Ask a Black man what two-tier policing in Britain really looks like

It is clear that rioters don’t expect to face any justice (Picture: Getty Images)

The Olympic Games may be taking place in Paris, but closer to home, as far-right riots sweep through cities in the UK, another Olympics is unfolding. 

The oppression Olympics.

Rather than facing up to their potential roles in inspiring the unrest, the usual suspects, like Nigel Farage, Tommy Robinson, and Laurence Fox, to name but three, are instead screaming oppression and serving up the phrase ‘two-tier policing’ to their followers. 

Last night, X owner Elon Musk, who has expressed his own hard-right views in the past, joined in, labelling the Prime Minister ‘two-tier Keir.’

This is, if you don’t know, the idea that those taking part in the current unrest are treated differently from other protestors or groups. 

When I first heard it, I had tears in my eyes. But I wasn’t upset – the notion that these rioters are somehow treated differently by the authorities is completely laughable. 

Ironically, I agree with them on one point. 

Figures like Laurence Fox have spoken about ‘two-tier policing’ (Picture: Getty Images)

Just a cursory glance through recent history will clearly depict the communities and their struggles that have been subjected to two-tier policing. 

But, spoiler alert – it never has been and never will be white communities. 

This claim that those protesting outside mosques or looting shoe shops are somehow receiving a different standard of policing because of their rabid need to show they have ‘legitimate concerns’ honestly makes my sides ache. 

Do these people not see the false equivalency here? For me, the motivation behind those shouting about two-tier policing is frankly a poor attempt to provide cover for racists attacking property and people in the UK. 

They have got it so wrong. 

Especially when you consider these riots have been violent and those seeking to indulge in thuggery have been given the short stock and long arm of the law their violence warranted. 

Do the far-right in this country want to be oppressed so badly? I really do think so. 

What’s clear is that they certainly want to carry out their misdeeds without any recourse to justice

I remember the 2020 Black Lives Matter protests well (Picture: Getty Images)

Whether its their ongoing bile online or stopping cars to assess who is white and who is not, which seemed akin to a public lynching, they want to attack unimpeded. 

Every grim video I see further underlines what violent territory we are now in.

To be clear – two-tier policing is real. But the concept is being weaponised and abused.

And that’s something we need to cut at its root because it already feels like a fact of life for people like me, that when it comes to policing, white people receive a service and Black people receive a force. 

The set of balls on the Robinsons, the Farages and the Foxs of this world, as as they set to gaslight those of us who have genuinely experienced two-tier policing is beyond embarrassing.

Imagine comparing, with a straight face, the way that the current rioters have been held at bay to the George Floyd protests and the Black Lives Matter movements.  

Protests planned for Wednesday August 7 (Picture: Metro Graphics)

In case far-right agitators forget, those were heavily policed protests – even though those who attended simply sought change, equity and fairness for Black people. 

They were not hate fueled violent riots that targeted people because of the colour of their skin – I recall the UK marches being largely peaceful events. 

Of course, they were policed by an institutionally racist Metropolitan Police complete with a frightening horse charge.

Surely those waffling on about two-tier policing remember decade after decade of reading about young Black men from over policed communities dying after police interactions.

In case people forget, the 2020 BLM protests were heavily policed (Picture: Getty Images)

The list appears endless: Jermaine Baker, Azelle Rodney, Kevin Clarke, Darren Cumberbatch, Shaun Rigg, Mark Duggan and – more recently – Oladeji Omishore and Chris Kaba. 

When people speak of two-tier policing they need to understand the trauma they are worsening – this flippant use of something the Black community knows all too well is deeply jarring. 

Could these same people also have failed to notice the alarming numbers of traumatic child strip searches, and the disproportionate numbers of those carried out on Black children. 

As a community, frankly, we feel violated by the police, and that ongoing violation is underpinned by two-tier policing and institutional racism. 

In 2019/20 alone, taser use was eight times higher for Black people than it is for our white counterparts. In that same period, we were eight times more likely to be stopped and searched.

Sadly, we are also seven times more likely to be killed following restraint by police too. 

Getting the idea yet?

Follow Metro’s live coverage of the unrest here

When people have the temerity to trot out this phrase they should be mindful when it cascades from their lips.

Not only do they besmirch the real struggles experienced by communities currently under siege by far-right protesters across the country, they also reveal something very profound about themselves.

In this context, having the words ‘two-tier policing’ trip off their tongue betrays the real prejudice they hold. 

So the next time you hear the phrase ‘two-tier policing’ – think about what it really means. 

Do you have a story you’d like to share? Get in touch by emailing Ross.Mccafferty@metro.co.uk. 

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