Crime data on black community

Film Studies: Living with Crime Useful information.

In 2003 Lee Jasper, a race advisor to the London mayor, said drugs and gun crime were the "biggest threat to the black community since its arrival here�.

In 2007, after a series of murders committed by black people, prime minister Tony Blair attributed them to a distinctive black culture: "the black community need to be mobilised in denunciation of this gang culture that is killing innocent young black kids. But we won't stop this by pretending it isn't young black kids doing it."

Figures from the black community criticised his remarks.

Population aged 10 and over (2009) White

88.6%

Black

2.7%

Asian

5.6%

Prison Population (2009) White

72%

Black

13.7%

Asian

7.1%

Stop and searches[edit]

Police officers have the power to stop and searches individuals under a range of legislation. Statistics have consistently shown that black people are disproportionately more likely to be subject to stop and searches. In 2008/09 in England and Wales, more black people were stopped and searched under Section 1 of the Police and Criminal Evidence Act per head of population than any other ethnicity, and black people were seven times more likely to be stopped and searched than white people.

Black people were the subject of 14.8 percent of all stop and searches, compared to 7.6 percent of arrests and 6.7 percent of cautions. The disproportionate number of stop and searches is partly accounted for by the fact that 54 percent of the black population in England and Wales live in London, where stop and searches are more common for all ethnic groups. In some police-force areas, there were more stop and searches per head of population of white people than of black people. From 2004/05 to 2008/09, there was

an increase in the number of stop and searches of black people relative to white people.

Stop and searches can also be conducted under Section 60 of the Criminal Justice and Public Order Act 1994.

These searches are designed to deal with the threat of violence. Comparative analysis by researchers at the London School of Economics and the Open Society Justice Initiative has shown that, in England and Wales in 2008/09, black people were 26 times more likely to be stopped and searched than white people. Asian people were 6.3 times more likely to be stopped and searched than white people. The OSI researchers stated that these figures highlighted that Britain had the widest "race gap" in stop-and-searches that they had uncovered internationally. Ben Bowling, a professor of criminal justice at King's College London, commented on the analysis, stating: The police are making greater use of a power that was only ever meant to be used in exceptional circumstances and lacks effective safeguards. This leaves room for increased stereotyping which is likely

to alienate those communities which are most affected.

There is strong evidence that, once stopped and searched, black people are no more likely than white people to be arrested, suggesting that they are disproportionately targeted.

In London in 2006, 75% of the victims of gun crime and 79% of the suspects were from the African/Caribbean community.

Diane Abbott, the member of parliament for Hackney, said "There is no question but that the continuing achievement gap between black boys and the wider school population has some bearing on the involvement of African-Caribbean boys in gangs." http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article1290047/Metropolitan-Police-crime-statistics-revealviolent-criminals-black--victims.html http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/crime/785 6404/Police-statistics-shed-fresh-light-on-linkbetween-crime-and-race.html