Muammar Al Khadafi

Hertfordshire police are to face a high court legal challenge over their decision to stop recording the ethnicity of people who are targeted for stop and search.

Allegedly, the decision demonstrates a "complete lack of will to tackle potential racism".

It is brought by a Mr Hugh Diedrick, who alleges that he was subjected to a stop and search simply because of the colour of his skin.

"These statistics are distributed to assist chief constables to tackle potential racism within their force yet, instead of ensuring that steps were taken to remedy the disproportionality, most opted to eliminate the only means of identifying that there is a problem" said solicitor Sarah McSherry, representing Diedrick.

If successful, the case could call into question plans by a further 21 police forces who are to scrap the recording of ethnicity during stop and searches in order to save time and money.

One figure of particular interest is that the most recent figures available for stop and searches show that just over two thirds of those stopped in Hertfordshire were white.

According to the Herts and Essex Observer, this is despite whites making up "90 per cent of the county’s population".

So, what about areas in Herts?

Figures from recent 2007 school census reports inform us, for example, that Watford has 40.8% of pupils belonging to a Black Minority Ethnic group. In 2001 that was 24.4%. Pakistanis made up 10.9% of Watfords population at the time of the census.

BME pupil numbers in other areas such as Hertsmere (25.7%), St Albans (22.1%), and Three Rivers (21.5%), certainly indicate that many areas are most definitely not 90% white, or at the very least that a significant number of children/youth/those of child bearing age are not white. Ethnicity aside, it is well documented that age group would also play a significant factor in who was committing local crime.

One has no idea whether Hugh Diedrick was targeted on 'racist' grounds, but it's certainly inaccurate to use a generalised 90% of population is white figure (which one very much doubts is accurate anyway considering the tsunami of colonisation inflicted upon us in recent years) as a 'benchmark' either county or nationwide when certain areas are anything but 90% white, and younger generations are most definitely nowhere near 90% white.

The only two relevant factors would be local population, and who is known to be committing crimes locally. If, for example, black gangs are robbing people at knifepoint, search more blacks. If it's white gangs, search more whites. Simple. And, no doubt, hideously racist in a climate where diversity and tackling prejudice rate far higher than common sense or tackling crime.

As minorities make up more and more of the population as a whole, and younger generations in particular, one would expect stop and search statistics to reflect that. "Disproportionate" as the race Gestapo would say, but in reality just an obvious result of a population changing beyond all recognition.

Minority may well be minority nationally, or even county wide, but on many local levels it is not, it is whites who are already minority or who are fast approaching it, especially among younger generations.

Stop and search statistics will reflect that, and stifled by the cries of racism will be the fact that the figures will really be charting our own march towards minority.

*As a footnote, recording of ethnicity is important - far from scrapping it, one would like to see the ethnicity (and crime/s committed) of every single offender published annually on an easily accesible central database. Not so that people could howl racism, but so that we, the British people, could see a much clearer picture of the avalanche of foreign/minority crime which is blighting our nation.

PC Peter Vince-Lindsay, of British Transport Police, has been rebuked by a judge for making repeated and unjustified claims of racism.

The PC PC has made no less than 14 complaints of racism against British Transport Police, including incidents where he claimed he was racially discriminated against because he had to wait a few minutes whilst a dining tent was full, and another incident where colleagues were slow to respond to youths throwing snowballs at passengers because Vince-Lindsay claimed they were racist.

During that incident PC Vince-Lindsay apparently threatened to break the suspects legs, but it seems that no disciplinary action was taken against him over this threat.

A judge at a tribunal ruled that there was no racism, and that colleagues "extended a considerable degree of latitude" to Vince-Bryant.

Is that doublespeak for "he got away with things others wouldn't have because he is an 'ethnic minority'"?

Vince-Lindsay was ordered to pay £2,500 in costs by an employment tribunal.

Full Story - Daily Mail

Ali Dizaei, recently released from prison after winning an appeal against his conviction for misconduct in a public office and perverting the course of justice, has been reinstated as a commander at Scotland Yard after winning an appeal against his dismissal - despite the fact that he is to stand trial next year in relation to perverting the course of justice.

