Nub News Special Report: Why was an innocent young black man stopped by police twice in a matter of hours in Hitchin
"I would ask the police, why do you stop black men disproportionately. What is your justification for doing it?
"What drives you to stop a black man twice in a matter of hours in Hitchin and find nothing twice. Why do we as a society still permit this to happen.
"We shouldn't accept it. It's a form of control over young black men. You have to question why this is still happening. It's institutional racism.
"It makes me feel sick. Nothing has changed over the years following George Floyd. For me it feels like an everyday occurrence."
Hitchin Pastor, Lilieth Mullings
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"As I set out in my Police and Crime Plan it is imperative that we understand whether stop and search is used in a discriminatory way so that I can take any necessary actions with the Constabulary to reduce this."
David Lloyd, Police and Crime Commissioner for Hertfordshire
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Nub News Special Report: Why was an innocent young black man stopped by police twice in a matter of hours in Hitchin - yet nothing incriminating was found and no charges ever brought
An innocent young black man (above) was stopped twice in a matter of hours in Hitchin - but was never charged with anything. Read our Special Nub News Report. PICTURE: Police stop and search an innocent young black man in heart of Hitchin. CREDIT: Hitchin Nub News
Nub News Special Report: Why was an innocent young black man stopped by police twice in a matter of hours in Hitchin - yet nothing incriminating was found and no charges ever brought
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It was a gunmetal grey midweek afternoon in the centre of Hitchin.
Shoppers were scurrying across the evocative cobbled stones of the town's historic Market Place and the High Street.
School had just ended for the day and a number of youngsters were gathering, huddled in small groups, eagerly discussing the day's events.
Traffic nurdled through Brand Street, the main artery into the centre of Hitchin from Paynes Park and Bedford Road. A normal day.
A normal day were it not for a brightly coloured police car parked outside the entrance to the old Ivory Nightclub, long gone, its grand, white facade now the entrance to a block of apartments.
The eye was drawn to two policeman corralling a young black man in a black hoodie. On further inspection, silver-coloured metal handcuffs had been placed on the man, who was calm and controlled. Motionless. In the nearby doorway stood another officer, surveying the scene.
As did a growing crowd opposite, including shoppers and school kids, wondering why a young black man had been stopped and cuffed in the heart of Hitchin on an unprepossessing Wednesday afternoon.
One of the crowd was this correspondent, who simply happened to be walking his dog when the police stopped the innocent black man.
Normal procedure for a journalist wanting to know more about a specific incident is to contact the police force's Communications Desk, where experienced operatives deal in a professional manner with media questions.
"Can you please explain why I saw a black man stopped in Brand Street in Hitchin around 345pm/4pm today and two police cars were called," I asked, more out of genuine concern for the innocent young man, than anything else.
The response was puzzling. I was told "there's nothing on the logs so it'll be really difficult for us to find out in these circs [sic] unfortunately."
I was confused. A young black man stopped in the middle of a busy town in broad daylight - and yet I was told there was nothing on their 'logs?'
It then was explained that the man could have been stopped for any number of reasons, by any number of teams across the county, so without the name of an officer who was there, or a name of the man who was stopped for example, the police didn't really have any further way of searching. "If you do get any more information, then please come back to us," they added.
Notwithstanding the fact that this was not a satisfactory response to a journalist, the discussion came a matter of hours after rapist and serving Met Police David Carrick from Stevenage was sentenced to at least 30 years in prison. Carrick evaded justice for more than two decades despite his heinous crimes that the police admitted brought 'shame onto the uniform.'
Stopping a young black man in broad daylight in Hitchin - yet the police could not offer a reason why was not something I could accept, as a journalist or as a citizen.
As a reporter you have to observe proactively. It's part of your job. And as I had duly noted down the police car's number plate at the time as well as taken the photographs that you are seeing as part of this story, I could, therefore, provide further information.
Unlike, it has to be said, a number of tip-offs relating to Stop and Searches that this correspondent has received from Hitchin residents living in Westmill, concerned at the number of Stop and Searches conducted in a specific area around Redhill Road. Stop and Search incidents that could not be fully investigated due to the lack of information the police communications office required above.
At this point I have to underline, this is no criticism of anyone who works in the Police's media room, I know how busy they are, and how professional they are on a daily basis in a difficult role. Nor to the majority of officers who patrol our streets up and down the land, sometimes in exceedingly difficult situations and circumstances.
But with such an important role comes huge responsibility, not least in the light of Carrick and convinced murderer and another serving policeman Wayne Couzens bringing shame and discredit onto the uniform.
This story is about why a young black man was stopped by an institution that needs to do better, not worse, in restoring the public's faith in them.
