Newham Monitoring Project tag:www.nmp.org.uk,2009://1 2008-07-07T14:56:48Z Newham Monitoring Project (NMP) is a grassroots community-based anti-racist organisation in the borough of Newham, East London, England working against racial discrimination / violence, police misconduct and around civil rights issues. It provides advice, support, advocacy and a 24-hour emergency helpline to members of the black community facing racism. It also provides community outreach / educational projects and campaign work around issues arising from its cases and/or pertinent to the black community. Since its foundation it has always pursued one simple aim - the right to a life free from harassment, safe from attack. Movable Type 3.34 Casework 2007-2008 tag:www.nmp.org.uk,2008://1.21 2008-04-07T12:35:54Z 2008-07-07T14:56:48Z Overview • In the year April 2007 – March 2008, NMP dealt with approximately 142 cases; • We made 34 referrals to external organisations; • Almost all of our casework requires NMP intervention with statutory organisations (ie: Police, Council, Housing);... Overview • In the year April 2007 – March 2008, NMP dealt with approximately 142 cases; • We made 34 referrals to external organisations; • Almost all of our casework requires NMP intervention with statutory organisations (ie: Police, Council, Housing); • The majority of our cases require the assistance of a lawyer; • Nearly half of all our cases come in through the Emergency Service Helpline; • The majority of our cases involve policing issues and over the past year we have seen a rise in cases associated with 'gang related violence' and house raids; • NMP's main role in supporting cases continues to be repeated contact and pressure towards statutory agencies to respond appropriately, conduct a thorough investigation and to deliver a fair, speedy and effective outcome.

Who we work with (our client group)

East London has an extremely ethnically diverse population. NMP works predominantly in Newham, however our services extend to five other local boroughs: Waltham Forest, Hackney, Barking & Dagenham, Redbridge & Tower Hamlets. In Newham alone, BME communities represent 61% of the local population with the white population being proportionally lower than anywhere else in the country. Whilst other boroughs with large BME communities, such as Tower Hamlets, have one dominant ethnic group, the largest BME groups from the total Newham population are Black African 13%, Indian 12% and Bangladeshi 8%. Newham is also home to a high Muslim population of 24.3%, the 2nd highest in the UK and has a high refugee and asylum seeker population. Newham also has a high proportion of young people with approximately 25% of the borough being under 20 years old. Newham has the highest rate of youth poverty nationally and the second highest rate of unemployment [2001 Census information].

Our casework service

NMP provides practical support, legal advice and assistance, predominantly to those from BME communities, experiencing discrimination in the following areas: • Policing and criminal justice system; • Dealing with racist incidents (including verbal/written abuse, physical abuse, criminal damage and other racist incidents); • Local authorities; • Housing; • Education (including admissions, exclusions, assessment & harassment).

Level of assistance provided

NMP provides people with assistance in seeking a fair and satisfactory outcome through: • Information, advice & representation to people regarding issues of discrimination, dissatisfactory & unfair treatment from statutory bodies where they feel race is a factor; • Making complaints against the police and other statutory bodies and appeals against complaint outcome decisions; • Assisting people in bringing perpetrators of race-hate crime to court through representations to the police and / or other statutory agencies involved. NMP has the Community Legal Service Quality Mark (General Help with Casework) for its casework service.

Casework Areas - Background and concerns

Race Hate Crime / Racial Harassment
Main areas of concern for NMP arising from our casework in 2007/8 • No dedicated Racial Harassment officer in council housing departments ie: specialist support not available to victims; • Lack of support or options available for individuals / families who either cannot name perpetrators or do not wish to name them for fear of reprisal; • Where a family is successfully moved into temporary accommodation, time taken to process case in order to move them into new permanent / return to previous accommodation; • Difficulties for NMP / public obtaining relevant policies from councils regarding their policies and procedures on taking perpetrator action / targeting racial harassment; • Lack of accessible information available to public on perpetrator action taken; • From statistical information available, lack of perpetrator action actually taken by councils against perpetrators of Racial Harassment; • Effectiveness of multi-agency work between the police, council and anti-social behaviour units, in particular lines of accountability and timescales.