Iranian born Dizaei, 49, is - once again - Britain highest ranking Muslim police officer, and given his 'colourful' history within the police force one has to wonder if that has a bearing on his seemingly untouchable status.

Operation Helios, carried out by police in 2000, and with an estimated cost of £7million, investigated numerous allegations against Dizaei, including spying for Iran, bribery, drug taking and the use of prostitutes.

Dizaei was suspended over these allegations, and later charged with submitting false expenses claims, misconduct in a public office, and perverting the course of justice. He was cleared of the charges, and the CPS did not proceed with the false expenses claims case.

A former head of the Black Police Association, Dizaei brought a claim for racial discrimination, which was withdrawn after he was reinstated and handed a large payout.

His 2007 book, "Not one of us", serialised by BBC Radio 4, caused a storm and, as the title implies, very much suggested that all of his many 'troubles' were essentially down to prejudice.

Now, he's reinstated to his £90,000 a year job as a police Commander, and due to face a new trial early next year over allegations of perverting the course of justice relating to an incident outside of a restaurant.

What a colourful past - no pun intended - and a wonderful poster child for the fast tracking of minorities into high office.

Given Dizaei's propensity for suing we'll leave the reader to make up their own minds whether he's a victim of persecution, or whether his ticking a few of those magic minority checkboxes may quite possibly have served him well.

Police failed to recover stolen property or to make arrests after tracking a van which had stolen vehicle parts, and during which a shotgun was apparently brandished - because they needed to complete a 'risk assessment' before entering the travellers site.

The farce began when father and son Paul and Sean Stanley, who owns a farm in Northamptonshire, gave chase to the van after neighbours alerted them to a break in at their farm on Sunday night.

During the pursuit a passenger in the van appeared to brandish a shotgun, but Mr Stanley continued to follow until the van entered the Ecton Lane travellers site.

"I saw them wave a shotgun at me but I was so angry I carried on following them until they pulled up at the traveller’s site. I had been on the phone to the police the whole time and they asked me to meet them back at the farm" said Sean Stanley.

Police later visited the Ecton Lane site, and confirmed that the van was there - but refused to recover it and made no arrests.

"After describing everything to the police they said they would go down there. I followed a little while later to find them sitting outside. They told me they couldn’t recover the van because they hadn’t had a risk assessment." Sean Stanley said.

"Three police officers did enter the site at Ecton Lane and located the suspect vehicle but an assessment was made not to recover the vehicle in the early hours of this morning" said a spokesman for Northamptonshire Police.

So, if it's not safe for police to recover the van, is it fair to say that police do not regard these travellers as the 'quaint and friendly' folk with an alternative lifestyle that we're always getting told about by officialdom?

Is it that bane of common sense and equality, 'cultural sensitivity' at play again?

Isn't it likely that there would have been armed units despatched under other circumstances since a firearm was involved?

Or, altogether innocent of such prejudices, is it just that the police are hamstrung by an 'elf n safety culture?

Take your pick, any or all of the above. Either way it doesn't look good for the police there.

So much for law and order, and swiftly dealing with crime and criminals.

I posted about the August 26 incident that escalated into a triple shooting in which off duty MPD cop Kenneth Furr had a verbal confrontation with a transwoman and friend outside a CVS store in NW Washington DC.   The transwomen and her friend got into a vehicle with three other people in the parking lot of the store at 400 Massachusetts Ave NW and left but were intercepted by Furr.

Turns out that Officer Furr was not only inebriated at the time, blowing a .15 during a breathalyzer test at the scene of the August 26 incident, but used his service weapon to fire five shots into their vehicle, wounding three of the five people inside it.  

The shell casings recovered from the triple shooting are consistent with the ammunition in Furr's weapon and issued to MPD police officers.

Furr is facing assault with a dangerous weapon charges and has been ordered to stand trial in DC Superior Court   He is also being held in jail until his next court appearance on October 7.

Will keep y'all posted.

