"Stop and search" has become a phrase which is familiar to most people over the age of ten. It is, perhaps, the most divisive of actions which the ordinary cop on the beat can take. It is subject to very stringent rules about which most people especially those liable to be the object of such action have only partial knowledge. It is also a topic about which individuals from Opposition shadow ministers to rabble rousing members of ethnic minorities make a great deal of heat but often very little enlightenment. There can be very few of those who listen to, watch or google the news from any number of sources who are unaware that there seems to be an inordinate number of young black boys or youths killed by other young black boys or youths. Indeed in some parts of London it might not be an exaggeration to call this an epidemic.
What I have done for this post is to source some irrefutable government statistics on this thorny subject. For those who have the interest and the time I hope it will be a worthwhile effort. First of all perhaps the most important fact on stop and search is an awareness of the actual powers the police have to operate it within the law. The information can be accessed here. When black spokespeople bemoan the indignation and embarrassment of young black men being subjected to stop and search they might be losing sight that it is precisely males of black ethnicity who are most likely to be victims of violence. It is often the mothers of young black men killed by their peers who publicly denounce this fact. A much longer more detailed treatise on this was published earlier this year. If you, dear reader, have read this far, a further ten minutes of learned observation might complete your understanding of this for ever controversial subject.
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