Cllr Miller meets with Borough Commander on alleged Islamophobic attack

Cllr Tom Miller, Brent's lead cabinet member for Stronger Communities has released the following statement on the alleged Islamophobic attack reported in the Kilburn Times:

I recently received an allegation about some racially/religiously aggravated criminal damage to a car. There was a further complaint that police were not taking the initial complaint about this matter with seriousness. I can't give full details of the complainant or the investigation taking place, but I would point out that victims of crime deserve to be listened to and this is no exception.

I take these matters very seriously indeed. As well as making clear that we will not tolerate criminal damage, I also want to emphasise that we take racist elements to crimes very seriously and it is important that action is taken. My immediate response has been to raise the incident with the Borough Commander, who assures me that an investigation into the incident is ongoing, and that the victim will be informed of how it progresses. I will continue to monitor this situation with the police as this goes forward.

Police 'call-in' of South Kilburn youth seen as threatening and undermining justice principles

The above letter written to some local young people by the Metropolitan Police Brent Borough Commander has unsurprisingly caused them and their parents considerable alarm as well as raising the issue of civil liberties and what appears to be an undermining of the principle of 'Innocent until proven guilty'.

Particularly disquieting is the last paragraph which appears to contain a threat of continuing police harassment if the recipient does not comply. It has also given rise to fears that this constitutes another example of racial profiling by the police when their are concerns about disproportionality regarding Stop and search in the local BME community (see table at the end of the article).

The apparently template letter contains no evidence that the recipient is involved in criminal activity.

The Guardian has covered the issue in detail LINK.  Cecil Gutzmore who attended the meeting as an observer from the London campaign Against police and State Violence said that the two recipients and their mothers who attended the meeting were 'very strong' and that the police conceded that the tone of the letter was wrong.

The Guardian article reports:

Roy Croasdaile, chairman of the Brent Stop and Search Monitoring Group, who saw the letter in advance, said he was not comfortable with its content, although he supported the meeting’s aim. “I was the first person to amend and send feedback from the young man I spoke to and [his] solicitors to the police with regard to the ambiguity and offence that was taken,” he said. 

“After all, it was meant to be an invitation to obtain support and was received as threatening. We have all learned lessons from this for the future and I would like to think that this will not be repeated.”

Croasdaile added that the two young men who did attend proved to be “the stars of the meeting”, making a big impact on how it progressed and engaging with the charitable groups that had come to help them

A Metropolitan Police spokesperson said that the letter was deliberately strongly worded to ensure gang members were in no doubt about what awaited them if they continued with their 'current behaviour'.


Giovanna Midgeley of StopWatch said

It is bewildering that Brent police will be considering non-responses from households an admission of criminal activity. Guilt is proven by good police work, not by whether someone attends a meeting or not.

The 'call-in' strategy is similar to that used in the Operation Shield pilot in  Lambeth. A critique of the strategy has been submitted by the organisation London Against Police Violence and can be found HERE

From the Brent Stop and Search Equality impact Assessment: LINK

Section 60 Stop and Search Likely to be Extended

 Matthew Gardner, Brent Borough Commander, Metropolitan Police in a message to the local community has confirmed that a Section 60 stop and search authorisation was granted for the whole of Brent for a 24 hour period on August 8th. He says that it will be reviewed and is likely to be extended.

Gardner said that although there had been no large scale incidents two officers had been hurt while dealing with offenders. He continued:

We will tackle any further disorder whilst continuing to deal with normal policing across the borough and keeping our people and businesses safe.  Throughout the weekend we continued to make sure emergency calls were dealt with and that major events - like the Community Shield at Wembley and Olympic test events - passed off safely and successfully.

 

Officers from Brent will be working closely with you to assess any impact of the London-wide disorder.

 

The Metropolitan Police Service has set up an investigation team whose sole purpose will be to identify those people responsible for violence, disorder and crime. We will take every opportunity to bring criminals to justice.  There have already been an unprecedented number of arrests across London for public order, violence, and theft (looting) offences.

 

In relation to the shooting of Mark Duggan in Tottenham last Thursday. It is absolutely right that the Independent Police Complaints Commission (IPCC) investigate the circumstances. The communities of London clearly want this and deserve it.

 

I understand that you will be concerned and appalled at the recent events and are looking to the police to make sure you can go about your lives without fear of disruption and violence, wherever you are in the city.  I urge you to ensure you know where your children are during these challenging times. Please keep them at home during the evenings whilst this unrest continues so that they do not confuse a situation by being present when disorder is taking place. This will greatly assist my officers and staff by enabling them to get on with the difficult job we have to do - addressing the actions of a mindless few.