Police naming ethnicity of suspects fuelling tensions

Releasing suspects’ ethnic identity is pouring fuel on the fire of social chaos, according to an open letter by 50 community groups. The practice, they say, is further pulling society apart. Police say the practice is carried out on a case-by-case basis. Following the 2024 Southport attack and fascist-organised riots, and other incidents, the change was meant to head off disinformation.

But the Runnymede Trust and 50 other NGOs, charity’s and community groups said current police guidance:

is having a devastating impact on our country, harming our communities.

The guidance was offered as an attempt to dispel misinformation … In practice it has had the opposite effect, becoming a catalyst for crime reporting reminiscent of the 1970s and 1980s – reviving a focus on race and migration status.

Misleading conflations between race and crime

The campaigners say that the furore around the disclosures were now clouding the crimes. And they warned that race and crime are being dangerously conflated:

Increasingly, a suspect’s ethnicity or country of origin appears to be treated as more important than the crime itself, or the experiences of victims, fostering a dangerous and misleading conflation between race, migration and criminality.

The 2024 Southport attack led to a massive disinformation campaign by the far-right and, ultimately, country-wide rioting.

Police chiefs later decided that in high-profile cases details of ethnicity could be released. Though one former senior Met Police officer did complain about the rule change. On 2 November, retired chief superintended Dal Babu said:

When the new guidance was issued, I warned that there was a danger that there will be an expectation for police to release information on every single occasion.

False and harmful impression

The groups said that their findings indicated that people of colour were increasingly being represented “as inherently criminal”.

They warned:

This is extremely dangerous and may be seen to encourage the public to perceive ethnicity and migration status as significant factors in the commission of crime.

There is … no credible academic evidence to support this perception. As a result, the public is being presented with a false and harmful impression that links ethnicity or migration status with criminality.

The decision was backed by the National Police Chiefs’ Council (NPCC) and the College of Policing in August.

Significant media interest?

A College of Policing spokesperson said:

The police are operating in a challenging environment where there is now a requirement for the release of accurately, timely information to prevent a vacuum and the spread of mis- and disinformation.

The spokesperson insisted the information was only disclosed where there was significant media and social media interest.

Using the example of the recent attack on a train in Huntingdon, Runnymede Trust director Shabna Begum said:

Why was the number of weapons used not put out by the police, which is directly relevant to the crime, more so than the ethnicity and race of the suspects?

Conflating race, migration and crime is a specialty of the far-right. They don’t need the police to help them. There are elements in the UK, cheered on by press and politicians, who are only too eager to stoke racist tensions at the drop of a hat. If public safety is a heartfelt concern, this reality needs to be taken into account.

Featured image via the Canary