NEWS
Black-Brig ht
Issue 59
Racism on the Quiet (UNCONSCIOUS BIAS)
IS SURVEILLANCE GOOD FOR SOCIETY?
BLACK MAN GONE MISSING! FOUND IN PRISON, DETENTION OR IN A MENTAL ASYLUM!
editorial During my journey as an Editor of Blackbright News, it has been difficult to know whether my goal is to bind people together, and connect through shared vision, values and identity or whether it is a publication that connects people, regardless of race, ethnicity and class. I thought about the world in which we live, especially since Brexit has caused so much uncertainty. I even thought of an England without foreigners, which reminded me of the ‘world without black people’ video. That video reminded me that it was John Standard who invented the refrigerator (a resource we take so much for granted, and would be lost without it). It was Frederick Jones who invented the air-conditioner (can you imagine going abroad in that heat, and not being able to cool down the air?). It was William Purveys who invented the Fountain Pen - an outdated instrument, that enabled me to communicate in best handwriting with royal blue ink, and Alexander Mills who invented the elevator (saving our legs walking up and down all those stairs!) –these inventors, a few of many, were black people. England without foreigners would be a bit like that – no sugar, no spaghetti Bolognese, no Love Island, and no ‘Strictly Come Dancing’. Far-right politicians and media are constantly berating immigrants for overrunning their country, and blaming them for over-crowdedness, low paying jobs and high crime rates, but are foreigners the real reason for this? I am not sure they are. The UK has a legal responsibility under the 1951 Geneva Convention relating to the Status of Refugees, the 1950 European Convention of Human Rights and the European Union Asylum Qualification Directive to accept a certain amount of refuguees, and she is currently host to 1% of the world’s refugees. Around a similar period, the UK wanted people from the European Union to help them rebuilt the country, and later extended that invitation to Commonwealth citizens, between 1948 and 1962. I am not sure if the UK thought that these people who were invited over, or who had an obligation to provide residence for, would cease procreating once they reached the British shores, because they are now alarmed by the amount of expatriates living in the UK, and are devising ways to ‘send them back’. The problem is, many are born here, some comply with the British Nationality Act 1981, so cannot be sent anywhere, so the UK is in a situation where she does not know what to do, and refuses to accept responsibility for their short-sightedness. To compound matters, UK doesn’t seem to want to take responsibility themselves for overspending on arms, the military, foreign aid. Selling major companies to private enterprises under Margaret Thatcher; selling industries like Port & Ferries, Boots, Selfridges, Harrods, Savoy, Fortnum & Mason, the Dorchester, and the red buses to foreign investors, which resulted in a loss of thousands of jobs and, which is one of the main reasons for high unemployment - I guess it’s easier to blame it on the immigrants! In desperation, the UK decides to increase the cost of visa applications, so that thousands of fee-paying immigrants can subsidise the deficit. Foreign nationals pay around £1,012 (at the time of printing this article) which tends to fluctate between 1,300 and £2,000 depending on individual circumstances, and it costs even more apply for their dependents, (£3,250 in the year 2019). The UK also welcomes income from foreign entertainers, sports people, footballers and musicians – and conversely make money from immigrants detained in immigration detention centres £100 per day) Asylum Seekers (£130 per day) and those detained in prisons (where the government gets paid per inmate). There are also funds made available for excluded children, and yet £43m has been withdrawn from services that
build the black community, who can no longer provide healthy resources for young black people. England could be such a beautiful country if it embraced multi-culturalism, instead of frowning on it. There are so many ways we can benefit - through exchange of culture - music, food, clothes, We have been able to pick and choose what elements of each culture benefits us, while rejecting the parts that are best reserved for mono-culturalists. With multiculturalism comes the negative connotation of immigration, which is often blamed for low paying jobs, high unemployment and over-crowdedness. Why is the presence of people from another country viewed as a disadvantage or draining the economy? The thing with Great Britain is that it seems to embrace foreigners who bring kudos to the country, by way of achievement and money – and it is, at this point, that an immigrant becomes British. These immigrants, are what the Royal Commission on Population referred to, in 1949, as being ‘good stock’. The likes of Trevor McDonald, Lenny Henry, Mo Farah and Beverley de Gale have even been awarded an OBE or an MBE - the CBE’s and DME’s seem to be reserved for those of a higher echelon, but no black person has come close to receiving one. The thing is, the far right moan about immigrants coming into the country, but they never mention the 5.5 million Brits living outside the country. Are they classed as immigrants to the country they are residing in? Of course not - they are called expatriates. They constitute immigrants in the country they are living in, and yet we don’t hear the host countries complaining that they are overrunning the country, are using up their resources, and causing the economy to fail. We need to understand that there is more to the UK than Morris Dancing and Shepherds’ Pie. The UK is now an amalgamation of cultures that, over many years, have served to make it a rich melting pot of ideas and progression. We take it for granted that we would not be able to get fish and chips on Friday, if it wasn’t for the Hasidic Jews; we wouldn’t be able to have a Friday night curry if it wasn’t for the Asians; nor could we have a night in and order a Chinese, if it wasn’t for the Chinese, or whip up a SpagBol (Spaghetti Bolognese) if it wasn’t for the Italians. This blend of cultures makes the UK what it is today, and those who prefer immigrants did not exist, would have to be content with Toad in the Hole, bangers and mash every day, and a traditional Roast on Sunday! Can you imagine a world without Reggae that inspired Simply Red, Rodigan and Blondie? A world without Salsa from Cuba, Kizomba (Portuguese/Angla) or Zumba from Colombia, that so many Brits seem to be engaging in. What would we do on a Saturday night if Strictly Come Dancing didn’t have the Austrian Waltz to dance to? When things go wrong, it’s so easy to blame the immigrants or ‘the foreigners. Would the country get angry if the government owned up to mismanagement of funding? I doubt it. They cannot openly taint their immaculate reputation of being ‘superior’. I think it would be better to discuss the errors made and see how we can put things right without re-introducing a blame culture that serves no-one. Diversity and inclusivity can be a good thing. It can allow for open-mindedness and an acceptance of differences. There will be those who are resistant to change, who want to stick to what they know and what they believe in, This part of the community may want to keep their cultures, religions and beliefs to themselves, but we should all be willing to share that part of ourselves, we feel comfortable sharing with others, and allow others to extract what they want to be influenced by, while keeping that part of our culture, we hold personal, to ourselves. The Editor.
