HOLDING POLICE TO ACCOUNT (without torching the neighbourhood)

In 2018, 996 people were shot dead by American law enforcement.  In the years 2018-2019, there were 3 such fatalities for England and Wales. Three! Granted the population of the United States dwarfs that of the entire British Isles, but that is still one enormous disparity. The reason is of course America’s insane gun culture, but that doesn’t mean the police never overstep the mark in the UK. Assaults are also fortunately rare except in public order situations, but police officers have been known to fit people up, they can be intimidating, or just plain rude.

Like all thugs, the police like easy targets, which is the main reason blacks of a certain type are often on the receiving end of their mistreatment, not something called racism. Young black kids who hang around on street corners are more likely to fall foul of the police than a middle aged black man in a business suit, as are young white kids. In fact, sometimes teenagers can be doing absolutely nothing wrong, minding their own business, perhaps simply crossing the road when a thug in uniform, or two thugs in this case, decide to give him a hard time just because they can.

The man behind the Crimebodge website has taken umbrage at this, and after recently effecting the prosecution of one uniformed thug from Derbyshire Police, has now turned his attention to two bullies from the Staffordshire force, and is bringing a private prosecution against  these officers, one of whom although most definitely female uses some very unladylike language. If you’re wondering where the false imprisonment comes in, this is purely technical, it means detaining someone unlawfully, even at the kerb.

It remains to be seen what will be the outcome of this case. Of course, the abuse this hapless teenager received is hardly comparable with the death of George Floyd, but Rob Warner’s approach is preferable to that adopted by Black Lives Matter and their fellow travellers. For one thing, it doesn’t alienate the public; for another, it targets the people responsible, and only the people responsible, without tarring everyone who looks like them with the same brush, and burning down the neighbourhood into the bargain.