Stop & Search
Background • Stop & Search figures for the Metropolitan Police Area under PACE (Police and Criminal Evidence Act) have risen by more than 18% from the previous year to 280,735 in 2005-6. As with previous years black and minority ethnic people accounted for more than half of the incidents - 101,679 black people and 33,870 Asians (plus 8,846 of other ethnicities). In London, Black and Asian communities represent less than 29% of the overall population [Census 2001 information; and Ministry of Justice report, Statistics on Race and Criminal Justice System 2006 (for England and Wales)]; • Nationally the figures for 2005–6 reveal the highest levels of stop and search incidents since 1998-9. Black people are now 7 times more likely to be stopped and searched than white people, compared with 6 times more likely in 2004-5. The overall rise in stop and searches is being partly driven by a disproportionate targeting of BME communities. This picture is backed up locally by our casework. [Ministry of Justice report, Statistics on Race and Criminal Justice System 2006 (for England and Wales)]; • Since the London Bombings, stop and searches under Section 44 of the Anti-terrorism 2000 Act have increased by 34% to 44,543, disproportionately affecting black and minority ethnic populations, who accounted for 39% of the incidents. The increase has particularly targeted Asian communities with the number of Asians stopped in 2005-6 up by 84% from the previous year, compared to an increase of 51% for black people and 24% for whites. Over half of these searches took place in the Metropolitan Police area and 15% in the City of London area. The number of pedestrians stopped under Section 44 nearly doubled from the previous year to 19,064. Of these, only 59 arrests related to terrorism were finally made, with no conviction rate available. [Ministry of Justice report, Statistics on Race and Criminal Justice System 2006 (for England and Wales)]; • British Transport Police figures of stops and searches under anti-terrorism laws from July 7th 2005 to August 10th 2005 show 6,747 stops of which the majority were in London. Of these 2,390 were of Asians. [source: Guardian] Main areas of concern for NMP arising from our casework in 2007/8 • Proposals to remove the receipts system for Stop & Search. This was a key mechanism to create accountability arising form the Stephen Lawrence Inquiry; • Proposals to increase Stop & Search to target gun & knife crime whilst statistical evidence available does not suggest it is an effective tool in comparison to intelligence-based policing; • Impact on youth of repeated Stop & Search incidents; • Injuries sustained by individuals under use of 'reasonable force' during arrest; • Treatment of individuals under arrest during transportation to police station in police vehicles / holding pens outside the police station; • Whether receipts for Stops & Searches are routinely being issued on the spot; • The use of PCSO’s (Police Community Support Officers) to formally 'stop' people; • That 'reasonable grounds' given by police for conducting Stops & Searches often translates for our cases to having just been the 'wrong person' in any given area at any time.
Policing - broader issues
The majority of NMP's cases involve policing issues. Main areas of concern for NMP arising from our casework in 2007/8 • The issuing of Section 5 Public Order Offences to individuals – we have seen a sharp increase in people being given these following a minor altercation with police. We are keen to monitor the issuing of these through recording the experiences of people who have received one – please contact us if you would like to take part in this monitoring or require casework assistance in this area; • Arresting victims of racist crime rather than the perpetrator; • Level and quality of investigation of racial harassment cases; • Effectiveness of multi-agency work between the police and council departments; • Effectiveness of police complaints system including Independent Police Complaints Commission.
Anti-terror policing
Background East London has been a focus for anti-terror raids over the past few years. This has caused much fear and tension locally which has been reported to NMP. Main areas of concern for NMP arising from our casework in 2007/8 • Targeting of Muslim communities; • Media coverage of raids, in particular naming individuals and revealing their own or family addresses; • We are concerned by many of the suggested legislative changes contained within the proposed Counter Terrorism Bill and are working alongside other organisations such as Inquest, Equality and Human Rights Commission and CAMPACC to challenge these.
