Black Youths

Stephen Lawrence Inquiry

- Stabbed to death on 22nd April 1993. Racially motivated, 5 or 6 white youths. No one convicted of the crime. Suspects were acquitted due to lack of evidence.

- police complaints authority; kent police investigated complaint by parents that first investigation was 'botched' by met police

july 31st; home sec. Jack Straw asked Sir William Macpherson to chair inquiry into matters arising from death of stephen

police investigation
- 'sequence of disasters and disapoinment'
- MP's criticised, accept their inves. was flawed
- claimed to be institutional racism
- friend and parents treated badly due to stereotypical assumptions

part 2 of inquiry
- stop and search complaints; black people stopped more often than white
- more likely to be arrested than white

conclusions
- there was fundamental errors, imcompetance, institional racism, failure of leadership by senior officers.
- Mr Panton, barrister, claimed if the colour roles were reversed police would have acted differently.
- Change needs to be created, but police can not do it alone.


Segregation.
- black boys may be taught apart from other children to help improve their grade.
- Mr Phillips called for tougher action on black fathers who don't take parenting responsibility
- Headteacher dismissed the idea of segregation claiming it would be too similar to segregation of America