As I've stated more than a few times on this blog and had it demonstrated in various incidents, Officer Friendly is at times less than friendly when it comes to protecting and serving, much less respecting the civil and human rights of transpeople.



Don't even get me started talking how they feel about the human rights of transwomen of color.



Once again we get to shine a spotlight on Washington, D.C. and another incident in which transwomen minding their own business interact with an off duty DC cop and it ends up with negative consequences for the transwomen.



This time the perp was 20 year DC veteran po-po Kenneth Furr.   The August 26 incident started when the inebriated Furr approached a transwoman inside a northwest Washington DC CVS store at 5:25 AM EDT and solicited her for sex.   She turned him down and he kept hounding her until he was told by a man accompanying her into the store to leave her alone.  



The unidentified transwoman said in a Washington Post interview, "His eyes were bloodshot,” she said. “I could smell the liquor on his
breath. He told me he wanted to pay me to have sex with me. He kept
trying to get me in his car.” 



The woman and her friend left the store and got into a car with two other transwomen and a male friend and drove off.   At the corner of First and Pierce Streets NW they were hit from behind by a hostile Furr, who jumped out of his car with his Glock 9 gun drawn, jumped onto the hood of their vehicle and fired shots through the roof into it.

One of the transwomen was struck in the hand, another was grazed by a bullet while the brother of one of the transwomen sustained an injury serious enough to where he is in critical condition at George Washington University Hospital according to Transgender Health Empowerment's Jeri Hughes.



Washington DC Mayor Vincent Gray released a statement about the incident that that resulted in Officer Furr being stripped of his police powers.  He is also facing an investigation by MPD's Internal Affairs Division and the Force Investigation Team



Furr was arrested, charged with assault with a dangerous weapon and driving while intoxicated after blowing a .15 during his breath test.





"I am deeply troubled by the apparent circumstances surrounding this
incident and await the results of a full MPD investigation,” Mayor Gray said.
“These are serious charges, and they are particularly disturbing to have
been brought against one who is sworn to protect and serve.”



The disturbing early morning incident led to a 6:30 PM rally organized by THE.and the DC Trans Coalition that was attended by Mayor Gray, local TBLG activists, MPD deputy chief Diane Groomes and 70 people at the First and Pierce Streets location where it occurred..




It was a miracle that as serious as this latest incident was, no one died.  But something transphobic has been brewing in the MPD police culture for some time and Chief Cathy Lanier needs to get to the bottom of it.



If she can't or she's getting resistance, then maybe the Department of Justice needs to get busy taking a look at what's going on in MPD and start cleaning out the transphobic rotten apples.



Transphobia is bad enough in the general population.   It's even worse and can have potentially fatal consequences when it's hiding behind a badge.

As the British taxpayer struggles under the burden of funding rising translator costs across all public bodies, it has been revealed that the police are spending a staggering £75,000 a day on translators.

The shocking figure means that in the last 3 years an eye watering £82 million has been spent by the police alone on providing translators to the many non English speakers here.

The biggest spender among the forces was the Metropolitan Police, which spent £29.3 million since 2008.

Reports in the papers today point to this being a 60% increase on 2004, but the spiralling costs of translation for some individual forces vastly exceed that.

Back in 2003/04 Avon and Somerset Police spent £169,705 on translators and interpreters. By 2010/11 that figure had rocketed to £569,200.

Thames Valley Police were spending £477,273 back in 2003/04 - figures for 2010/11 put their current spending at £1,220,414.

This costly burden, at a time when the police force are facing savage cutbacks to their budgets and the loss of numerous front line officers, is quite simply unacceptable.

However, it is not just the police bearing huge costs, the massive drain created by providing an army of interpreters is imposed upon Britain across the board.

Recently released figures showed that hospitals in London alone spent around £15million on interpreters, with Barts and the London NHS Trust notching up spending of £2.2million and University College London Hospitals Trust a £1.6million bill.

Hospitals in the enriched Oldham Pennine Acute Trust spent £1.2 million on translation services for 2009 according to published figures. Most popular languages for translation were Urdu, Farsi, Bengali, and Kurdish.

