Comments on: On racial profiling

By: Meaders

Meaders — Thu, 04 Aug 2005 10:53:00 +0000

Alison – Alex didn’t just say Brazilians in London were "indifferent" to the shooting – though I’m sure some are – he claimed that "most of the Brazilian community here feel the police were right and that it was a sad mistake…"

That’s not "indifference", that’s (passive) support. It’s why I am doubtful of his claim that "most" Brazilians – in contrast to what I’d judge (and it is a subjective judgement, as is yours) to be the reaction of most other Londoners – support the police in shooting unarmed, innocent men on the tube. I’d be astonished if that was the case.

By: Alison

Alison — Wed, 03 Aug 2005 16:44:00 +0000

Meaders – I must have speaking to the wrong everybody too -because i genuinely have not met ANYONE who expresses the views shared here of the police in the shooting incident. Noone at all. I also know a handful of Brazilians who as Alexandre has stated above feel indifferent to the shooting.

By: Iain Coleman

Iain Coleman — Wed, 03 Aug 2005 14:02:00 +0000

When the Met is massively overstretched, it certainly shouldn’t be wasting officers’ time on this kind of pointless pissing about. And in the incredibly unlikely instance that the police do target an actual suicide bomber for searching, the result will just be that people will be blown up in the queue rather than on the train.

By: Meaders

Meaders — Wed, 03 Aug 2005 13:16:00 +0000

Alex – then what can I say? I must’ve been speaking to the wrong Brazilians – and, come to think of it, the wrong everybody: on the one hand, none of us have much choice but to rely on the police to catch the right people; on other, beyond this appreciation, I don’t find too much in the way of enthusiasm for the way they’ve handled the shooting. That (from my experience) is across the board, regardless of anyone’s background.

I think you’re overstating your case if you say many out there "think the police were right", and I’d be genuinely (and reasonably) surprised if there was a uniquely higher level of support for the police amongst Brazilians in London than amongst the rest of the population. This isn’t to "dismiss" your opinion, that’s to express my surprise that you hold it.

By: Graham

Graham — Wed, 03 Aug 2005 13:12:00 +0000

I think it does successfully reassure those members of the public that may not be blessed with such analytical skills to see its practical value"

That's fine in theory, but would you rather the police spend their valuable time reassuring nice people, or spend it investigating and catching nasty people? The chances that someone could offer valuable information after seeing a policeman being nice in public are about as slim as the police coming across a would-be-bomber in a 'racially-profiled' stop-n-search.

By: Hell Is Other People

Hell Is Other People — Wed, 03 Aug 2005 12:16:00 +0000

<Anyone looking for a muslim marriage on here?>

Maybe we should get OP fixed up...

By: Rob

Rob — Wed, 03 Aug 2005 12:05:00 +0000

"But it's an utterly *USELESS* thing to be doing"

I dont agree... I think it does successfully reassure those members of the public that may not be blessed with such analytical skills to see its practical value...

Also, if I was a bomber who seriously thought that if I killed people while blowing myself up I'd be rewarded, then I would probably be put off by police searches purely because I would be unable to draw reasonable conclusions, change my plans, or think coherently.... Damn now im being inflammatory!

By: Matt Daws

Matt Daws — Wed, 03 Aug 2005 11:52:00 +0000

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Anyone looking for a muslim marriage on here?

By: Matt Daws

Matt Daws — Wed, 03 Aug 2005 11:50:00 +0000

The ability of the terrorists to convince "anyone" to carry their bombs is a bit debatable really, and not an entirely smart point to make.

That is not AFAIK what Chris meant. Rather, he meant that anyone *looks like* a potential terrorist: if you have no intelligence (which you don't, if you're engaged in random stop 'n' search) then literally anyone *could* be a terrorist. Obviously, if you know something about their background (but how can you if you just stopped them on the street) then you can rule a lot of people out.

I find it difficult to understand why people are so hostile to the police carrying out searches..

But it's an utterly *USELESS* thing to be doing. As we have a finite number of police, I'd rather they did something potentially useful: like investigate Islamophobic attacks to win support, or carry out intelligence work etc.

By: Hell Is Other People

Hell Is Other People — Wed, 03 Aug 2005 11:48:00 +0000

1. By the time your suicide bomber's strapped on the explosives and got near the tube station, it's all a little late in the day anyway.
2. Any policy will be weighed up in terms of benefits (how likely is it to stop/deter a suicide bombing) versus costs (how much will it piss off members of the public who the police depend on for vital information). Based on what these cops told me the other day, I suspect profiling doesn't score that well. It's not about being crossed off the Kumars' Christmas card list, but about getting the help the cops need to catch suspects.