Because upon investigation Nub News learned that it wasn't the first time the police had stopped the same young black man that day.
An innocent young black man (above) was stopped twice in a matter of hours in Hitchin - but was never charged with anything. Read our Special Nub News Report. PICTURE: Police stop and search an innocent young black man in heart of Hitchin. CREDIT: Hitchin Nub News
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Young black man stopped twice in a matter of hours in Hitchin
The police were quick to stress that they weren't saying they didn't have a record of the stop that took place in Brand Street.
Nub News understands that the police have a separate procedure for recording Stop and Searches.
Eventually, Herts Police gave Nub News the following information: "Officers acting on intelligence attempted to stop a vehicle in Hitchin this morning.
"The two occupants decamped and made off from the area.
"Later this afternoon, the vehicle was spotted again and stopped in Brand Street as officers approached.
"The two occupants were spoken to by officers and searched.
"Nothing of note was found and they were let on their way."
Nub News understands that the stop search was recorded on the appropriate system, as per protocol.
Nub News also understands that the police procedure is to sometimes put people into cuffs if they have already made off from officers once, and as a 'safety measure'.
It is also said to not be 'unusual' for people to be put into cuffs for a Stop and Search.
However, the fact remains that the young black man in a hoodie in Brand Street had been stopped twice by police in a matter of hours in Hitchin, and nothing had been found on him - and no charges ever brought in connection with either stop search.
Essentially the Police had stopped a car with two black youths that morning and found nothing.
Then stopped them again the same afternoon and found nothing.
While cuffing the young black man that I saw that afternoon in Brand Street.
No wonder well-respected Hitchin Pastor, Lilieth Mullings upon hearing the story, told Nub News: "It makes me feel sick.
An innocent young black man (above) was stopped twice in a matter of hours in Hitchin - but was never charged with anything. Read our Special Nub News Report. PICTURE: Police stop and search an innocent young black man in heart of Hitchin. CREDIT: Hitchin Nub News
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George Floyd, Black Lives Matter, Stop and Search
Racism has appeared on Hitchin streets.
Nub News reported Hitchin's Black Lives Matter movement speaking out after a racially aggravated attack on their BLM display only a matter of yards from Brand Street. Their dignified response was 'we will not allow hate to reign',
This May marks three years since George Floyd was killed by a police officer in the US. After his death protests against police behaviour - and in some cases brutality - spread across the world. This led to burgeoning awareness of the Black Lives Movement across the globe.
Nub News has previously spoken with members from Hitchin's Black Lives Matter movement including Maureen-Rose Ezeofor, who told us two years ago that she felt not much had changed since Floyd's killing, while acknowledging that "people are more willing to listen than before. People are more willing to acknowledge there is a problem. If you don't acknowledge a problem how can you solve it.
"I remember the death of Joy Gardner at the hands of the police in Crouch End in north London in 1993, the same year Stephen Lawrence died. It's been going on for so long," Maureen explained more in frustration and disappointment than anger.
While there has been increased scrutiny in police actions near and far, not least through a focus on controversial Stop and Search actions by many forces in the UK, there is still a disproportionate number of stop and searches by police on young black men compared to any other ethnic group.
As reported by Hitchin Nub News 24 hours before this story was published, there is to be research into Stop and Search disproportionality that will be funded by Herts PCC David Lloyd
Mr Lloyd awarded a contract to the University of Hertfordshire to complete a six-month study into the controversial police tactic.
Police say the aim of the research is to enable a better understanding of the available data, and any inequality in Stop and Search used by the police, by exploring ethnicity, age and gender and the impacts on different community groups.
Funded by a £24,966 award from the Community Safety and Criminal Justice budget, which is run by the Commissioner's office, the results of the project will be published later in the year.
An innocent young black man (above) was stopped twice in a matter of hours in Hitchin - but was never charged with anything. Read our Special Nub News Report. PICTURE: Police stop and search an innocent young black man in heart of Hitchin. CREDIT: Hitchin Nub News
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Stop and Search statistics
We poured over the government's official Stop and Search statistics for our special Nub News investigation. The findings were concerning.
The data above essentially means that if you are black, you are at least four times as likely to be stopped by police on the streets of Hertfordshire - including the streets of Hitchin.
According to UK Government guidelines, the police can stop and question you at any time - they can search you depending on the situation.
A police officer has powers to stop and search you if they have 'reasonable grounds' to suspect you're carrying illegal drugs, a weapon, stolen property or something which could be used to commit a crime, such as a crowbar.
During the course of this investigation Hitchin Nub News understands that the police searched the young black man in Brand Street under section 23 of the misuse of drugs act.