House raids by Police
During 2007/8, NMP has seen an increase in cases experiencing raids on their homes, often repeatedly. Main areas of concern for NMP arising from our casework in 2007/8 • The manner in which raids are being conducted. In particular the treatment of people when raids are being conducted involving the use of unnecessary force, verbal abuse and not adhering to other codes of police conduct; • The quality and scrutiny of 'intelligence' used to launch raids; • The effectiveness and role of Police Family Liaison officers in supporting families after anti-terrorism raids; • The extent of damage to properties during raids; • Lack of transparency, coherence or fairness within policies of police and council related to repairing properties adequately for occupants post-raid often leaving properties insecure. This aspect can be devastating to individuals; • Difficulties in obtaining items back from the police taken during a raid; • Leaks from police sources about raids and details of investigation, uncorroborated and incorrect ‘facts’ and lack of action taken against this by the Police.

Community Development Work

• Intensive support to local Black Minority Ethnic / Refugee Community Organisations around building their capacity to respond effectively to reports of race-hate crime and policing issues; • Over the past year NMP has jointly organised, with other local groups, 2 large community events held in East London (with over 300 participants attending altogether) aimed at raising awareness of individuals rights under anti-terror legislation; • Workshops with various local youth groups around policing and rights in relation to Stop & Search; • 1-day participative-style workshop with young women students from BME backgrounds around rights, policing and accessing support. Excellent feedback received from the college. It has been agreed this will now be repeated yearly and additional sessions throughout the year are planned.]]> ES Newsletter tag:www.nmp.org.uk,2007://1.19 2007-09-27T11:40:48Z 2008-07-08T17:54:35Z ES Update: We have held two training sessions, we have recruited 14 new volunteers joining the Emergency service. ES training dates: The last ES training date we had was on Saturday 11th of August. It went exceptionally well, and signed... ES Update: We have held two training sessions, we have recruited 14 new volunteers joining the Emergency service. ES training dates: The last ES training date we had was on Saturday 11th of August. It went exceptionally well, and signed up new volunteers for the ES training. The next ES training is on 20th October. To all old volunteers if you have been volunteering for more than two years, it is essential that you attend. This will help you refresh your skills and what you have learnt before in dealing with ES calls. Campaigns: Justice4jean: NMP is still continuing to actively support the campaign for justice of the family of Jean Charles de Menezes. The project was involved with the press conference on August 2nd. Where the family expressed how they felt on the progress of their campaign and the IPCC report. Seminars: On 11th June we had a book event with Clive Stafford Smith. April 25th JOCELYN Hurndall presented a book called defy the stars in the memory of her son. New NMP projects: A rights workshop on 10th September for Swahili speaking refugee community groups. Stop and search workshop for community groups. General info about NMP: On 14th July, Gilly Mundy memorial event took place.]]> Privacy Statement tag:domain1265853.sites.fasthosts.com,2007://1.12 2007-03-13T13:28:12Z 2007-03-13T13:28:38Z All emails sent to NMP owned domain names are liable to be read by several people at NMP - they are not private. In the spirit of seeking to learn and develop, we may share your comments with others who... All emails sent to NMP owned domain names are liable to be read by several people at NMP - they are not private. In the spirit of seeking to learn and develop, we may share your comments with others who may or may not agree with them. We do not buy, sell or give away lists of email addresses nor solicit email lists from other groups. Our list is an 'opted in' list, we will remove you from this list at your request. We do not sell or give away the postal address details or private telephone numbers of our contacts, volunteers and those who have given us these details so that we can keep them informed of our activities. We may include information from other organisations with similar aims and objectives along side any materials we would normally send you. NMP staff and office based volunteers have signed, and are bound by, NMP's confidentiality code of conduct. 