Saturday, 25 January 2014

Boycott The Police Until They Acknowledge They're Institutionally Racist


Here is the full video. broadcast of the recent Lambeth Police Consultative Group meeting held on Thursday 23rd of January 2014 that took place at the Karibu Community Education  Centre Gresham Road Brixton , Lambeth , London.


The meeting was called in response to recent Mark Duggan Inquest verdict that concluded that Mark was lawfully killed but in a perverse twist of logic, further determined that Mark was not in possession of a gun, despite the evidence of the Police Officer who shot him, who told the court that as Duggan spun to face him, described as a " freeze frame " moment he was staring down the barrel of a gun.

The verdict has widely but not universally been condemned as " perverse " and the implications for British policing are profound. In short a police officer can, according to this verdict, lawfully shoot anyone as long as he has a reasonably held belief that the individual is carrying a gun.

Set against the context of a Metropolitan Police Service that has, since the Commissioners and the Mayor of London' s bizarre conclusion that the MPS are no longer an institutionally racist organisation,  witnessed the rampant return of unchecked institutionalised racism, that has produced increased levels of a range of racial inequalities.

For example huge increases in the use of Stop & Search, increases in race complaints about officers, racism in the charging of black and white first time offenders that taken together demonstrates conclusively that the MPS is directly falsely criminalising London black communities in a profoundly unjust and deeply oppressive manner.

I am of the opinion that we now need to boycott any Police Service that does not accept that reality of institutional racism and agrees to work in partnerships with communities to rid themselves of this disease. Partnership mean genuine accountable representation from communities, not hand picked nodding dog negroes.

This demand must be elevated to a national priority if we are to stem the precipitous political decline of the priority accorded to equality and anti racism. My thoughts are as follows;

  • To end all non essential contact with Police Services that do not, publicly and formally except that they are a institutional racist organisation.
  • To call a national boycott of all black police recruitment to the police and until such time.
  • To publicly challenge anyone individual or organisation that seeks to work with the police whilst they refuse to accept the reality of institutional racism.

My rationale is that until the Police accepting they remain a racist organisation then we are likely to see;more racist policing incidents,
  • more suspicious deaths in custody, 
  • more disproportionate use of Tasers on black people, 
  • more black people being unjustly charged when they should be cautioned, 
  • more black officers leaving the force than joining and as a result 
  • more likely to see further explosions of violence on our streets sparked by any number of possible catalyst trigger policing incidents.

Better a boycott now than riots later.

So I intend to argue this case urging a national policing boycott to prevent the further criminalisation of our children, secure a drastic reduction in the number of all suspicious deaths in police custody, curtail the oppressive use of Stop and Search and the discriminatory use of all policing powers, and argie for radical changes to the the policing discipline regulations to sack racist officers.

I hope you will work with me to secure decent future for all our children.


Lambeth Police Consultative Group