23 Misuse of Drugs Act 1971 provides police with the power to search persons for controlled drugs and detain for the purpose of search if they have reasonable cause to suspect unlawful possession.
A former police officer with experience of Stop and Search told Hitchin Nub News on condition of anonymity: "While the suspect was let go, we [the police] may have been given a tip off about the occupants that led to the stop search. Or they may have had information pertaining to the fact that drugs could be present. Or that they could have been on a [police] tag and - or - have previous [convictions]."
Yet nothing was found. No drugs. No contraband. No drug paraphernalia. No large amounts of cash. Nothing that would support the use of a Stop and Search relating to a suspicion about drugs. Nub News also understands that the car was taxed and insured and had a relevant MOT.
The result was that day saw a young black man stopped twice by police in a matter of hours in Hitchin. And released twice in a matter of hours as an innocent man.
Being searched doesn't mean you're being arrested as government literature is quick to tell you.
But what about the embarrassment from being stopped and not arrested, sometimes in front of a big crowd, such as the one that had gathered in Brand Street earlier this month. Or the hassle. Or the shame in having police search you in public, says a black person from Hitchin that Nub News spoke to as part of this story.
"It Makes Me Feel Sick"
Hitchin Nub News spoke to Lilieth Mullings, a well-respected pastor in our area, relaying the story.
"It makes me feel sick," she says powerfully. "Nothing has changed over the years following George Floyd. For me it feels like an everyday occurrence.
"I question the police as to why there is a stigma over black men. Why do police immediately think that if they see young black men driving a car they automatically believe they must have drugs on them.
"It makes me angry."
Lilieth is a calm, dignified, intelligent presence during our conversation and is sadly resigned to hearing examples of Stop and Search over the years.
"I am born and bred in Hitchin. I am a pastor and I hear stories like this all the time," she explains.
"A black friend was driving with a white friend and the black driver was stopped in Hitchin for no reason. The white friend said he wouldn't have believed it unless he had seen it with his own eyes," the pastor says instructively.
"It's a form of control over young black men. You have to question why this is still happening. It's institutional racism."
Lilieth worked in schools in and around our area for 30 years - and while racism isn't so overt these days, it's still there, she says, it's just that it's done surreptitiously.
"My parent's generation didn't speak out for fear of reprisals - they came to live with the fact of racism happens," she asserts, asking plaintively: "But generations on, why should young black people still suffer from racism at the hands of the police.
"I've seen mixed race children seen as black by the police. Because it's not overt they don't recognise it - but they are picked on and marginalised by authorities including the police."
"I would ask the police, why do you stop black men disproportionately. What is your justification for doing it?
"What drives you to stop a black man twice in a matter of hours in Hitchin and find nothing twice.
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Hitchin Nub News has contacted Hitchin MP Bim Afolami for comment on this story and will be asking for observations from the National Black Police Association
If you are the person who was stopped by the police twice in a matter of hours and would like to share your experience please contact Nub News by emailing [email protected] or by sending us a message on social media including Twitter and Instagram @HitchinNubNews.
FOLLOW HITCHIN NUB NEWS ON TWITTER AND INSTAGRAM
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Research into Stop and Search disproportionality to be funded by Herts PCC David Lloyd
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Notes:
George Perry Floyd Jr. (October 14, 1973 – May 25, 2020) was an African-American man who was murdered by a police officer in Minneapolis, Minnesota, during an arrest made after a store clerk suspected Floyd may have used a counterfeit twenty-dollar bill, on May 25, 2020. Derek Chauvin, one of the four police officers who arrived on the scene, knelt on Floyd's neck and back for 9 minutes and 29 seconds which caused a lack of oxygen. After his murder, protests against police brutality, especially towards black people, quickly spread across the United States and globally. His dying words, "I can't breathe," became a rallying slogan.
Stephen Lawrence (13 September 1974 – 22 April 1993) was a black British teenager from Plumstead, southeast London, who was murdered in a racially motivated attack while waiting for a bus in Eltham on the evening of 22 April 1993, when he was 18 years old. The case became a cause célèbre: its fallout included changes of attitudes on racism and the police, and to the law and police practice.
Wayne Couzens was a Metropolitan Police officer has admitted the kidnap and rape of Sarah Everard, a 33-year-old Durham University graduate who vanished while walking home from Clapham in March 2021.
David Carrick (born 4 January 1975) is an English serial rapist and former police officer who worked for the Metropolitan Police. He joined the police force in 2001 and worked as an armed police officer in the Parliamentary and Diplomatic Protection from 2009 until his initial suspension without pay and subsequent sacking from his position.
Carrick was arrested in 2021 and in 2022 pleaded guilty to multiple counts of rape between 2002 and 2021. In 2023, he was sentenced to life imprisonment.
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