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NMP is not responsible for the content or accuracy of these websites and accepts no responsibility of any loss or damages you may incur from visiting these sites. Staff Safety tag:domain1265853.sites.fasthosts.com,2007://1.9 2007-03-13T12:10:43Z 2007-03-13T16:50:22Z Contact details of NMP staff and volunteers are given to assist you in promoting the aims and objectives of NMP. Please protect these details as you would your own. Notify NMP if you have information concerning individuals or organisations using... Contact details of NMP staff and volunteers are given to assist you in promoting the aims and objectives of NMP. Please protect these details as you would your own. Notify NMP if you have information concerning individuals or organisations using our contact details to threaten or harass our staff and volunteers. Graphic Design Volunteer tag:domain1265853.sites.fasthosts.com,2007://1.7 2007-03-13T11:22:35Z 2007-03-13T11:24:36Z As a small community organisation we have limited funds. However, it is our aim to regularly produce a wide range of vital practical /educational and campaign information to distribute to the local community. Because of the nature of our work... Volunteer Application form or contact us directly in the office to discuss it further.]]> Casework 2006-2007 tag:www.nmp.org.uk,2007://1.18 2007-03-09T21:45:37Z 2008-07-07T13:41:22Z Overview • In the year April 2006 – March 2007, NMP dealt with approximately 187 cases; • We made 29 referrals to external organisations; • Almost all of our casework requires NMP intervention with statutory organisations (ie: Police, Council, Housing);... Overview • In the year April 2006 – March 2007, NMP dealt with approximately 187 cases; • We made 29 referrals to external organisations; • Almost all of our casework requires NMP intervention with statutory organisations (ie: Police, Council, Housing); • The majority of our cases require the assistance of a lawyer; • Nearly half of all our cases come in through the Emergency Service Helpline; • The majority of our cases involve policing issues and increasingly cases associated with Anti-Terrorism policing; • NMP’s main role in supporting cases continues to be repeated contact and pressure towards statutory agencies to respond appropriately, conduct a thorough investigation and to deliver a fair, speedy and effective outcome. Who we work with (our client group) East London has an extremely ethnically diverse population. NMP works predominantly in Newham, however our services extend to five other local boroughs: Waltham Forest, Hackney, Barking & Dagenham, Redbridge & Tower Hamlets. In Newham alone, BME communities represent 61% of the local population with the white population being proportionally lower than anywhere else in the country. Whilst other boroughs with large BME communities, such as Tower Hamlets, have one dominant ethnic group, the largest BME groups from the total Newham population are Black African 13%, Indian 12% and Bangladeshi 8%. Newham is also home to a high Muslim population of 24.3%, the 2nd highest in the UK and has a high refugee and asylum seeker population. Newham also has a high proportion of young people with approximately 25% of the borough being under 20 years old. Newham has highest rate of youth poverty nationally and the second highest rate of unemployment [2001 Census information]. Casework Areas Race Hate Crime / Racial Harassment In the past few years the local council’s housing policy on racial harassment cases has changed towards ‘perpetrator action’ meaning they attempt to take action against the perpetrator rather than just moving the ‘victim’. Whilst this may sound good in theory we have found the reality for our cases is NMP victims unable to name perpetrators are no longer re-housed. Also, responsibility for dealing with racial harassment is no longer focused on a central team; from our experience this has meant identifying where responsibility lies is confusing for victims and community groups. Main areas of concern for NMP arising from our casework in 2006/7 • No dedicated Racial Harassment officer in council housing departments ie: specialist support not available to victims; • Lack of support or options available for individuals / families who either cannot name perpetrators or do not wish to name them for fear of reprisal; • Where a family is successfully moved into temporary accommodation, time taken to process case in order to move them into new permanent / return to previous accommodation; • Difficulties for NMP / public obtaining relevant policies from councils regarding their policies and procedures on taking perpetrator action / targeting racial harassment; • Lack of accessible information available to public on perpetrator action taken; • From statistical information available, lack of perpetrator action actually taken by councils against perpetrators of Racial Harassment; • Effectiveness of multi-agency work between the police, council and anti-social behaviour units, in particular lines of accountability and timescales. Policing Background • Stop & Search figures under PACE (Police and Criminal Evidence Act) for 2004 – 5 in the Metropolitan Police Area show a 4% increase from the previous year, up to 237,104. Of these 85,977 were of black people and 27,433 were of Asians, accounting for 47% of all those stopped. [Home Office Statistical Bulletin: Arrests for Recorded Crime (Notifiable Offences) and the Operation of Certain Police Powers under PACE, England and Wales 2004/5]. In London, Black and Asian communities represent less than 29% of the overall population [Census 2001 information]; • Stop & search figures for 2004 – 5 show black people are 6 times (although if the