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Who Cares? EDITORIAL I VERIFY YOU (ADVERTORIAL) INACTION IN CRISIS (RACIAL PROFILING) by Carmen Morris THE SILENT SOLUTION IF YOU ARE TOO SCARED TO SPEAK. RACISM IN SILENCE (UNCONSCIOUS BIAS) BLACK MEN GONE MISSING... MENTAL HEALTH AWARENESS
RACIAL PROFILING – A CRISIS OF INACTION By Carmen Morris
Power is the baseline upon which racism and discrimination exists. There has been much talk around racial profiling, spurred by continued incidents of Black people being profiled on racial grounds in department stores. As the debates continue to heat up, it becomes more and more apparent that issues around racial profiling are strengthened by a crisis of inaction.
Why does the experience of shopping for so many Black people around the world, involve racial stereotyping? Why does there seem to be an inability of retailers to stem the tide of this most inappropriate and damaging behaviour?
The ways in which systemic discrimination and racism within organisations and businesses, impacts the lives of black people, as a group are many and varied. Racism is perpetuated, within the relationships of power and ‘perceived’ power. Therefore, discussion and immediate action, is the starting point for annihilating it.
Truth, Rights and Trust
I was recently interviewed for the Money Talks business show on TRT World News, by Auskar Surbakti. The interview centred on the Sephora diversity and inclusion debacle, in which R&B artist SZA, was racially profiled in its Los Angeles Store. The company decided to close all stores across the US to undertake ‘a little’ diversity and inclusion training. Racial profiling is endemic. It seeps across society and within our workplaces and public spaces.
The incidents of racial profiling continue to grow and the issue is huge, affecting the quality of life and access to peaceful enjoyment of everyday recreational activities, such as a visit to the shopping mall, the movie theatre or simply buying a coffee on the way to work.
These incidents exist across industry where prejudice and discrimination are allowed to exist in both overt and covert ways.
Oprah Winfrey, the globally known media executive, television producer and philanthropist similarly suffered racial profiling in 2013 in Switzerland. Billionaire U.S. media mogul Oprah Winfrey says she was the victim of racism on a recent trip to Switzerland when a shop assistant refused to show her a handbag because it was “too expensive.” This type of behaviour is prevalent within the retail industry and is experienced by Black and minority ethnic shoppers on both sides of the pond. If global, readily recognisable celebrities, like Oprah Winfrey and SZA, with their wealth and celebrity, face this kind of racial profiling and abuse, what about the rest of us?
The answer to that is simple. Society has yet to successfully implement any real deterrent, which aids in cultural and inclusive engagement that includes behavioural change.
Whilst these are cases involving high profile individuals, it is commonplace within the lives of ordinary men and women from Black and minority ethnic backgrounds. What currency is derived from this kind of racial profiling of Black people? Whatever the answer is... Let us call it, talk it out and action it away. It is, what it is!
Diversity Training
Diversity and inclusion training is imperative at the beginning of employment, as is the delivery of strict, enforceable mandates to staff, around the quality of expected behaviours whilst in employment.
Surely, leadership is aware of these incidents, as are the people who suffer the effects of racism within the workplace environment every day. Those who claim ignorance of these incidents, might seek to evaluate the experiences of customers, from all backgrounds, to identify the level of customer service.
Why is it so difficult for leadership to acknowledge that much more needs to be done to deal with racism within the workplace environment?
Sure, as in the case of Sephora, you can always shut down for an hour, a day or even a week to deliver some piecemeal ‘corrective measure’, as a knee jerk reaction to negative publicity! The odd employee can be ‘fired’ to show that... ‘We are actively working for diversity and inclusion and will not tolerate this type of behaviour!’ But that kinda feels old now!
Value Added Training to Support Inclusion
Training alone will not suffice in changing the culture of an organisation.... and here is where some may disagree. Training for half a day or a day (or an hour as in the case of Sephora) is the veritable sheep dip approach. It does little, if anything to deliver cultural change and inclusive behaviours.
Diversity training must be undertaken alongside a range of other useful interventions, such as coaching, strategic planning and other organisational development activities, create the platform upon which to embed diversity and inclusive. (Sorry guys..... far more than an hour’s work here!)
What is currently missing is a willingness of leadership to join the debate in a real and authentic way.
The conversations must be had, as difficult as they may be... and it must include a willingness to increase learning by hearing things that may feel uncomfortable.
Pride and Prejudice - The Danger of Inaction
It often appears that only imminent damage to brand reputation, and adverse media publicity, is sufficient to propel some businesses into action. How then, can we change the narrative around diversity and inclusion and racial profiling?
For too long, society has made it acceptable for prejudice and stereotyping to exist without any authentic reproof. The quick action of Sephora to undertake diversity training for staff, was perhaps, misinformed and based on a knee-jerk reaction, to be seen to be doing something and ‘handling’ the situation.
What perhaps, the Sephora leadership missed, was that damage had already been done to the business brand. It was seen, by leaders, as sufficient to close down for diversity training, held for a period that was wholly insufficient to furnish delegates with even the briefest of descriptions, of diversity and inclusion.
I have, in previous posts, the need to develop authenticity around diversity and inclusion. Pride and prejudice often coexist, and this is an issue that is often missed when discussing diversity and workplace inclusion.
Training around diversity and inclusion is very often presented in a way that serves to pander to the ‘pride’ of those who would seek maintain the prevailing status quo.
This type of ‘training solution’ fails by offering little in the way of concrete objectives, and actions for leaders, to enable them to tackle racism within the workplace environment. Thus, it allows discriminatory behaviours to exist within a ‘framework of inclusion’.
Reputation and All the Risks!
For how much longer can racial profiling continue before Black and Minority Ethnic people take their money out of the economy, and build their own to spend it in? Social media is making it far more difficult for these incidents of racial profiling to go undetected.
The consciousness of marginalised groups is very much heightened with every such display of ignorance. Businesses risk reputation by allowing profiling on the basis of racist stereotyping.
