Government and opposition proposals to scrap “bureaucracy” and “stop and account” with regard to police searches will lead to further victimisation of black and Asian people. Current measures at least attempt to ensure that there is reasonable suspicion before police officers can stop and search people.
Any suggestion that the police force as an institution, and therefore officers operating under its guidelines are no longer racist in an attempt to justify new measures is unfounded and misguided. Currently black people are seven times more likely to be stopped and searched than there white counterparts and Asians are twice as likely – a statistic that has increased through the “war on terror”. If accountability is removed it will lead to further targeting of minorities and could lead to a massive backlash as was seen in Brixton and other areas in the 1980s.
Gun and knife crime is not only a problem within in the black community; it is a problem for society as a whole. Isolating the black community and placing blame squarely upon it is nothing short of racism.
A 2003 Home Office report that analysed police stop and searches “in anticipation of violence” found that the “hit rates” were “surprisingly low, and suggest that police actions alone are unlikely to have a huge impact on the carrying of knives”.
Only by addressing the root causes of the problems – racism, inequality and lack of job and school opportunities, will we stop the problems. The government and opposition groups should refrain from reactionary politics where the only objective is to political point score at the expense of the black community.
Assed Baig
NUS Black Students Committee
WMANUS Anti-Racism Anti-Fascism Officer
Staffordshire University Students’ Union Executive Member
Thursday 31 January 2008
Monday 28 January 2008
Student Respect launches challenge for NUS leadership
Like us the majority of students want to get our troops out of the Middle East, believe in free and fair education, and are against the sell-off of our universities and services. But the NUS leadership flies in the face of the majority on every one of these most important issues.
Student Respect is once again gearing up to contest the elections for the leadership of the National Union of Students (NUS). We will be standing for all three Vice Presidents, and the part-time executive.
Rob Owen, currently on the NUS executive, will be standing for Vice President Education, and re-standing for the “block of 12” part-time executive.
Hind Hassan, Equalities and Diversity Officer at Leeds University SU, will be standing for Vice President Welfare, and for the part-time executive.
Simon Byrne, a student at Kingston College, will be standing for Vice President Further Education.
The NUS remains an organisation dominated by an unrepresentative right-wing Labour clique. Student Respect represents a breath of fresh fair, of radical student politics, and of the voice of the majority – over issues like war, education and privatisation.
This year, more than ever, a radical left is needed. The New Labour minions want to scrap the notion of NUS being a democratic, campaigning national force. The “governance review” would effectively mean the end of our national union, an end to annual conference as a democratic institution and will ensure the unchallenged domination by the “apolitical” rightwing.
Over the past few weeks we have been discussing with two other organisations on the left in the NUS, the Student Broad Left and Education Not for Sale. It is regrettable that negotiations around forming an electoral slate with these organisations have broken down. However, we still hope that agreement can be reached between us to ensure the maximum possible degree of unity.
Needless to say, on the issue of saving NUS democracy, we will stand side by side with these organisations, and any others who oppose the governance review, and stand for a democratic, campaigning national union.
The NUS conference will take place on the 1 -3 April in Blackpool. To find out more about being a delegate or about our election campaign, email students@respectcoalition.org.
Student Respect is once again gearing up to contest the elections for the leadership of the National Union of Students (NUS). We will be standing for all three Vice Presidents, and the part-time executive.
Rob Owen, currently on the NUS executive, will be standing for Vice President Education, and re-standing for the “block of 12” part-time executive.
Hind Hassan, Equalities and Diversity Officer at Leeds University SU, will be standing for Vice President Welfare, and for the part-time executive.
Simon Byrne, a student at Kingston College, will be standing for Vice President Further Education.
The NUS remains an organisation dominated by an unrepresentative right-wing Labour clique. Student Respect represents a breath of fresh fair, of radical student politics, and of the voice of the majority – over issues like war, education and privatisation.
This year, more than ever, a radical left is needed. The New Labour minions want to scrap the notion of NUS being a democratic, campaigning national force. The “governance review” would effectively mean the end of our national union, an end to annual conference as a democratic institution and will ensure the unchallenged domination by the “apolitical” rightwing.
Over the past few weeks we have been discussing with two other organisations on the left in the NUS, the Student Broad Left and Education Not for Sale. It is regrettable that negotiations around forming an electoral slate with these organisations have broken down. However, we still hope that agreement can be reached between us to ensure the maximum possible degree of unity.
Needless to say, on the issue of saving NUS democracy, we will stand side by side with these organisations, and any others who oppose the governance review, and stand for a democratic, campaigning national union.
The NUS conference will take place on the 1 -3 April in Blackpool. To find out more about being a delegate or about our election campaign, email students@respectcoalition.org.
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