figures for London are excluded this falls to 4.9%, showing how high the stops rate for black people is in London) more likely and Asians 1.8 times more likely to be stopped than white people. This picture is backed up locally by our casework. [The Home Office report, Statistics on Race and Criminal Justice System 2005 (for England and Wales)]; • Whilst the Metropolitan Police Authority (MPA) identifies Newham as a priority borough for race-hate crime with 455 reported incidents in 2004-5, it has one of the lowest figures for actions against perpetrators with only 14 civil actions taken against perpetrators between 2001 – 4 including ASBO’s and injunctions. [London-wide Race Hate Crime Forum Annual Report 2004 – 5, MPA]. Main areas of concern for NMP arising from our casework in 2006/7 • Whether receipts for Stops & Searches are always being issued; • The use of PCSO’s (Police Community Support Officers) to formally ‘stop’ people; • That ‘reasonable grounds’ given by police for conducting Stops & Searches often translates for our cases to having just been the ‘wrong person’ in any given area at any time; • Police response to reports of racial harassment / race hate crime; • Arresting victims of racist crime rather than the perpetrator; • Level and quality of investigation of racial harassment cases; • Effectiveness of multi-agency work between the police, council and anti-social behaviour units; • Many issues around effectiveness if Independent Police Complaints Commission. Anti-terrorism policing Background • In 2004 -5 there were 32,062 overall Searches under Section 44 of the Anti-terrorism 2000 Act, an increase of 9% nationally, of which 34% were of pedestrians. Of all those searches, 7% were of black people and 11% were Asians, despite BME communities representing less than 9% of the national population of England and Wales. Of the overall figures 40% took place in the Metropolitan Police area and 20% in the City of London area. Of the 10,941 Stops and Searches of pedestrians under Section 44 only 24 arrests related to terrorism were finally made, with no conviction rate available. [The Home Office report, Statistics on Race and Criminal Justice System 2005 (for England and Wales)]; • British Transport Police figures of stops and searches under anti-terrorism laws from July 7th 2005 to August 10th 2005 show 6,747 stops of which the majority were in London. Of these 2,390 were of Asians; [source: Guardian] • East London has been a focus for anti-terror raids over the past 2 years. This has caused much fear and tension locally which has been reported to NMP. Main areas of concern for NMP arising from our casework in 2006/7: • Targeting of muslim communities; • The manner in which anti-terrorism raids are being conducted. In particular the treatment of people when raids are being conducted involving the use of unnecessary force, verbal abuse and not adhering to other codes of police conduct; • The quality and scrutiny of ‘intelligence’ used to launch raids; • The effectiveness and role of Police Family Liaison officers in supporting families after raids; • The extent of damage to properties during raids and the failure of police to repair properties adequately before returning them to occupants. This aspect can be devastating to individuals; • Leaks from police sources about raids and details of investigation, uncorroborated and incorrect ‘facts’ and lack of action taken against this by the Police; • Media coverage of raids, in particular naming individuals and their addresses. Feedback from our Cases 2006/7 From in-depth feedback interviews with NMP cases December 2006 • The majority of clients (in this study) had worked with other racial harassment, victim support, and voluntary sector bodies before contacting NMP; • Most clients contacted NMP through personal referrals or in several cases by unofficial advice by government officers (individual police officers, victim support officers); • The majority of clients had experienced frustration with the official racial harassment and police misconduct inquiry process and experienced racist treatment by officers; • The majority of clients found that their cases or complaints were not taken seriously and frequently dismissed or ignored; • Clients also found that most other organisations that they had worked with were more oriented towards achieving quick resolutions and did not push for high standards of accountability from relevant statutory bodies; • Many clients reported that ethnic organisations and advice centres would offer good-faith support but did not have the specialist knowledge to deal with racial harassment or police misconduct; • Some clients complained about the lack of visibility of NMP in the borough and lack of information concerning its services; Feedback from individual cases in 2006/7 “Over the last 2 years they [NMP] have done so much work for me. If I knew someone in my situation I’d always recommend them to your organisation. They should get the support and help from you and it will help keep you going. NMP’s very good for the public. It’s rare talent to get that help these days.” “NMP are very helpful and supportive compared to other departments that are supposed to help you. NMP is the best thing that has happened to me.” “People feel the police are against them and there is nowhere to turn, NMP make you feel better that there is an organisation willing to push your case – this is particularly good to have someone doing this around racism. Police & solicitors have more respect when NMP are involved. Otherwise they’d dismiss us quicker.”]]