A report from 2010 showed local councils across the UK spending £20 million a year on translating documents into other languages alone, including such great uses of our money as Warwickshire County Council paying to translate a "Weight Busters" leaflet into Gujerati, Urdu, and Punjabi.

Everywhere we look there is a massive burden being imposed upon the taxpayer by people who cannot speak English, and for whom we are expected to finance translation services. The list of areas for which we are funding translation is endless.

The burden imposed on us all as a result of mass immigration is immense, and makes a mockery of ConDems moves to impose austerity measures.

We are left picking up the rising tab for a wholly unnecessary burden - namely translation - whilst watching services upon which we all rely, be it police on the street, or NHS treatment, or a whole host of other things, cut to the bone.

If so called austerity is truly needed then it is evident that huge public spending on translation services is utterly incompatible with that.

It is simply an insane situation to see services and budgets cut, yet the taxpayer being expected to shoulder the burden of ever rising costs of translators to meet the needs of foreigners.

Britain and the British people cannot afford this burden.

We want police on the beat, doctors on the wards, midwives in maternity, not to be forking out a fortune catering for 140 different languages in our own country.

Dave Cameron is at it again, showing his love for all things imported and outsourced - this time suggesting that we should open up top police jobs to foreign citizens, which would require a change in the law.

"Why shouldn't someone with a different skill-set be able to join the police force in a senior role?....Why shouldn't someone, who has been a proven success overseas, be able to help turn around a force at home?" he asked the Commons.

Great plan, let's import workers to fill our top police positions. We can probably get someone from the Pakistani ISI who will do it for minimum wage, at least providing we include paid prayer times and a halal breakfast into the bargain.

Although, here's a better plan than filling the top police jobs with foreigners.

How about we fill the top politicians jobs with foreigners who will work for a lot less than our rotten bunch who are manning the Commons and Lords at the moment?

Think of the benefits, and the untapped foreign skill that we could take advantage of.

Our current crop of politicians are pretty corrupt, as the wrist slapping and token expenses prosecutions show, so we've really no worry that it could get any worse on that front. We're going to get fleeced either way, so where's the harm?

As for running Britain - well, look around our country and see the results of the politicians labouring over the last few decades for yourself. We're a mess, nobody can claim that they've actually made a good job of it. Our politicians need turning around sharpish too, not just our police.

The fact is simply this - that the British people are paying over the odds for a bunch of failed politicians who are not competent or capable of doing their jobs.

There may be some good eggs in Westminster - but they sure aren't the ones who are running the show and making the decisions. The very top of the elected parties are peopled with non entities, fools, and the self serving.

Why don't we outsource those top political jobs to foreigners?

The politicians have no qualms about watching as our jobs are outsourced, or as we get replaced by cheap, foreign labour - that's called progress and the joys of the free movement of labour.

So, they should have no objections if their own jobs are up for competition in the same fashion, nor if they see their wages plummet as a result.

Seriously though, this whole importing of workers to occupy jobs is getting silly - it's bad enough we have floods of them occupying lower skilled jobs, does anyone really think that opening up top police jobs where sensitive information on the people of the UK would be available to the post holder is a good plan?

Instead of looking for yet more ways to open up jobs in the UK to employees from a abroad, at all levels we should be looking to keep British jobs for British workers.

We've plenty of talent here, we just need to give it the opportunity and stop drowning it under a flood of international jobs competition.

I wrote about the situation in which transwoman Kiare Newson alleges she was sexually harassed and had transphobic slurs uttered at her by MPD officers during a May traffic stop on I-40. 

It happened the same day that former MPD officer Bridges McRae was sentenced for violating the civil rights of the late Duanna Johnson.

Newsom has since filed a complaint with the Memphis Police Department Internal Affairs Office and the incident was the catalyst for a June 29 meeting with new Memphis Police Director Toney Armstrong and representatives from the Tennessee Equality Project and the Memphis gay & Lesbian Community Center.

In the meantime, will be watching this incident to see if the officers involved are disciplined.