Background

For the black community in the late 20th century, one of the most pertinent issues in British society was that of racial bias in the criminal justice system. . For young Black people, especially those living in inner city working-class communities , confrontations with the police were an almost daily occurrence. Bernie Grant, both as leader of Haringey Council from 1985, and then MP for Tottenham from 1987 until his passing in 2000, took up this problem of racial bias in policing, and in the criminal justice system more widely, as an issue of the highest importance. It was his constituency of Tottenham that served as one of the focal points of oppressive policing, and community resistance to it, during this time. Bernie Grant was renowned for challenging state racism, and defending people and communities affected by it. But he was also part of a wider network of concerned activists and community leaders who spoke up for young Black people and working-class communities when the police seemed immune to accountability.

The notorious use of stop and search or ‘SUS’ powers, is but one example of how policing blighted the lives of many, as it was used disproportionately and unjustifiably against black citizens, young and old. Racism was evident too in too many incidences when Black people were themselves victims of the most extreme crimes. There were numerous cases in which black citizens were restrained, sectioned, or died at the hands of police in disproportionate numbers. In some cases these were themselves victims. There is evidence that the numbers to be “stopped and searched” became an operational target in some police forces. One of the most notorious examples of this was during ‘Operation Swamp’ which was carried out by police in Lambeth in 1981, in which officers were commanded to attempt to stop and search 1,000 people per day.

Given the lived experience of policing by the black community, it was perhaps inevitable that an elected politician needed to see this as high priority, and therefore as a councillor and later as an MP Bernie Grant quickly became a leading voice articulating the sense of injustice widely felt on behalf of both of his constituents and minoritised communities far beyond.

When years of racist policing caused major civil unrest in his Tottenham constituency in 1985, Grant became a magnet for the wider concerns around institutionalised racism in criminal justice system. He was sought after as champion by a now flourishing network of activists and campaigners determined to bring about change, and used the channels and attention afforded to him as an MP to challenge injustice.