African-Caribbean people more likely to be strip-searched by UK police
Source: Guardian
African-Caribbean people more likely to be strip-searched by UK police
Watchdog expresses concern over potential racial discrimination – and frequency with which officers are called by parents struggling to discipline children
James Meikle and Rebecca Ratcliffe
Monday 9 March 2015 22.09 EDT
An apparently disproportionate number of people of African-Caribbean descent are being held in police cells and strip-searched, according to an official report, which also warns that children and vulnerable adults are being placed in custody because their families, health and social services cannot cope.
It also found that the number of calls to the police from parents struggling to discipline their children was on the rise.
Her Majesty’s Inspectorate of Constabulary (HMIC) says it “considers forces are at risk of discriminatory strip-search practices”, though inspectors did not observe any on-the-ground difference in the treatment of those from black and minority ethnic (BME) backgrounds when they visited six of the 43 police forces in the two countries.
The report, commissioned last year by the home secretary, Theresa May, concludes that these forces “did not have sufficient data and other information to demonstrate to the communities they service that all people who come into contact with the police are treated fairly and safely.”
Read more: http://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2015/mar/10/afro-caribbeans-more-likely-to-be-strip-searched-by-uk-police
