Lindsey German on the reality of two-tier policing

I have been thinking a lot about two-tier policing this week, following the conviction of a Sikh man for the murder of student Henry Nowak, who police initially did not believe had been stabbed. We know that the fascists and far right immediately pounced on the case to claim that because of ‘woke’ politics, the police are more favourable to black and Asian people than they are to white people.

At one level this allegation seems too ludicrous to even countenance. The figures show that two-tier policing operates the other way round. Black and ethnic minority people are more likely to be stopped and searched, more likely to spend time in prison if convicted. In 2024-25, 70% of children arrested in London were from minority ethnic groups.

According to official statistics:

‘In general, minority ethnic groups appear to be over-represented at many stages throughout the CJS [criminal justice system] compared with the White ethnic group. This is especially apparent when comparing to the ethnic breakdown of the population of England and Wales. The greatest disparity appears at the point of stop and search, custodial remands and prison population.’

This is borne out by anecdotal evidence where such treatment is witnessed by those of all races living in mixed areas. At a time when there have been repeated reports finding the Metropolitan Police in particular as institutionally racist – going back to the Macpherson report on the death of Stephen Lawrence published nearly 30 years ago. Undercover reporting such as the investigation into Charing Cross police station revealed a litany of racist and sexist abuse. The Casey Report in 2023, following the rape and murder of Sarah Everard by a serving armed police officer, branded the Met institutionally racist, misogynistic and homophobic.

We are supposed to somehow believe, according to Farage and co, that the police have become so terrified of EDI guidelines on racism that they have reversed their whole history of policing ethnic minorities and are now persecuting white people instead. The same accusations of ‘two-tier policing’ are also made about demonstrations. Yet levels of policing and general state repression of Palestine and climate protests are at record levels. Compare that to the laissez faire attitude taken to the farmers’ tractor protests, which regularly disrupt central London, or indeed the very low level of arrests on far-right protests. The fascist mob which attacked police and tried to organise a pogrom in Southampton last week following the sentencing has so far seen 11 arrests.

The police aren’t neutral in society – they act on behalf of the ruling class. This can be seen very obviously in some contexts, for example the policing of strikes and the general repression of groups considered ‘problematic’, including left wing campaigners and ethnic minorities. But even when the police are acting in a more ‘keeping the peace’ role – dealing with crowds at football matches, or fights at pub closing time – their essential role often comes to the fore.

So the levels of racial prejudice are compounded by class prejudice. There have been a number of cases over the years when white as well as black people have died in police custody, or as a result of police neglect. What all of them tend to highlight is police contempt for working-class people, especially people who appear drunk or mentally ill, or are homeless.  

We see it repeatedly in the prejudice demonstrated over women who report domestic violence. Indeed every few weeks we hear of a case where a woman has been brutally murdered by a partner or ex-partner, even though violence from these people and the danger to women was already known to the police. Despite the claims by the far right that they want to protect women and girls, they are silent on these cases. That may be in part because a staggering 1 in 5 of those arrested in the far-right riots of 2024 have since been reported for domestic abuse. We will no doubt wait a long time for Tommy Robinson, Nick Tenconi or Farage himself to begin to campaign on this issue.

I also compared the outcry over the terrible death of Henry Nowak with another high profile case this week, the sentencing of Paul Quinn for a horrific rape carried out in 2003. Andrew Malkinson spent 17 years in prison in a miscarriage of justice where as early as 2007 testing showed another man’s DNA in the victim. This was appalling for the victim, who had to relive her experience through two rape trials, for Malkinson, and for other real or potential victims of the perpetrator. The treatment of rape cases is a national scandal but no demands from politicians, no screaming headlines in the media, no talk about discriminatory policing.

It doesn’t fit with the line of racist ideologues that whites are a minority, and that working- class whites are suffering at the hands of ethnic minorities and a supposedly ‘woke’ society where the only remaining prejudice is towards whites. Again this deliberately obscures the class differences in capitalist society. White working-class people are suffering – as are all working-class people – but not from favourable treatment for other workers. The people who claim they are standing up for the ‘little man’ – whether Elon Musk, Nigel Farage or JD Vance – are exactly the people who have created this suffering in the first place, and who are using their wealth and power to create divisions which favour them.  

The view that Britain is besieged by migrants and ethnic minorities is one repeated endlessly on right-wing sites and given plenty of airing in mainstream media. US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth – another extremely wealthy bigot – even commemorated the D-Day landings in France by comparing them to a present day ‘invasion’ of Europe by migrants. These people are encouraging the growth of fascism and using terrible events to lie and scapegoat.

Whether Keir Starmer or Andy Burnham, the Labour government fears these developments but is unable to deal with the far right because it echoes so many of the arguments: about the ‘threat’ of migration, the need for more defence spending, the stress on nationalism and the flag. So we are heading for more of this. It can only be defeated by both challenging racism and organising around class demands to isolate the fascists and Reform.

This week: There is talk of even more money on defence, with the production of a new stealth bomber at a cool £18 billion. Some Labour MPs are calling to end the triple lock on pensions to spend on defence.  The International Anti-War Conference on 20 June could not be timelier. Over 2,000 have already booked for it and there’s still time to get tickets, delegations from your union branch, and to donate towards the costs of translation on the day. Please do everything you can to spread the word. I’m also doing a book launch on Tuesday for A People’s History of London to commemorate the Cable Street mobilisation against the fascists 90 years ago.