Many know it is a problem but fail to tackle it. I ask, is your business reputation at risk?
If it is, then it’s only a matter of time before social media and global news agencies, will take you to task. The clarion call for leadership is this... It’s time for you to join the debate.
Regardless of the truths that may be told, or the apprehensiveness of the situation, this will not stop unless leaders are willing to engage, authentically.
Any human being, regardless of colour, creed or any other irrelevant factor, must be allowed to partake in the ‘normal everyday activities’ that people in society enjoy...... like shopping and contributing to the economy in a host of other ways. Enough said.... It’s time for action.
Have you been a victim of racial profiling? What are your views? About the Author Carmen Morris is a diversity and inclusion consultant for over 25 years experience in the field. She is passionate about embedding diversity and inclusive practice into workplace police, function and practice.
Carmen is the CEO of Kenroi Consulting, a bespoke diversity and inclusion consulting business, delivering bespoke diversity and inclusion solutions across the UK. She can be contacted at T: 0203 633 1185 E: director@kenroi.com W: www.kenroi.com/
BLACK MEN MISSING! FOUND IN MENTAL ASLYUMS, PRISONS OR DETENTION CENTRES
The main crux of this article is based on an interview that took place a few years ago, with myself, AK Tramplaz and a Senior Social worker who works with mental health clients, but the content is substantive and I am sure, still relevant.
13.7% of black men are in prison, 29% (the majority of which are black Caribbean) are sectioned and detained in mental health facilities and approximately 56% (blacks 2017- 2018 data), a rise of 40% since 2012, when it was 15%) are given CTOs (Community Treatment Order), which sets out the terms under which an individual must accept medication and therapy while living in the community.
AB has been a Social Worker for 17 years, and has worked in several mental health disciplines so has gathered a wide range of mental health experience. She found that despite the different authorities, the practice was the same throughout, which bias towards black people over white, which can be confirmed by the statistics.
It would appear that white men in power, feel that the only way to control the black man, is to imprison him, drug him (mental institution) condition him to be gay or prefer white women, which breaks down an already fragile family unit.
Most people who have been diagnosed as mentally ill, are people who are animated, loud, aggressive, non-conformists, while some have become depressed, they have given up on everything, hallucinate, and unrealistic notions seem very real to them.
If you want to listen to the actual interview – please follow the link:
https://youtu.be/Fr7QdKYKfpQ
The following text is more or less the interview, verbatim. Janet is not her real name of course, and neither is Enfield the area of her local authority.
THE INTERVIEW
LL:
Good morning Janet – tell us a bit about your background:
AB: I have been a social worker for about 17 years, and I work in different sections of social services. I’ve worked in mental health, and the centre of mental health impairment, and I have a lot of varied and wide experience, particularly about mental health, which I have taken along to different authorities. I have not just worked with one authority, but I have worked in different authorities, and seen how they work and they all very similar in how they treat people across the board who are in mental health institutions.
The service and treatment that they get does vary between black people and Caucasian patients.
LL: For those of our listeners who think mental health is just people talking to themselves, misbehaving on the street, or wearing strange clothes, could you define what mental health is?
AB: It is quite broad and wide, so it is quite difficult really. Mental ill health affects everyone in different ways. Most of them who have been diagnosed, have unrealised ideas about life, they really cannot function – it is almost as if they have given up on everything, washing, cooking, looking after their family, shopping – they just cannot do anything, and whatever the ideas and views that they have – it is very real to them. I went on a visit once - her client started cringing in the corner screaming that fire is coming out of his foot – he was trying to get away from what he imagined was happening to him,, so whatever is happening in his mind, their thoughts and ideas - it is very real for them. It is a breakdown of the functioning in their mind, where they cannot realistically behave how people who are considered ‘normal’ do. LL: Some of our black men are given the option when they are in the courts, if they have been overly aggressive, or not normal, they are sometimes considered as being mentally deficient or dysfunctional. Can they be sectioned under the Mental Health Act or be given a Community Treatment Order under the Mental Health Act, so they end up in a mental institution, even though they don’t belong there?
AB: A lot of our black men do end up in the wrong place and it is usually because they have an assessment, and the assessment will be led by a social worker who really doesn’t under the culture or ethics around black people. They will ask a few questions and delve in, and if they don’t get the right text book answers, then that’s it – they will decide ‘this person is mad, he is not giving me the right answer so they will assess as mentally impaired.
I’m just going off the beaten track for just a few seconds… I went out and visited a client with my white colleagues, and a lady was there picking the rice and cleaning it.. because that practice is unfamiliar to them, they will think she is ‘crazy’ or ‘clearly mad’. Had not a black person been there to explain that this is how we do things within our culture (i.e. pick out bad grains, clean and wash the rice), they would have sectioned her, because they saw her picking the rice and as far as they are concerned, it is not normal behaviour. They do not understand the cultural differences.
Similarly, when we go into some people’s homes, it is customary to remove shoes before entering as a sign of respect.
There was also another visit I went on where her son had died, and she had placed her Bible open by the front door. She has her own religious beliefs and her colleague said “she’s absolutely mad – no-one does these sorts of things” they have no understanding of anything outside their own culture.
AK: It sounds to me that is almost as if they have developed an attitude – because they have worked with people who are sick, when they could simply be going through deep depression, they now see anything that they don’t do personally, would term it as crazy because they don’t do it.
LL: It’s kinda scary, because these people, who have no cultural awareness, are deciding whether or not you are sane or insane. So are there many black social workers? I mean, why aren’t there black social workers working just with black people who understand the culture then?
AB: As social workers, we do certain things up to a point, but then everything else goes over to consultants, and they are usually white – I have not known a black consultant, I have to say, which is really sad. So they [the consultants] will take our assessment and information to a point, but then they are the experts in that area, and they will say “OK fine, I hear what you are saying but this person needs to have this particular drug – whether its a depo injection , or some form of tablet and I firmly believe and I have done some research and wrote a paper on this as well, when black men have had certain types of drugs or whatever medicine they have had for bipolar or personality disorder, the drugs that they give them .. our [black people’s] bodies and make-up is very different to white people, and it tends to more resistant to the drug, so they do get a little bit more of the drug to calm them down a little more quicker and one they have whatever the psychotic drugs are, their body structure changes – they become bloated, they become sluggish, their speech is slurred, and it has happened across the board – the women and them men. It’s not just one or two ..it happens to all of the guys who have been treated with the psychotic drugs.
