Corruption complaints against Asian officers 10 times higher., page 1

posted by AceOfBase

A report from the Metropolitan Police - Met - indicates that complaints of corruption against Asian officers, especially Asian Muslim officers, are ten times higher than among white officers.

The document, seen by the Guardian, has caused outrage among ethnic minorities within the force, who have labeled it racist and proof that there is a gulf in understanding between the police force and the wider Muslim community . . complaints of misconduct and corruption against Asian officers are 10 times higher than against their white colleagues.

The main conclusions of the study: “ . . officers are under greater pressure from the family, the extended family . . and their community against that of their white colleagues to engage in activity that might lead to misconduct or criminality." The report argued that British Pakistanis live in a cash culture in which "assisting your extended family is considered a duty" and in an environment in which large amounts of money are loaned between relatives and friends . . “. [Edited by Don W]

The report was lambasted by Muslims as racist instead of accepting that the report's conclusions may have some merit. They are saying that it is 'shortsighted' of the Met to alienate the Muslim population with this report. I guess they'd prefer that the issue were just ignored but that wouldn't make the problem go away.[Edited by Don W]

This controversy reminds me of the 2 decades following the landmark 1954 Brown case in America which ruled “separate but equal” was not in conformity the Constitutional guarantees of citizenship. Because of historically inadequate funding for black’s K-12 education, many black children were not able to keep up when placed into formerly all white schools.

So whose fault was that? White’s invented multi “tracks” which placed students by the quality of their school work. Which had the effect of re-segregating the schools, inside the building this time, rather than outside as earlier.

Point? It takes time - maybe 3 or 4 generations - and constant vigilance to integrate recent immigrants into main stream culture and at the same time, for main stream culture to make accommodations to the newcomers. Here in America, I’d say we’re about 40% done with the task. And that took us 50 years. So, by 2100, maybe we will be a color blind society?

Corrupt police? Recall the 4 Illinois police who framed a man and watched him receive the Death Penalty. As he sat on Death Row, after all appeals to court had been exhausted, one of the policemen had pangs of conscience, and he turned in his 3 cohorts. The man was pardoned and the 4 police are now serving jail time, the man with a conscience getting only half the sentence of the others.

When I was a young person, a county police candidate had to pay the county judge $300 to become a county policeman. And more, the most sought after elected office in my county was the sheriff. Limited by law to $12,000 salary, it was in the 1950s before we learned the sheriff was pocketing the profits from the jail commissary, which fell under his jurisdiction. As best we could tell, he made over $50,000 a year from that source. Which made him the highest paid public official in Kentucky. And until it was noticed, it was not against any law.

Speed traps were common. The AAA - American Automobile Association - as your Auto Club, kept a list of speed traps. Often, the arresting officer got $10 per arrest. A commission agent. Our lowest court judges were not lawyers and were paid only if the person was convicted, his being a “fee” job and court costs were his source of income. That risky system was finally abolished when one such judge sentenced a man to 1 year in jail on a crime that provided for 6 months.

As a Sir Arthur Conan Doyle fan, I’ve always held the London police in high esteem. And I have a high regard for the public servants of Europe, which we constantly slander over here, as “bureaucrats” confusing civil service with the Administration. All of which will ultimately come home to haunt us. We are shooting ourselves in the foot. But that’s my problem. Not yours.

[edit on 7/8/2006 by donwhite]