Young black people carrying weapons to defend themselves against police, peer claims

Young black people are carrying weapons to protect themselves against the police as they face “destructive and damaging” stop and searches, a peer has claimed.

Calling for an end to “perpetual discrimination”, Lord Hastings of Scarisbrick told parliament that the practice of stop and search was “vile and repugnant” and must stop.

The latest figures show there has been a 22% rise in the use of stop and search, which disproportionately targets ethnic minority groups.

“Those of us who are connected to the communities most affected by stop and search, notably black people, will tell you that it is a hapless injustice and has destroyed confidence in communities and confidence in the police, and has unsettled those who would be more inclined to support the law so that they are less inclined to participate in it,” Lord Hastings said.

Speaking as peers discussed the issues raised by the Queen’s Speech, he continued: “Stop and search is massively, perpetually destructive and damaging, and anyone connected with minority communities knows what it does.

“If Lords wish to come with me to any of those communities, they will find that young men and women carry weapons to defend themselves against the police. Often, because of the aggravation, they then get involved in aggravation that then involves unnecessary crime.”

A recent report by the Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC) found black people were seven times more likely to be stopped and searched than white people in the year to March 2021.

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In the same time period, British Asian people were two-and-a-half times more likely.

In one case, a black boy was searched more than 60 times between the ages of 14 and 16, and sometimes more than once a day.

Lord Hastings, who founded the Crime Concern charity and later social business Catch 22, said that while the use of stop and search had increased, the majority of cases had resulted in no further action.

But he said its use had had a profound impact on those who came into contact with the police.

“The damage done to their psyche, their sense of Britishness and wellbeing, and to the identity of their communities, is unparalleled and almost unhealable. It must end.”

He added: “The Public Order Bill should prevent it, and it is about time that the police realised that this act of perpetual discrimination is vile and repugnant.”

In contrast, former Met police officer and Tory peer Lord Davies of Gower had earlier told the chamber: “While not everybody’s cup of tea, I was delighted to see that stop and search is up by 22% compared to 2019-20.

“Stop and search is the only really effective tool that police have in their crime-fighting toolbox.

“Without doubt, it helps to take weapons and drugs off the streets. With the appalling number of murders of young men we have seen in recent years, on the streets of London and in other UK cities, through knife crime, I contend that, when legitimately conducted, these stop and searches are operationally necessary.”

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