They have sections in mental health rules, and within these sections, (a lot of people who are sectioned don’t know this) depending what section you put on, determines what treatment you get. Some are meant to have a consultation and an assessment, but they will say “as you are here now, take this medication, it will do you good”. The patient would need to know what all the sections mean, because a Section 2 does not mean that you have to be given drugs – a Section 3 is where you are held and given drugs. LL: So if people do not know what section they are being apprehended under, they won’t know what they are supposed to agree to and what not to agree to.
AB: Exactly. So when you are sectioned, if you have an advocate with you, they will ask what section is this person being detained under? If they say Section 2, they will argue that it is only for an assessment, it is not for treatment or medication. A Section 3 Is where they hold you for 6 months and where you have medication. LL:
How far do the sections go up?
LL:
OhI see, so its not like they are numbered 4,5,6,7…
AB: The sections do not go up sequentially – the sections are numbered randomly. For example, the police have a Section 136, where they can pick up and detain a person – the numbers are not in sequence.
AB:
No.
AB: sity.
It’s just training and studying laws of mental health, and just qualifying really.. it means going to univer-
AK: Can I backtrack a bit – when you mentioned consultants – what qualifies someone to be a consultant. How can a black person become a consultant?
LL:
Have you thought about being a consultant – as there is a shortage in black consultants?
AB: No. definitely not! I agree, there is a shortage, and I would probably be good at it. I would be able to relate more, and not just go straight in with drugs, but I prefer being hands on – and I can achieve more. It is not for me.. in the area of work I work in, I achieve quite a lot. As a consultant you have to be a strong determined person, because you are fought all the way.
LL My concern is that if all the consultants are white and these are the people who have juris diction over black people, and we have black people who only want to go so far, and they don’t want to commit themselves to go any further when they could make a significant difference, it kinda sad, don’t you think?
AB:
I know..
AK:
Are you sceptic – is it because you think you would not get that position?
LL: (interrupts) I am not putting the onus on you, but we do need black people in positions where they can make decisions .We need black people in positons where they make decisions that affect black people
AB:
Probably not – I have two strikes against me - I am black and I am a woman
AK:
How many years have they been sectioning under the NHS
AK:
(interrupts) – do you mean held down and drugged up? That kind of attitude?
LL: But you still have the equality law- or whether you like the word tokenism or not, you could be that person who they decide to appoint. I mean, you have all the qualifications and you have all the experience, and you have been in the system a long time.. it could be the way forward.
AB: Many, many years – The act goes back to Mental Health Act 1983, and it was in place long before that. There has been lots of changes - it used to be harsh and ruthless before. The law has …
AB: Yes, I have seen that – I was working back when they used to strap them down, locked into one room, the walls were padded – I’ve been there and seen that and perhaps since mid-1990s, they stopped all that. The last one was Shenley Psychiatric Hospital in Hitchin where they used to give electric shock. It was very abusive.
LL: You know like when they say that if you have mental health, you can get a Community Treatment Order (CTO), do you know anything about that? I believe it is supposed to option rather than go to prison, the people with mental health issues can actually get a community order and I think that is a bit scary in that, if they are not being assessed and they are just being given a CTO based on what ever their behaviour is…
AB: (interrupts) I hear you.. it’s a bit like care in the community, they are supposed to be looked after within the community but it doesn’t happen, because they do slip through the net. If they have to have injections every two weeks and the CPN (Community Psychiatric Nurse) visits the clients to administer the medication, but sometimes the clients are not there, so they have missed two weeks of injections and so of course they are out in the community, without any medication that actually stabilises them. And that is where a lot of the problems start because clients relapse.. there is no monitoring.
LL: I wanted to know, for those of my brothers who opt for mental institutions as opposed to jail believing it to be the easier option – but end up staying in the mental institution for quite a long time – even longer than if they had gone to jail. Why is that?
AB: Usually it is because there is no one to advocate for them. Many come in on a Section 3 and that is a six months stay (which might look attractive to someone thinking about a 12 month jail term) but there is no one to advocate for them - no family to visit you, so you are on your own. There is no-one to ask what is happening with his treatment, how long is he going to be detained for? How long has he been here? Can he go out? Because there are times when they can actually have days out to go shopping or just a break from the institution.
Without an advocate, the only thing they have is an assessment at the end of 3 months to see if they are deemed well enough to leave and go back into the community and that is through an appeals tribunal; but then if the client doesn’t actually know that they can ask for a tribunal, and appeal, they are stuck. By law the appeals procedure should be administered but sometimes, once again, they slip through the net – so they don’t actually get their appeal. I’ve know many who have been there for 2-3 years.
I would imagine if they don’t have the contact numbers of family members, they are totally isolated. Is LL: there no free advocacy service where people check the status of people in those institutions?
AB: There is nothing like that - there is no free advocacy service, where people check the status of people in these institutions? It costs money – so who is going to pay for it? It is no better than what is was like in the 1990s. Nothing is done - people are forgotten.
LL: I am thinking of problem solving here - Supposing a group of volunteers decided to create an advocacy group who devoted themselves to those inpatients who had been there over 6 months, but focussing on those who had been there for over a year?. I would imagine that people would develop mental health problems by virtue of being in that environment.
AB:
LL:
Two types – ones who are under lock and key, and those who are allowed to roam the grounds
So when they are under lock and key, what have they done to be under lock and key?
AB: The ASW, which is the Approved Social Worker will say the person is deemed to have severe mental health, risk to himself and other people.. permanently locked up. Cannot learn integration skills. Some of them are in isolation, or a nurse who follows them all the time. Lunch, toilet
LL: So like I could walk into any prison and check the status of the prison or see if anyone is being abused in the cell – you don’t need permission, you just need to tell the desk officer..is that not the case with mental health institutions? Can a person off the street visit a mental health patient?
AB: No... you need a reason, and who you are to that person, It’s usually only social workers who have access to mental patients - no-one else would have a reason to see that person, unless you’re a family member,
LL:
But supposing you are a concerned citizen?
