Race group targets police

The criminal justice system must be overhauled in order to stop blacks being automatically treated as criminals, a parliamentary panel heard yesterday.

The activist group CURB — Citizens Uprooting Racism in Bermuda — hit out at police for “letting down” the black community. In response, police told us they had a policy against bias and officers were trained to focus on a person’s conduct rather than their race.

Researcher Cordell Riley, speaking on behalf of CURB, said our community “has been convinced that black people are innately criminal” and the “attacking of a person’s identity” explained why black males are taking their anger out on the streets.

CURB, a registered charity, suggests retaliation against racism and racial profiling in particular is one of the causes of Bermuda’s spiralling violent crime.

Mr. Riley was speaking to the joint select parliamentary committee on violent crime and gun violence.

He said: “It’s unfair, it’s criminal injustice. We need a complete review of the criminal justice system, including laws and legislation.”

Mr. Riley questioned how police chose to carry out stop and searches. In 2009 police carried out 3,720 stop and searches compared to 9,419 in 2010.

Mr. Riley asked: “Who is being searched? Because the police aren’t telling us.

“We believe certain people are stopped more than others — there is racial profiling going on.

“We are given the statistics for stop and searches but not the details of who is being searched and why. Under the PACE legislation people have to be told why they are being stopped, so why not release the information to us?”

Stop and search powers have been available in Bermuda since the Police And Criminal Evidence Act 2005 (PACE). It stipulates that people should not be stopped or searched just because of their age, race, nationality gender or the way they dress.

Searched

But Mr. Riley said at least two black male members of CURB had been stopped and searched, while none of the white members had.

He also told a story about a police officer carrying out a stop and search and allegedly keeping a quantity of cash from a black man’s wallet. Mr. Riley said the man, who has a drug conviction, said he couldn’t make an official complaint as he felt “no one is going to believe me”.

Mr. Riley said he had made a formal complaint to Police Commissioner Michael DeSilva about his concerns. A police spokesman said they were “in the process of collating information to assist in quantifying the concerns”.

Police also stated that they did not analyze their stop and search data on the basis of race, and had a policy against profiling.

Mr. Riley said: “As part of the process of looking at the dysfunction in our society, those in our criminal justice system must look at the system and laws in place… which continue to ensure that our prisons are full of black males.

“It is clear that the police service is either ignorant of the application of the law or have chosen not to abide by it.”

Poverty

Mr. Riley, a former government statistician, is a member of the CURB Advocacy Group and a service provider to inmates at Westgate. He runs Profiles of Bermuda, a research and statistical analysis firm. He linked violence to racism through issues such as poverty, education, health and family issues.

Mr. Riley said all blacks were treated the same and had to endure “white superiority” throughout their lives: “If a person’s identity is attacked enough then they will attack. They will eventually retaliate.

“In Bermuda, the group, more than any other group that has been denigrated, is the black male.

“We see this being played out in the educational system, in the job market, in the housing market and in the criminal justice system.”

Mr. Riley said it was no surprise that 98 per cent of the inmates at Westgate were black males as we focused on punishment rather than education, prevention and treatment.

 “We currently go on to persecute our black males even after they finish prison, by ensuing it is extremely difficult for them to find work, to find housing and support their families, which in turn creates a cycle of poverty, anger and frustration.”

Priorities

CURB’s priorities to combat violence include addressing racism, tackling poverty, recognizing the value of sport, introducing African-centred education to schools and increase affordable housing.

A Bermuda Police Service spokesman said: “Our response to gun and gang crimes required an increase in the number of occasions we had to use PACE and Criminal Code provisions to stop and search people.

“Most of these searches were conducted in areas where our intelligence suggested that gang related violence was likely to occur.

“Disrupting criminals by creating uncertainty when they will be stopped and searched plays an important role in reducing the number of weapons being carried on the streets.

“Anyone who feels they have not been dealt with appropriately during a stop & search can make a formal complaint to the independent Police Complaints Authority.”