Should successful black Britons accept the pitfalls of racial profiling?

[sp1814]

Last week, England and Tottenham star Jermain Defoe announced he was going to sue Essex police for unlawful arrest and imprisonment because of the number of times he'd been stopped whilst driving his expensive car(s).

Yesterday, he was stopped again (terrible timing on the part of the police).

Is he right to feel aggrieved, or is this the natural fall out from blanket racial profiling?

Could it be argued that no matter who you are and how successful you become, if you're black in a nice car, you should expect to be pulled over?

[craft1948]

I never believed the police were racist (I'm sometimes quite naive) until I worked in London for a year. I was going to visit a friend in Kent for the weekend and asked people at work about trains etc. One young black man very kindly offered to give me a lift there as he was going to visit his sister who lived nearby.
When we set off he was telling me about how many times he'd been stopped by the police as he drove a very nice BMW. I was quite non-committal as I thought there must have been some justification for him being stopped.
About 10 minutes into the journey we were stopped for no reason whatsoever, and the police seemed quite disappointed when the young man produced all his documentation which he kept permanently in the glove compartment.

[R1Geezer]

well are there any stats that indicate that a black bloke in a smart car is more likely to have arf inched it than a white bloke? If so then plod is using probability not racism.

[andy-hughes]

Only if you are a woman and you can expect to be raped for wearing a short skirt.

Are you serious?

No it could not be argued. The notion that a black man in an expensive car must expect to be pulled over because of racial stereotyping is absolutely not acceptable, and I for one would support Mr Defoe's right to drive his car(s) unmolested on the basis of the colour of his skin.

Racism was still a crime last time I looked.

[bunkmoreland]

Sheeeeiiittt!....Seriously....it all depends on the situation! ...I've been drawn into a police check and wasnt thinking bout my skin colour really!

[sp1814]

Actually, I'm not accusing the police of being racist (and to be honest, I genuinely think that the vast, vast, vast majority aren't)...I'm just asking whether racial profiling could be considered a blunt instrument.

Furthermore, you would've thought that after his arrest and the high profile story last week, the coppers this week would've checked his number plate before pulling him over, seen who it was and left him alone!

I've just checked with a copper mate, and racial profiling actually is used by the British Transport Police, although I don't know how widespread it is in other police forces (for obvious reasons, it's not something they want to shout about).

[Rollo]

Some policemen are just plain thick.

Others like to make trouble for no good reason.

And their supervisors either let them get away with it or actually condone their actions.

[R1Geezer]

Are sure that its' not because he's a Spurs player rather than colour?

[sp1814]

R1Geezer...

You very well may have hit the nail on the head.

Who's to say whether the coppers involved were Arsenal supporters.

Never thought of that.

[Booldawg]

I was once pulled over at Tangier Airport. Was it because I was young and white which led the airport authority to beleive I was attempting to smuggle drugs?

Profiling exists in just about every area of life regardless whether its race, age or gender.

[ludwig]

There's another aspect to consider which is the celebrity one. I'm sure the police will often stop a famous person just so they can chat to a famous person.

I remember a story from a while ago where another footballer (it might have been Stephen Gerrard but I'm not sure) said he was sick of being stopped by the police for no reason other than that they wanted to chat about football.

I wish him well with his case. Whatever the reason they keep stopping him - racism, profiling or whatever, it's clearly wrong.

[J�tte]

I would have thought it pretty obvious that a black person driving an expensive car, was going to be a sports star.

Hard working black kids do have nice cars, despite the efforts of the police.

[rov1200]

If blacks were not responsible for 70% of robberies, car jacking, knife crimes and drug use then he would have a case.

I bet if he had been a black woman no notice would have been taken. Therefore nothing to do with skin colour just profiling as mentioned above.

[sp1814]

70%?

Your sources please.

<long silence to follow>

[China Doll]

Sigh You know, it'd be nice if the black men driving the nice cars stopped hogging all the burly police men in their uniforms and let us single, white females have a go.. Jeesh!

(Sorry Splat, I'll behave now).

[sp1814]

CD

I advise you to make friends with a nurse. Nurses, firemen and police regularly hold 'emergency services' parties (honest), where they get drunk and cop off (forgive the pun).

[Krypton27]

It is a fact that blacks commit more crimes than any other racial group. They have more disregard for the law and that is the reason why,not just in the UK, there are more blacks lifted and in jail.
In simple terms, there are a higher percentage of black men committing crime and displaying anti social behaviour than any other group-and naturally when caught they play the 'race' card.

[anotheoldgit]

sp1814

http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/comment/colum nists/rod_liddle/article6493294.ece

Apologies if this offends � but that�s how it is. At most, the African Caribbean population of London is about 12% of the whole. But black males are responsible for nearly 60% of arrests for robbery � and the overwhelming majority of gun crime, most of it black-on-black violence.

We skirt this issue, mostly for decent, if deluding reasons � that a proportion of young black males is more likely to commit violent crime than other sectors of the population.

[sp1814]

Krypton27/AOG

I'm afraid you've fallen for the same old story.

The fact that they are black is only part of the story. Unfortunately, what the press (conveniently) forget to mention is that the arrests will almost exclusively be from those living at the very bottom of the economic scale.

Picture this - how many white middle class kids from Hertfordshire get involved in street robbery with violence?

Now, how many white kids from sink estates in Glasgow and Belfast get involved in street crime/drugs?

No-one ever compares these two social groups because it muddies the water and proves that economics is a far bigger predicator to crime than race.

And the reason why no government wants to make the link between poor housing/education/job prospects is that they would have to admit that they are failing whole sections of the country.

However, simplistic reporting can target race and ignore everything else, allowing their gullible readership to believe that black Britons are more likely to commit street crime simply and only because they're black.

It's naive in the extreme.

[anotheoldgit]

sp1814

Same old excuses wheeled out over and over again to somehow cover up the truth.

You are being racist

It's because I'm Black

I have not been given the same opportunities as everyone else.

etc etc etc.

Even when the facts are put before you, you still won't accept it.

the African Caribbean population of London is about 12% of the whole. But black males are responsible for nearly 60% of arrests for robbery � and the overwhelming majority of gun crime, most of it black-on-black violence.

Are there also not white's who are also disadvantaged? In fact this goverment have provided the blacks of this country with more advantages and opportunities than they have the indigenous white population.

Don't also cloud the facts by blaming it on class.