AB: No, there is no action, and this why some of them get missed and fall through the system and are never see again.
LL: What is the way forward? It is not about assessing and locking up our brothers, but it is getting to know the culture of black people, what they like, how they behave and then they will see there is nothing wrong with them and not mental health but a cultural difference
Police construed a heated debated as aggression, disturbing the peace.. we have more vigour and aggression, but still penalised.
AK: I am sure that the police understand how we communicate by now, with vigour and aggression – they know us - they have been studying us for a long time. What is happening is that people that are working there are ignorant of culture and they are not trained or educated enough to be doing what they are doing. It doesn’t matter if they have a Phd.. they know nothing about our culture. These people do not care about black people, they are only there to section and give drugs. People who are making decisions are ignorant about our culture and our history. It’s institutionalised racism – they are just there to give orders to give drugs. LL:
Do you think black people are over-represented in mental institutions?
LL:
Are there not many Asians in mental institutions? Are Chinese represented there at all?
AB: Definitely. Especially in areas where black people live. Chinese are the lowest represented in mental health institutions AK:
We are being mistreated unrepresented
AB: No-one seems to bother with people in the mental homes – mothers used to visit, but now it’s getting less and less AK:
Parents assume that they are never come back. Do you think the drugs make it harder for them to be-
come normal?
AB: They get drugs on a weekly basis – they won’t swallow the tablets, so they inject them – it changes their metabolism. Their face, body structure – they keep tapping, rocking or pacing.
AK: Has there been no study as to why it encourages this kind of behaviour? Has no one said that we should stop using these drugs?
AB: Lots of talks but they say this is the only thing they have, and it’s the only thing that works for now… It has been talked about but they know how it makes the patients react.
LL:
Do you think they are using black people as scapegoats?
AB: Yes, I do. They test new drugs on the clients – some have a bad reaction - convulsions or the shakes. Before I started doing social work, I had to watch ECT (Electroconvulsive Therapy) - there is some controversy whether it constitutes medical abuse - where they put electric nodes on patients. Did you see the movie “One flew over the cuckoos nest?” It reminded me of that - and their whole body would shake.. they would come out dazed, they couldn’t react to anything.. this was to subdue them, they have stopped doing it now.
AK: They have admitted people, but subduing them with drugs to keep themselves safe, as opposed to helping the patients - so it is not to deal with the problem, it is just to subdue to keep them quiet. We need a call from the government to help. I wonder if David Lammy and Paul Boateng would intercede?
AB:
LL:
AB:
Sometimes I go there they are just in their underpants because there is no-one to wash their clothes.
Why don’t hospital staff wash their clothes (they are only there to cook and clean)
They are not employed to do that.
What are the Solutions?
Authorise psychodynamic counselling (History of abuse? Neglect? Abandonment?)
Assess Literacy Levels
Appoint culturally diverse consultants
Allow advocacy, legal representation
Assess for depression – is a temporary problem
Develop a monitoring system of volunteers, where like the police where civilians can just walk in and check status, maintenance of the facility and treatment methods.
Advocate who can inform about appeals process and what section s/he has been admitted under.
Someone to advise that prison might be better than a mental institution
What label are you being detained under: Schizophrenia or Bi-Polar, etc?
Put systems in there to make them self-sufficient (washing machines) if there are no family members visiting Re-training programmes to help to be self-sufficient
Some facts and figures
Among the 5 broad ethnic groups, people in the Black ethnic group were the most likely to have been detained under the Mental Health Act in 2017/18 (commonly known as being ‘sectioned’), and people in the White ethnic group were the least likely to have been detained
Among the specific ethnic groups, Black Caribbean people had the highest rate of detention out of all ethnic groups for which ethnicity was reliably recorded
the charts and tables show that the highest rate of detention was for people recorded as being in the Other Black ethnic group, followed by those in the Other ethnic group – however, these are considered to be overestimates because ‘other’ categories may have been used for people whose specific ethnicity wasn’t known
https://www.ethnicity-facts-figures.service.gov.uk/health/access-to-treatment/detentions-under-the-mental-health-act/latest https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-40495539
https://www.independent.co.uk/news/health/mental-health-act-detained-sectioned-ethnic-minority-bme-report-nhsa8669246.html https://youtu.be/Fr7QdKYKfpQ
DO YOU KNOW… Do you know what the difference is between mental illness and mental health?min The term ‘mental illness’ is generally used when someone experiences significant changes in their thinking, feelings or behaviour. The changes need to be bad enough to affect how the person functions or to cause distress to them or to other people. The terms ‘mental health problem’ and ‘mental disorder’ have a similar meaning. If a person has always had a problem in their thinking, feeling or behaviour, then this is not usually called mental illness. It may then be called a developmental problem or a difficulty with their personality (sometimes called a personality disorder). Mental health is the opposite – it means mental wellbeing, good mental functioning or having no particular problems in thinking, feelings or behaviour. These kinds of definitions of course greatly over-simplify things. All of us experience changes from time to time in our feelings, thinking and behaviour, and there is no clear cut off between illness and health. Also someone may have problems which fit the definition of a mental illness, but they may be very healthy mentally in other ways. [Source unknown] [Black-bright News is, as its name suggests, takes the black (or dark side) of a situation and brings it into the light, so that readers can see what is going on].
THE SILENT SOLUTION – NEW POLICE SYSTEM IN THE UK, IF YOU ARE TOO SCARED TO SPEAK? WHEN YOU CALL 999 All 999 calls are directed to call centres and will be answered by BT operators. They will ask which service you need. If no service is requested but anything suspicious is heard throughout the process, BT operators will connect you to a police call handler. IF YOU CALL 999 FROM A MOBILE It is always best to speak to the operator if you can, even by whispering. You may also be asked to cough or tap the keys on your phone in response to questions. If making a sound would put you or someone else in danger and the BT operator cannot decide whether an emergency service is needed, your call will be transferred to the Silent Solution system. The Silent Solution is a police system used to filter out large numbers of accidental or hoax 999 calls. It also exists to help people who are unable to speak, but who genuinely need police assistance. You will hear an automated police message, which lasts for 20 seconds and begins with ‘you are through to the police’. It will ask you to press 55 to be put through to police call management. The BT operator will remain on the line and listen. If you press 55, they will be notified and transfer the call to the police. If you don’t press 55, the call will be terminated. Pressing 55 does not allow police to track your location. WHAT THEN? When transferred to your local police force, the police call handler will attempt to communicate with you by asking simple yes or no questions. If you are not able to speak, listen carefully to the questions and instructions from the call handler so they can assess your call and arrange help if needed. Because it’s less likely that 999 calls are made by accident from landlines, the Silent Solution system is not used. If, when an emergency call on a landline is received: -
there is no request for an emergency the caller does not answer questions only background noise can be heard and BT operators cannot decide whether an emergency service is needed, then you will be connected to a police call handler as doubt exists.
