Conservatives push for more racist stops and searches

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Home Secretary Suella Braverman wants cops to use their powers more often, and it will hit black people the hardest

By Isabel Ringrose

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Tuesday, June 20, 2023

Number 2860

Suella Braverman wants more stops and searches (Photo: Number 10/Flickr)

Home Secretary Suella Braverman has called on police in England and Wales to step up the use of stop and search to prevent violence and save more lives. Obviously, Braverman doesn’t mean the lives of black people who are seven times more likely to die after being subdued by police than white people.

And they are seven times more likely to be stopped and searched. In a letter to the 43 forces in England and Wales, Braverman said officers using the powers had his full support.

Police Inspectorate Chief Andy Cooke said in a recent state police report that disproportionate stops and searches do not mean police are racist. He justified this because black men are four times more likely to be murdered than white men.

But the way to stop knife crime isn’t to send in more institutionally racist cops to harass black men, especially since most stops and searches turn up nothing. And report after report reveals that the police are rotten racist, misogynistic and corrupt to the core.

Meanwhile, anti-fascists reported a major victory in Elgin, Scotland, on Saturday last week against the far right.

The Highland Division fascists attempted to rally in the town center against the refugees at a nearby hotel. They were joined by Adolf Hitler lookalike Alek Yerbury from Leeds.

The day consisted of a counter rally to fascists called by the trade union group Moray TUC, the Scottish TUC and Stand Up To Racism. About 300 people gathered to hear speeches of solidarity from members of local community groups, MPs and trade unionists.

At the same time, on the other side of town, a spontaneous demonstration silenced the Nazis who were rushed out of town into an alley after just an hour under police escort.

It was run by 200 inhabitants. And he was backed by SUTR anti-fascists from Aberdeen, Dundee, Fife and Glasgow and trade unionists from EIS, FBU, GMB, UCU, Unison and Unite, reports activist Pat.

Highland Division and Yerbury were only able to muster eight. Every time the fascists tried to speak, the anti-fascists met them chanting Nazi scum on our streets, say it loud, say it clearly, refugees are welcome here and we far, far outnumber you.

It was a very large and vibrant demonstration and clearly showed what mass mobilizations can achieve in the face of the fascist threat.

And last Sunday also in Scotland, around 50 anti-racists gathered outside the Muthu Glasgow River Hotel in Erskine to support the refugees living there. About 15 fascists from Homeland/Patriotic Alternative showed up. They had only 13 last week, 25 the week before and none before that when over 400 anti-fascists showed up.

Twelve refugees joined the protest organized by Glasgow SUTR, and two spoke at the rally.

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