Shahrar Ali, the Green Party deputy leader and one of the party’s top three candidates for the London-wide section of the London Assembly, will tonight call on the Metropolitan Police to improve diversity among their officers to give them a better understanding of both extremism and Islamophobia.
He will make the pledge at a public meeting in Brent tonight to highlight problems with the Government’s Prevent initiative, which imposes a legal duty on teachers, health workers and social services staff to report anyone they think is likely to become an extremist.
Dr Ali will say in his speech:
“We rightly condemn Trump for his xenophobic comments abroad, yet the government’s Prevent strategy is having the same Islamophobic effect here. Whether overt or covert, racism must be confronted in all its forms. The attempt to police thoughts in our schools and universities is counterproductive on its own terms and disproportionately targets Muslims.
“We must build bridges with all members of society, not risk marginalising the very communities who need our support. No anti-extremism policy can work without community engagement and the fostering of trust between the school, council and community police and the families which they serve.
“If elected to City Hall, I will press for a more proactive recruitment drive to improve diversity among Met Police officers so that they can engage better with communities that experience both rising hate crime and have equal interest in preventing violent extremism.”
His call follows a successful Green initiative in October whereby Islington Council became the first borough in the country to pass a motion urging changes to the Prevent strategy in schools.