If you replace the handset, the landline may remain connected for 45 seconds in case you pick it up again. If you pick up again during this 45 seconds and the BT operator is concerned for your safety, the call will be connected to police. When 999 calls are made from landlines, information about where you’re calling from should be automatically available to the call handlers to help provide a response.
NEED TO DIAL 999 URGENTLY FOR POLICE BUT CAN’T SPEAK? A national campaign to raise awareness of a system to help people alert police when in imminent danger but unable to speak, is being launched by the Independent Office for Police Conduct The Silent Solution system enables a 999 mobile caller who is too scared to make a noise, or speak, to press 55 when prompted – to inform police they are in a genuine emergency. The system is well-established in the UK but is only effective if the public know and understand how it works. It could, in extreme situations, potentially save a life. Prior to her murder, Kerry believed that if she made a silent 999 call she would not need to speak or make a noise for police to send assistance. Sadly her call was terminated and was not put through to the police control room because she did not know to use the Silent Solution system. It is not true that police will automatically attend if you make a silent 999 call. Callers need to listen and respond to questions and instructions, including by coughing or tapping the handset if possible, or if using a mobile phone, once prompted by the automated Silent Solution system, pressing 55. The system filters out thousands of accidental or hoax silent 999 calls made daily. Around 50 emergency calls from mobiles a day are transferred by a BT operator to police forces in the UK as a result of someone having pressed 55 when prompted, enabling the police to carry out urgent enquiries to respond. IOPC Regional Director Catrin Evans said: “It is always best to actually speak to a police call handler if you can, even if by whispering, but if you are putting yourself or someone else in danger by making a sound, there is something you can do. “Make yourself heard by coughing, tapping the handset or once prompted by the automated system, by pressing 55. “We found from our investigation into police contact with Kerry that there is a lack of public awareness of the Silent Solution system and are keen to share this important information as widely as possible. It could potentially save a life.” Kerry Power - Silent Solutions Kerry made her silent 999 call in the early hours of 14 December, 2013 when her ex-partner and stalker broke into her home. She did not respond to the BT operator’s instructions and her call was transferred to the Silent Solution system. As 55 was not pressed, the call was terminated and Devon and Cornwall Police were not notified of Kerry’s call. Her ex-partner David Wilder called police later that morning to report he had fatally strangled her. Kerry’s family said: “Happy, fun-loving and considerate are all words you could use to describe Kerry, however the one thing everybody would mention first would be that she was the consummate mum. “After a split from her son’s dad and a tough few years, things were on the up, Kerry was back to her old self and was looking forward. Unfortunately this was all brought to an end by the brutal actions of her ex-partner in December 2013.
“After weeks of stalking and inappropriate behaviour, he broke into Kerry’s house with a key he had previously had cut, unable to accept her decision to end their relationship. As things escalated Kerry became worried for the safety of herself and her son, who was asleep upstairs and called 999. “Although she was not able to speak for the fear of alerting the intruder to her actions, she followed the advice given by a police officer during an earlier visit; that she could call and not speak, as the police held her details they would be alerted and attend. “Unbeknown to Kerry, this was fiction and nobody came…… a short while after the call, she was strangled.” Our investigation could not conclusively identify the wording the police officer used when advising Kerry about making an emergency call however it was clear she did not know she would need to press 55 when prompted by the Silent Solution system. Lisa Johnson, Manager of Direct Services at Women’s Aid, said: “For survivors of domestic abuse calling the police might be too dangerous. Many abusers will threaten to hurt or even kill them if they try to speak out about the abuse. This means that for far too long many women have not been able to access the emergency support they so desperately need from the police. “For a long time we have been encouraging survivors to use the Silent Solution system to make a silent 999 call if they feel it would be dangerous for them to speak to the call operator. That’s why we are pleased to work with the IOPC to help raise awareness of the system so that survivors can call 999 without putting themselves at further risk and prevent further lives, like that of Kerry Power, from being taken.” National Police Chiefs’ Council Lead for Contact Management, ACC Alan Todd said: “One of the fundamental roles of police is to help people in an emergency. The police service receives 12 million 999 calls each year, and a small number of callers need to use the ‘Silent Solution’ as they are not able to use their voice during an incident. “This solution ensures that those who need assistance can make themselves heard through a simple and straightforward process.” As part of the Make Yourself Heard campaign, we have produced graphics, a poster and a ‘How to Guide’, which we hope will be shared widely to raise awareness of the Silent Solution system and debunk the myth that a silent call by itself will automatically bring help. Around 20,000 silent 999 calls (where no response is obtained to questions) are made a day. Of those, around 5,000 are transferred to the Silent Solution system because doubt whether the call is genuine exists. The 55 instruction is detected around 50 times a day (1 per cent of all silent calls put through to the system). The IOPC oversees the police complaints system in England and Wales. The Silent Solution system is used throughout the United Kingdom.