> Racial Harassment tag:domain1265853.sites.fasthosts.com,2007://1.6 2007-03-06T19:51:00Z 2007-03-06T20:06:13Z Newham Monitoring Project (NMP) has been assisting individuals and families suffering from racial harassment for 25 years. According to the Newham Household Panel Survey, 21% of people in Newham experience racial harassment at some point. BME communities were the most... 1 The effectiveness of Racial Harassment policies Our work is testament to the ongoing failure of statutory agencies, particularly the police and local authorities, to deal adequately with racism and their failures to act and implement their own policies effectively. Our communities receive no justice from detailed racial harassment policies that are circumvented, overridden or just plain ignored by their creators. The central aim of our work is therefore to monitor and pressurise the police and public bodies to act against racial harassment when it is brought to their attention and thus preventing families from having to endure prolonged racial violence. The racial harassment statistics in our annual reports do not reflect the full extent of racism in East London. Statistics cannot measure the impact of racial harassment on the lives of families and individuals, or the effect on their confidence and self esteem. This is especially true with what is considered 'low level' harassment. Verbal abuse and criminal damage to property on a daily basis can be as devastating as physical attacks. Under-reporting Under-reporting of racial violence is still a problem and therefore statistics can only hint at the extent of the culture of racism that exists in East London. However, research into victims of racial harassment, conducted by the Joseph Rowntree Foundation2, found nearly a quarter "did not report to any official agency until after 18 months of experiencing a variety of incidents and, in some cases, the incidents went on for over four years before official complaints were made." Furthermore it reported that victims were more likely to disclose of their experiences to either someone close to them or a group within their own community. It is therefore essential that support and information be given to these groups, many of whom have often received little or no formal training to deal with such issues. This problem is made worse by a lack of confidence in, and even fear of, bodies such as the police - set up to protect us from racial violence. Many people have reported to us that, when ringing the police or local authority to report incidents of racial violence, they are immediately asked about their immigration status. The experiences highlighted in our annual reports hardly inspire confidence in those suffering racial violence to report it. A campaigning approach to casework NMP's casework approach is to take into account the wider issues, concerns and ramifications for the local community where possible and appropriate. The issues and problems are tackled together to strengthen the community from within. In some instances campaigns are necessary to highlight the injustices and bring them to the public eye. These campaigns are also a direct way of developing community involvement and collective organisation to tackle racial violence. Where a campaign involves a specific individual or family's case, we believe those persons should lead and direct the campaign with NMP in a supporting role. Our cases make the decision about whether they want to form a campaign around what has happened to them and we support them in their decision either way. NMP understands that for many people, putting their experiences into the public arena can be a difficult and challenging process after all they have gone through and we respect this. NMP's objectives in racial harassment cases Below is a brief summary of our objectives in relation to racial harassment casework. Although it is important to have a clear set of objectives, we are also continually adapting and re-evaluating our strategies to meet the changes in the wider political arena and the local community. Objectives:
  1. Adequately support and advise victims, whilst listening carefully to what they want.
  2. Make sure individuals report all incidents to the police and pressurise the police to respond and take action, arrest the perpetrator(s) and bring the correct charges.
  3. Pressurise housing associations and the local authority to follow their own racial harassment policies effectively, listen to the victims, and make statutory organisations responsible and accountable to the community.
  4. Get councillors and MPs actively involved in working for their constituencies and to monitor the police and local authority policies and practices.
  5. Involve other voluntary and community organisations to increase the pressure in exposing police and local community inaction.
