Non-Subscriber Extract
Affairs of the state
By Max Blain
23 July 2009
Keith Vaz believes police should explain their tactics during public order events (Ben Stansall)
Q Do you think the media's reaction to the events at this year's G20 summit in London will affect how the police service deals with public order events in the future?
A I thought we saw an immediate reaction to G20 by the way the Met policed the recent Tamil protest in Parliament Square. It was a different kind of protest but there was a reluctance from the police to move in and intervene in the way they have done in the past. Their policing methods were much more cautious.
Q Should the police service do more to explain the tactics they use during public order events?
A Yes, there needs to be a much better dialogue. There are always going to be irresponsible people who hijack demonstrations to cause trouble and to indulge themselves in wanton violence. They arrive, they cause trouble and then they disappear, and in any given situation it is very difficult for human beings to know the difference between the trouble-maker and the non trouble-maker.
Q Do you believe the Met has addressed the issue of racial discrimination?
A We do think progress has been made but it is a concern that at the highest level of the force there is still a lack of black and Asian police officers, both men and women. Some time ago we used to lament the lack of female chief constables; now we do not have a huge number, but it is certainly better than it was 10 years ago. We need to do much better about retention and promotion. Employment tribunal cases [alleging racial discrimination] have been extremely damaging to the reputation of the police and that is why there needs to be a better method of dealing with this issue before it gets made public.