Ex-officer condemns 'political correctness nonsense' around stop and search
12 February 2021, 15:42
Former officer slams 'political correctness' concerns on stop & search
Former Detective Chief Inspector Mick Neville condemned "political correctness nonsense" around stop and search as a teenager was stabbed to death on Thursday in south London.
His comments have come after a man, 19, was stabbed to death during a fight near Parsons Green Tube station in south-west London.
There have been ongoing concerns about racial profiling of young black boys during stop and search - with the Met Deputy Commissioner Sir Stephen House stating earlier this month that the force's "disproportionate" approach will continue.
Talking to LBC, ex-DCI Mick Neville said, "The police have been put down all the time by politicians. We have Theresa May and others trying to stop them using stop and search.
"The police need to be told time and time again by politicians that we support stop and search.
"It's particularly young black men who are killing young black men. We have got to be honest about what the problem is and until we're honest with that we can't deal with it."
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Mr Neville accused the Mayor of London of "focusing on taking down statues and changing street names" while young people are dying on the streets.
"The Home Secretary should be asking the Mayor of London: what are you doing? What's your focus here? The police need to be supported," he said.
He added: "It's still only about a third of people who go to prison if [they've] got a knife. If you're a teenage you're more likely to be cautioned.
"We have the Prime Minister on TV every night now but he needs to go on the TV and say if you're caught carrying a knife you're going to go to prison. We've given everybody fair warning now."
Mr Neville continued: "Police officers on the street want to do stop-and-search. But part of their training is critical race theory.
"All this politically correct nonsense needs to stop. We need to focus on saving young people's lives."
