New research by the Mayor’s Office for Policing and Crime (MOPAC) and King’s College London shows that in Richmond Black people are up to 48 times more likely to be stopped and searched than white people, with the worst ward being East Sheen. [1]
Report after report has confirmed what many Black Londoners have known for decades: stop and search is an inherently racist and discriminatory policing power. Black Londoners are 5.1 times more likely to be stopped and searched for drug offences than white Londoners, highlighting how cannabis criminalisation is inherently discriminatory by design. [2]
Green Party candidate for Ham, Petersham & Richmond Riverside, Jaydan Okunola, says: “Richmond is widely known as London’s safest borough, a reputation that we citizens value and work hard to maintain. However, for a community to be truly safe, policing must be experienced as fair by everyone.
“When two-thirds of stops and searches result in no further action, it suggests that ‘vague’ suspicion too often takes the place of intelligence-led evidence. While we recognise that the Black population in Richmond is around just 2 per cent, these statistics are a significant indicator of how our streets have been policed.”
The Green Party does not regard the invasive and degrading use of stop and search as an inevitable aspect of policing, particularly given its disproportionate targeting of Black Londoners. [3] The Met Police in Richmond needs to take on board the findings of this report and reconsider its use of stop and search. The safety of our neighbourhood should never come at the cost of community trust or the dignity of any individual.
On Friday 13 March, Opposition Leader Andrée Frieze wrote to Inspector Chris Jackson for Richmond, to ask what action the Met Police will take in response to reduce the excessive stopping and searching of Black people in the borough.
