Saturday 16 April 2016

Woodman, don't spare that axe!*

Judith Woodman, the Liberal Democrat candidate for the South Wales Police and Crime Commissioner post, has promised to reduce incumbent Alun Michael's inflated back office.

She has also cheered me today by committing to ensure that data on the ethnicity of those stopped and searched is published if she is elected. Black and minority ethnic people in other parts of Wales are five times more likely to be stopped and searched by police than white people, yet they account for nowhere near that proportion of crimes committed. This sort of racial discrimination should be unacceptable in the 21st century, yet it too often goes unnoticed. Electing Judith would be a step towards stamping out racial discrimination and making our police officers more reflective of the communities they serve.

* for younger readers, this is a reference to a classic disc by Phil Harris, better known more recently as the voice of Baloo the Bear.

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