Life

Fake Ads Accuse London Police of Racism

by Kat George

Our friends across the pond are fed up with racism within their police force too, it seems. In Mile End, London, fake advertisements have popped up on bus stations accusing the police of said racism. One poster, pictured above, states: “You’re 28 times more likely to be stopped and searched by police in London if you don’t have white skin, because we’re still really racist.” That number comes from a study undertaken by the Equality and Human Right Commission, which also included evidence that the Metropolitan police were most likely to use that power, and that only 3% of stop-and-searches actually lead to arrest. Those are pretty startling numbers that show a disproportionate rate of racial profiling by police in London.

The ads are designed to look like police PSAs, and in the spirit of protest, should make you feel both emboldened and hopeful that, despite being told by our elders that we're part of an aimless, lazy generation, there are actually still people who are angry, passionate, and active, willing to make public statements about the things they believe in. The "culprits" are believed to be the folks over at political magazine Strike. I say more power to them for this creative, artful take on peaceful protest. Without hurting anyone, except maybe whoever's ad was there before (although honestly, a couple of covered up ads isn't exactly going to topple a corporate empire), Strike (or whomever is responsible for putting the ads up) has made a strong, highly visible point about the deficiencies in our system of law and order, which is just as pertinent here in the US as in the UK.

The police response seemed also to be disproportionate to the crime, with pictures emerging (below) of the bus stations surrounded by police tape, and treated like real crime scenes. Because obviously, criticizing the police force is the greatest crime one can partake in these days. Allegedly a spokesperson for the police has said they were working with Transport London to remove the offending posters.

Images: @asholles, @bobby_dean/ Twitter