Women’s Aid is the national charity working to end domestic abuse against women and children. The 24 Hour National Domestic Violence Helpline on 0808 2000 247 (run in partnership with Refuge) and our range of online services, which include the Survivors’ Forum, help hundreds of thousands of women and children every year. The Next Generation Text service, run by BT, is designed for people who are deaf, hard of hearing or have a speech impairment. You need to register your mobile number before using the service. Visit the NGT website for information.
https://www.ngts.org.uk/how-to-use-ngt/contact-999-using-ngt.html
(Racism in Secret) - Unconscious Bias: All human beings are programmed to subconsciously categorise others, make prejudiced judgments and jump to conclusions. Bias is an inclination or prejudice for or against a person or group, especially in a way that is considered to be unfair. It is aimed at ‘out-groups’ (e.g. those who are very different to us, or with whom we do not identify) and ‘in’ groups (e.g. those who are very similar to us, or with whom we do identify strongly). The human tendency to be biased is a natural result of evolution, and has developed over many thousands of years. This natural tendency is further reinforced through a process of continual socialisation. Organisations should be committed to equality, diversity and inclusion for all staff and clients and therefore we want to eliminate any negative impacts of positive or negative bias that impacts on opportunities or leads to discrimination or favouritism. When unconscious bias comes into play, our decisions may not be as robust and objective as we believe them to be. Bias can creep into any situation where individuals have the power to influence outcomes through their decisions and actions. There are important implications for recruitment, staff development, performance management, workforce retention, leadership and all aspects of patient / customer care and consequently for organisational performance. In law it is not necessary to prove intention to establish discrimination liability. Courts can potentially infer subconscious prejudice resulting in discrimination, particularly if other indicators such as monitoring show a tendency for or against a particular group. We all have a tendency to believe that all people in a certain group have the same attributes because it’s an easy way to process information. Sometimes we realise we are doing this, but often we don’t this is unconscious bias. There are three types of bias. Affinity bias: We often automatically favour others with whom we share certain characteristics, behaviours or experiences – those who belong to our ‘in-group’. There is much evidence to show the power of affinity bias in recruitment or people management situations. Self-fulfilling prophecy: Our actions and decisions are often (unintentionally) tailored to confirm our hidden biases. So, if we feel negatively about young people (for example) we may subconsciously be on the look-out for something that will justify our bias.
The unconscious organisation: Deep-seated organisational habits and norms, and ‘the way we do things round here’ can have an enormous influence on employee behaviours and morale. Its fine if you fit in and go along with these habits and norms, but if not it is hard to challenge them when they are in the ‘organisational unconscious’. What action can you take? It is hard to override our unconscious biases when we are not aware of them. But the starting point is to accept that in general terms we are all likely to be biased in some respects, and that this will affect our actions and decisions. We should not feel guilty, but accept responsibility for monitoring our own behaviours. We should commit consciously to being fair and respectful to everyone we come into contact with. If you suspect you hold a bias for a particular group, try to analyse why this is. Where does the bias come from, and what does it mean? What is your first recollection of feeling this way? Was the bias triggered by a particular event, or learned from a particular person? What can you do about the bias? To minimise the danger of unconscious bias for example, in the recruitment interview process, you should be consistent. Give all candidates the same information about the selection process; limit personal questions and small-talk; ask the same questions of all candidates*, in the same order, and make sure that they reflect the person specification; keep notes; avoid affirming one candidate’s performance, but not that of others. This does not stop you being able to ask supplementary /follow up questions based on the individual response, but bear in mind any bias you may have in such questions. Actively contribute to creating a workplace where diversity matters and where equality and inclusion is taken seriously – and where different views and ways of working are valued. Support or initiate projects that promote positive images and stereotypes of diversity. Affirm others appropriately and consistently, so that encouragement and criticism are not subconsciously driven by bias. Review your responsibilities with regard to every aspect of people management and the employment life cycle, and check for hidden bias in your short-listing; interviewing; mentoring; learning and development support, performance evaluation and management succession planning and support to staff with promotion and any disciplinary grievance or bully and harassments matters. Review your responsibilities with regard to every aspect of interaction with the public and your service provision, and check for hidden bias in your service offer, appointments and communications with the public. Keep good records of decisions and justifications, and monitor for patterns that might suggest unintentional bias. Share this information with friends and colleagues and contribute to the community’s best practice on unconscious bias. Adapted from: CCS Newsletter
I S S U RV E IL LA N C E G O OD F OR S O C I E TY ? Surveillance is a difficult topic, because it is meant to be for the safety of the nation, and yet, it has a way of making the nation feel vulnerable and exposed. When we think about how police tackle crime these days, criminals need not fear or hide from the men in uniform anymore, because now high definition cameras mounted on buildings, helicopters, miniature planes, drones and/or on police officers’ jackets – does the job for them one of the surveillance devices will spot a criminal if s/he is up to no good! When you think you have got away with a crime, the spatial face recognition cameras are there to catch collateral criminals (i.e. those ones the police don’t know about, but which the erroneous cameras will select you as being under suspicion). The facial recognition cameras wrongfully identify 96% of the time and up to 98% in some studies, which means that they are totally ineffective, but are used to ‘catch criminals’. Everyone it spans and bears a slight resemblance to someone stored on the Police National database, is up for grabs, and can be apprehended, arrested, taken down to the station, whether you are innocent or not. By the time you come out of the station, your finger prints will have been taken, all your biometrics, and your photo stored, so they actually now have a proper photograph of you, not of someone who looks like you. If you are someone who is undocumented, under Operation Nexus, the police have immigration officials on standby, who will be able to quickly determine whether you are legally in the country, and if you are not (even if you are waiting for application papers to be approved), you could be whizzed off to some remote detention centre. For police accountability, they wear body cameras, which I understand will soon be fitted with facial recognition software, which is scary, since as mentioned before, the algorithms are biased to disadvantage people of colour, women and the elderly. It appears the algorithms were tested on white men, so anything outside that, the facial recognition camera will target. Other surveillance equipment includes, directional microphones, thermal imagiing (which is where the body heat produces images) so that the subject is easier to locate; motion technology (which anticipates movement) and computer algorithms, which were responsible for denying high calibre Africans a visa so they could attend a conference at a London University. All the surveillance information, in all its formats, could be collated and fed up to a ‘cloud’ of
data, and then downloaded onto various systems as required. However, that is probably work in progress. Along with the surveillance systems, we have Operation Nexus (where the police work with the Home Office and Border Control, to find illegal immigrants); Operation Trident (where the police are try to crack down on gun crime) Section 60 and the Offensive Weapon Act, to crack down on knife crime, and combined infrastructures are bound to be in operation at the Notting Hill Carnival this year. Anyone who is not squeaky clean, will not be relying on the astuteness of police officers to catch them, but the power of artificial intelligence and predictive policing.. .Predictive policing, like facial recognition and stop and search has been found to be discriminatory. It encourages racial profiling and threatens privacy and freed of expression. The police did have a contract with PredPol in California, I believe, but it was found to be not cost effective, so they ended the contract in 2018. The thing with predictive policing is that it factors in pre-existing police bias, so it is bound to disproportionately affect certain communities and demographics. The Department of Work & Pensions also has a surveillance system, but it is used differently. In order to keep children and the country safe, new Online laws are being put in place that puts the responsibility on the public forum platforms to censor and monitor uploaded content... this too, will use surveillance strategies to make it effective. Under Section 29 of the Data Protection Act, and under the guise preventing and detecting crime, civilians are being forced to give up our freedom of expression and freedom of movement. The Investigatory Powers Act (aka Snoopers Charter) is incompatible with the European Convention of Human Rights, but no-one seems to want to do anything about that. Everyone is sleeping, believing that surveillance will not affect them if they are honest to goodness citizens – but it will affect them. When one day they discover that they don’t have to answer questions anymore, but some robot will tell you everything about you, and all you have to do is confirm, it will suddenly hit you that nothing in your life is sacred. The Snoopers Charter (as it is colloquially named) allows browsing your history, monitoring the apps you download on your phone, user names and passwords and any cell data that can track your location. The Police can seize phone data without a warrant (although Whatsapp has double encrypted messages which are not accessible to any third party), and the 5 ‘i’s are trying to get them to acquiesce. So, I haven’t got a problem with surveillance, but I do have a problem with the equipment being faulty, identifying innocent people, and placing them in a criminal spiral, where the only way is down. .
