Brixton cop's main concern was 'extremists'
Socialist Press1981 1981-07-02Read it in the scan (PDF), scan page 4 →
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Swamp 81_ the police operation which resulted in several days of rioting in Brixton last April was the most intensive stop-and-search operation mounted by police in Lambeth.
Figures given to the Scarman Inquiry last week showed that 1,000 people were stopped and questioned by police in five days, compared to an average of 500-100 stops per month in earlier police operations in the area.
Police spokesmen also admitted under qquestioning not ony that on previous occasions the petty criminals they were out to catch had merely moved to neighbouring Southwark, but that this type of police operation created its own crimes. Annoyance at the constant harassment had led to five people being arrested for obstructing the police and three-one of them a 47 year old housewife-for assaulting the Earlier in the week the police admitted that they had made no attempt to investigate the many complaints of plain clothes police involved in the rio carrying an assortment of iron bars and coshes.
And the former chief of der Leonard Adam him Lambeth police, Commanadmitted that for "political extremism" was a "main concern" . He went on to say that he regarded Ted Knight, leader of Lambeth Council as: a political extremist.
What emerged clearly from the questioning of Adama was that. main concern of the police was political "extremists" of the left rather than the right.
While the police are clearly being given a rough ride in the Inquiry by counsel for local community groups, it is by no means certain that this will be reflected in the final report which Scarmen will draw up.