Blea t

[pipme]

Blears: Police should not use racial profiling in their operations to prevent a repeat of this month's terror attacks in London, Home Office minister Hazel Blears said. Ms Blears said that police use of stop-and-search powers should be based on intelligence, not simply on the targeting of particular racial groups. She was speaking after British Transport Police Chief Constable Ian Johnston suggested his officers would be concentrating on particular racial groups, and would not "waste time searching old white ladies".

Slowly the heads will bob up from behind the parapit, when they think the danger may have passed by... with real helpful comments, typical green leather polisher..
Should she not be on holiday?

 

[AdamW]

I've heard two conflicting sides on this:

1) White Britons are unlikely to be engaged in suicide bombings, even if they are muslims. So concentrate on searching people of non-white ethnic groups

2) If the suicide bombers realise that white Britons won't be searched, then they will recruit white Britons to do the suicide bombing.

Now, seeing as my ginger, jewish, female friend was randomly searched in London, I really can't imagine that the police are targeting people due to their apparent aptitude in herding camels.

However, I will say this about all forms of profiling:

1) teenage boys in baseball caps get stopped by the police, regardless of colour, because a disproportionate amount of trouble at night is caused by teenage boys in baseball caps
2) middle-aged men seldom get stopped by the police, regardless of colour, because 50-somethings are not often seen throwing bottles at each other or telling the police to eff off.

People seem to understand this, and generally agree with it. But why is ethnicity such a touchy issue with some?

Most people probably wouldn't argue if you said "Aren't there a lot of Eastern-European beggars on the street at the moment?"

 

[pna]

Its ridiculous that the honest efforts by the Police are apparently being thwarted by Political Correctness.

Blears suggested Police relied on 'intelligence' to guide their searches - is that the same kind of intelligence that saw us going to war with Iraq?

What have the innocent got to fear from being searched?

 

[jtaunton]

I often wonder if something like this is a made up problem, where 'white liberals' decide how the ethnic communities are going to feel and get upset on their behalf, and in fact just cause more trouble.

Surely it is in the interest of the Asian community for this to be cleared up as soon as possible, and everyone can go back to their backpacking lives. I imagine most innocent Asians accept that they will have their bag looked in once in a while, and just get on with it.

Incidentally, I work in Israel quite a bit and over there everyone either doesn't carry bags, or accepts that someone will want to take a peek inside whenever you go into a shopping centre or hotel.

 

[ferdinanddebargos]

What have the innocent got to fear from being searched?

Answer: Nothing.
Blears is just climbing on the PC bandwagon. Another political idiot. If she is your MP, you know how to get rid of her at the next election.

 

[punchjoshua]

surely the easiest way to spot a suicide bomber must be by their wet patch aronnd the lower regions.
well i,m sure i would be wet.