Foot notes 1 Newham Household Panel Survey, Wave 2, (2004), carried out by the Institute for Social and Economic Research (ISER) at the University of Essex for the London Borough of Newham 2 Racist victimisation in the UK (1999) Joseph Rowntree Foundation]]> 24:7 ES tag:domain1265853.sites.fasthosts.com,2007://1.5 2007-03-06T18:32:18Z 2007-09-27T11:35:22Z The 24 Hour NMP Emergency Service - A lifeline for the community NMP's 24 Hour Emergency Service was launched in 1983, offering free, independent and confidential support and advice for victims of racial and / or police harassment. Now in... The 24 Hour NMP Emergency Service - A lifeline for the community NMP's 24 Hour Emergency Service was launched in 1983, offering free, independent and confidential support and advice for victims of racial and / or police harassment. Now in its 25th year, it is still the only one of its kind in east London. Why we offer the Emergency Service The Emergency Service is offered because many individuals and families have a low expectation of the police and feel that their immediate situation is simply not a priority for them. Community members initially set it up in the early 1980's after a series of violent racist attacks in East London, to which the police failed to respond effectively. The service provides advice, legal assistance and direct practical support to victims of harassment alongside maintaining pressure on the police to respond to attacks and then monitoring their response until the case is fully dealt with. The ES plays an essential role in assisting the community because time and time again NMP has found that when the police know that NMP had been contacted, they respond differently or quicker to those reporting racial harassment. Today, approximately 50% of NMP's casework is generated from the Emergency Service. Since the service began, it has assisted thousands of individuals who have needed timely and practical advice either for themselves or to assist others. Advice has often been sought from members of the public who simply wished to report an incident they had observed. Maintained by dedicated volunteers Out of office hours, over 100 trained and committed local volunteers maintain the Emergency Service line. A network of more experienced volunteers including solicitors and barristers in turn support these volunteers. Volunteers take calls during weekday evenings, weekends and public holidays. The volunteers use their training to offer direct support and assistance to callers during their shift before handing the case back to the office caseworkers to do any follow up work. Find out more about Volunteering for ES.]]> Written Translation Volunteer tag:domain1265853.sites.fasthosts.com,2007://1.4 2007-03-05T22:58:00Z 2007-03-05T23:01:35Z NMP regularly produces information specifically for black and minority ethnic communities (BME) whose first language is not necessarily English. On subjects such as knowing your rights under stop and search or using our emergency line it is vital that information... Volunteer Application form or contact us directly in the office to discuss it further.]]> Campaigns Volunteer tag:domain1265853.sites.fasthosts.com,2007://1.3 2007-03-05T22:48:30Z 2007-03-05T23:01:37Z Volunteer role To support the work of NMP workers and MC in any campaigns NMP is currently facilitating / supporting. What volunteers have done to support campaigns in the past • Provide practical support to the campaign by assisting NMP... Volunteer role To support the work of NMP workers and MC in any campaigns NMP is currently facilitating / supporting. What volunteers have done to support campaigns in the past • Provide practical support to the campaign by assisting NMP workers when we go out leafleting, helping to staff stalls at events, getting people to sign petitions, attending gatherings such as public meetings / vigils / protests etc. • Assist in producing campaign materials by helping paint banners, design leaflets, provide pictures for leaflets / annual reports • Attend campaign meetings held by NMP • Attend campaign meetings /events held by other organisations and feed back information from them to NMP. As we have quite a small staff team, this helps us stay in touch with what is going on a broader level • Help disseminate or distribute information on our campaigns out to local organisations / schools / community centres / individuals etc. If you are interested, fill out our Volunteer Application form or contact us directly in the office to discuss it further. If you wish to volunteer to assist with campaigns at NMP, it may be helpful to understand NMP’s key work first. The best way to do this is by volunteering to become an Emergency Service volunteer]]> Emergency Service Volunteer tag:domain1265853.sites.fasthosts.com,2007://1.2 2007-03-05T22:46:11Z 2007-10-08T14:17:47Z Volunteer role To help provide 24-hour emergency telephone support to people from black and ethnic minority communities who are targets of racial attacks and harassment, police harassment, arrest and other civil injustice issues. How it works NMP transfers the 0800... Volunteer role To help provide 24-hour emergency telephone support to people from black and ethnic minority communities who are targets of racial attacks and harassment, police harassment, arrest and other civil injustice issues. How it works NMP transfers the 0800 number to the volunteer’s telephone so the service can be operated from the volunteer’s home. Training Training is provided