organisations has sent an open letter to Home Secretary Priti Patel.
The letter reads …
“We the undersigned wish to express our grave concerns regarding the recent announcements by Home Secretary Priti Patel on the 3rd and 11th August 2019, that have removed the enhanced Section 60 authorisation conditions introduced by The Best Use of Stop and Search Scheme.”
“Rather than adopt an approach that embraces effective evidence-based policy, the Prime Minister and Home Secretary worryingly seem to be going in another direction.”
The Coalition of Race Equality Organisations (CORE) comprises of 15 charity and voluntary organisations working in the sector. Their joint letter goes on to say …
“Whilst the use of Section 60 powers can be a useful policing tool when used sparingly as part of intelligence-led operations, it is largely ineffective for taking weapons off the street.”
Data for the period April 2017 to March 2018 revealed that only 2% of stop and searches carried out under Section 60 led to an arrest for an offensive weapon.
According to the Office of National Statistics, in the time of the announced pilot of increased Section 60 stop and search, March to June 2019, stop and search increased from 19% – 22% but so too did knife crime and the number of homicides.
“Disappointingly the new Home Secretary has decided to wilfully disregard the pilot that would help in regards to learning what does and doesn’t’ work.
“Home Secretary Patel’s claims that ‘stop and search’ tactics are the foremost way to curtail serious youth violence are erroneous at best and disingenuous at worst. The Office of National Statistics recorded in 2016/17 that approximately two thirds of all stop and searches were targeted at drugs rather than possession of weapons.
“The latest announcements by the Home Secretary represent regressive and counterproductive policing policy and cheap political point scoring.
Deliberately or not, the Section 60 proposals are too often discriminatory, inflammatory, ineffectual in reducing serious violent crime, and ultimately alienating to a generation of young children and adults that are from Black, Asian and Ethnic minority heritage.
Katrina Ffrench, of StopWatch UK who was one of the letter’s 20 signatories said, “To ensure that policing is fair, effective and accountable it is essential that evidence based policies are devised and adopted. Police forces and government departments must be held to account for promoting stop and search practices that are acknowledged as having a limited impact on violent crime.”
The full letter is available to read HERE.
ENDS
Katrina Ffrench of StopWatch UK and Dr Zubaida Haque of The Runnymede Trust are both available for interview.
For further details contact Lee Pinkerton, CORE communications officer, email lee@rota.org.uk or call on 07985 446 280.
Thank you.
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Race on the Agenda (ROTA) is a London-based, BAME-led social policy organisation focused on issues affecting Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic (BAME) communities. All ROTA’s work is based on the principle that those with direct experience of inequality should be central to solutions to address it. Our policy priorities of health, education and criminal justice are shaped by the lived experiences of BAME communities and their organisations.