Criminalisation Of Brent's Young Children Is Deeply Alarming - Teather
November 5, 2009 4:33 PM
Sarah Teather wants the police to focus on catching criminals rather than stopping children
Local Liberal Democrat MP for Brent East Sarah Teather has uncovered alarming new figures showing that the number of under ten year olds stopped and searched by police in London has more than doubled.
Last year, 536 under tens were stopped and searched, compared to 262 in 2004. In total, more than half a million under 18s have been stopped and searched by the Metropolitan police in the last five years. 23,353 of these were in Brent, one of the highest rates in London.
The figures were uncovered through a Freedom of Information request from Sarah Teather to the Metropolitan Police.
Local Liberal Democrat MP for Brent East Sarah Teather said:
"The Labour government are displaying an alarming tendency towards criminalising the very young. There is something deeply sinister about a regime which is stopping and searching two small children in London every single day on suspicion of serious crime.
"Stop and search used properly can be an important police tool. However, when it is used indiscriminately on those who pose little threat, we only serve to alienate local communities and undermine the fight against crime.
"These unsettling figures will do little to reassure local people in Brent that the government is taking their crime fears seriously. Police resources should be focused on catching criminals, not on harassing the borough's young children."
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