FORCED TO TAKE DNA WHEN APPLYING FOR FAMILY MEMBERS. The UK Government, under Operation Fugal, are hell-bent on preventing lawful immigrants from renewing their visas, so they constructed an obstacle, which came in the form of DNA testing (now abolished because it was deemed illegal!) It came into affect in April 2016, (same time as the revision to the British Nationality Act, and the Hostile Environment Policy). The main aim was to clamp down on fraud in families. Some families brought it on themselves – bringing over people and pretending they were direct relatives when they weren’t. Some pretended that a lover was the father of their child when he or she wasn’t, so the Home Office got paranoid, and started asking applicants who wanted a family visa, to indiscriminately provide DNA, which could cost anywhere between £50 and £500, depending on the centre they attended. The thing is, only a authorised centres could be used, which were usually more expensive! Home Office staff were required to interview applicants and their families, requesting personal information, which the families would have felt obligated to respond to, even though they found it humiliating, embarrassing and inappropriate. They were made to provide DNA samples (at their own expense) as part of the application process to live and work in the UK, if it was on the basis of a family relationship. According to the European Council on Refugees and Exiles (ECRE), 400 applicants were sent a letter giving them an ultimatum to provide DNA evidence, and if they didn’t provide it, without a ‘reasonable’ excuse, their application would be refused on suitability grounds. 83 applicants were refused for failure to provide DNA evidence (8 specifically for that reason). 51 applicants had to pay for their own DNA testing. The Government are so suspicious and sceptical, that they were requiring applicants who had previous leave to remain, to do a DNA test (just in case they slipped through the proverbial net), to prove that the child who they are relying on to regularise their status, is indeed theirs. The Home Office officials, are probably upper-class members of society who have been married for over 50 years, and who do not have a clue about current disposable relationships, that are not necessarily so because people are trying to defraud the system, it is just because that is the way things are a lot of the time when you are dealing with dysfunctional or vulnerable families. If a relationship breaks down, how are the parties meant to gather evidence? If the individual is no longer in touch with the parent of the child, how are they supposed to get DNA? Sajid Javid seems to be a number of errors in judgement. Apologies cannot give back respect, dignity and stability, once lost. He apologised for claiming that the Jamaican deportees were serious criminals when they were not; and now he is apol-
ogising for the 449 demands for DNA!!! Demanding DNA is one thing, but supposing the family has since deceased, is no longer around?? The Home Office then rejects or abandons the application, leaving the applicant vulnerable and unlawfully in the country, through no fault of his/her own. On 25 October 2018, the Guardian states “Ministers have previously revealed that 1,150 Afghan nationals, including 700 family members and parents of those employed by UK government have been relocated to the UK under a scheme targeted by the mandatory DNA testing and the ECRC mentioned on their website that: “The Home Office has also received further criticism with the Home Secretary, Sajid Javid, having to apologise to immigration applicants who were unlawfully forced to give DNA samples as part of their application. This included Afghan nationals who worked for the British armed forces and Gurkha soldier”. Remember, while this process is going through, the applicant cannot work, and can lose his job because employers are petrified of getting hit with a fine for employing undocumented people! The applicant gets laid off, cannot work, and 18 months down the line, the DNA is proved to be correct. How does the applicant measure the damage of this unjust and discriminatory process? The financial aspect is easy to quantify: £ earned every month x # of months laid off (because you were unable to get partners DNA) + out of pocket expenses, stress, humiliation and emotional and mental deterioration, and there you have your amount. The system is archaic and based on the traditional married couples with 2 children, which is not the case now. Relationships are much more complex. A woman could have a child for 4 different fathers, and not know where any of those fathers are! Similarly a man could have children for several women, and not be in touch with their mothers. The DNA testing requirement has now been removed. Some applicants are seeking compensation, but for others, the cost is too much, especially when they cannot work. There is no support mechanism while they are undergoing assessment, no recourse to public funds or public health and no advocate to fight against wrong doing. The Home Office has apologised, for unlawfully requiring DNA tests in hundreds of immigration applications, coming after the Windrush crisis, but they continue to pressure and intimidate migrants to seek any kind of support. According to Project 17, the Home Office has embedded immigration officers in 8 councils across London, so that when migrants attend for a service, they are either encouraged to accept ‘stateaided voluntary return’ or deportation. There will be a new Immigration system being brought in after Brexit – I wonder what that will look like. https://www.ecre.org/uk-home-office-under-pressure-presence-in-interviews-and-forced-dna-testing/ https://www.project17.org.uk/media/68851/FT-Article.pdf
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