by solicitors and experienced Emergency Service volunteers and is compulsory for all new volunteers for NMP. ES training sessions are held at least every 8-10 weeks. After submitting the Volunteer Application form, you will be notified as soon as the next training date is set. The training takes place over a Saturday in East London approximately 11am-3pm, Tea/coffee and lunch is provided. The training day covers the range of emergencies that volunteers may encounter. This includes basic legal knowledge, although volunteers do not actually give legal advice. Training covers the following areas: What to do if you receive a call from / regarding: • someone in connection with a Stop & Search including under Anti-Terrorism legislation • someone on behalf of somebody who has been detained • someone being held in a police station • contacting the police • someone who fears imminent arrest • asylum and/or deportation emergency • people suffering racial harassment What we provide to our ES volunteers • At the end of the training session each volunteer receives a comprehensive handbook containing detailed information on everything covered by the training and numbers of useful agencies to contact when answering a call • By no means are our volunteers 'on their own'. The handbook also has a list of numbers of experienced 'second tier' volunteers, who can be contacted for further advice and support when responding to a call • NMP organises regular socials in East London as a way of saying thanks to volunteers and to provide volunteers with an opportunity to meet each other What we ask of volunteers • A commitment of one or two shifts per month, from your home. Shifts are usually 6pm to 9am weekdays and/or 9am-1.30pm, 1.30pm -6pm or 6pm-9am at weekends. • Regular contact with NMP by email or telephone for booking shifts and feedback, including a completed casesheet, if you receive any calls. • Emergency Service volunteering isn’t for everyone. On occasion we may feel it more appropriate for potential volunteers to offer their skills in other areas of NMP’s work. If you are interested, fill out our Volunteer Application form or contact us directly in the office to discuss it further.]]> Volunteer Application tag:www.nmp.org.uk,2007://1.20 2007-02-18T14:11:31Z 2007-10-08T14:24:07Z If you would like to apply to be a volunteer - please use our Volunteer Application form.... Volunteer Application form.]]> Forest Gate raid families shocked at dismissive IPCC report - once again 'terrorism policing' used as an excuse for inaction tag:domain1265853.sites.fasthosts.com,2007://1.17 2007-02-13T14:35:51Z 2007-03-19T14:37:39Z The Independent Police Complaints Commission will today release its report into the complaints raised by the families of 46 and 48 Lansdown Road involved in the Forest Gate Raids on 2nd June 2006. The report claims to investigate the justification... Hanif Dogha, formerly of 48 Lansdown Road, who required stitches following being struck on the head by the butt of a gun during the raid said: “I could have died from this injury yet the IPCC dismiss it as a ‘minor head injury’ and call for no further action. I’m deeply disappointed in this report - this is belittling and not a proper investigation” The Kalam family of 46 Lansdown Road today said: “Whilst we welcome the IPCC’s recommendation of a public apology, it is eight months too late. Words are not sufficient to compensate for the police brutality suffered, action is what is required.” A spokesperson from NMP today said: “ The importance of this case and the need for a thorough investigation cannot be minimized – Forest Gate is a landmark case, you need only look at the comments following the recent Birmingham Raids when people were asking “Is Birmingham the next Forest Gate?” There are fundamental questions which need answering about whether police acted appropriately. This report fails on all levels to address this and does not hold the police accountable. It undermines the continuing work on the ground on building trust in our communities – it is unsurprising that members of the muslim community feel a sense of injustice in their treatment from the police. The threat of terrorism needs to be balanced with the threat to innocent victims of anti-terror operations, and the wider impact on communities “under suspicion”. This cannot be achieved while police operations repeatedly prove to be based on flawed intelligence. As in their investigation into the shooting of Jean Charles de Menezes, the IPCC again fails to hold the police accountable for their failure to adequately verify their intelligence. In effect, the IPCC report dismisses almost all of the 150 allegations by the eleven adults members from the raid houses, given independently, which are accounts of police misconduct and excessive physical force. If this is not a sufficient basis for the IPCC to recommend criminal proceedings into officers’ conduct, it raises the question what will ever be enough? There has been an expectation that the police “will get away with this”. Forest Gate was seen as a test case to see if the processes of IPCC work in holding the police to account. The message from this report is that no action will be taken – you can be shot, assaulted, brutalized - the community effectively “terrorised” - and there will be no redress. The IPCC have failed in their duty to make recommendations of action that would make a difference for other families. What, therefore, is the purpose of the IPCC?”]]>