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On patrol against bias
• A SMILING Islington police superintendent is shown posing with a Christian “street pastor” (Pastors on patrol in search of those in danger on our streets, February 27). A new scheme, said to have been devised by PC Michael Smith, will distribute rucksacks with a bible and a Christian comic to “young people who give up their knives”. This scheme is further said to be “backed by police”. Also, we are told that “knife bins will appear in Islington emblazoned with a number” – a number to call to get a free bible.
Knife crime is deadly serious. The problems that underlie knife crime are even more serious. It is good for anyone to help. I applaud help from all directions.
However, this scheme amounts to blatant Christian proselytizing, which could be ignored were it not sponsored by our police. More than simple support, the backing of this scheme by police might seem to convey a sense of compulsion: will youth feel they must take up the bible in order to avoid unwelcome attention from enforcement officers?
Islington Council was – falsely, I believe – charged with religious discrimination by a registrar who felt her Christian beliefs trumped her employment and civil rights responsibilities. Now, we see what appears to be promotion of Christianity by our police in an example of what I would see as true religious discrimination – the favouring of one religion over others by law enforcement personnel on our streets. Is it not obvious that there is a strong potential here to abridge the religious freedom of our youth.
This scheme needs to be ended or made more inclusive so that it sheds its discriminatory and propagandistic character. Would the police now be willing to expand this programme to distribute copies of the Qur’an or Hindu or Buddhist scriptures? Will secular texts be made available too?
ANDREW PAKULA
Minister, Newington Green Unitarian Church and Unity Unitarian Church, Islington
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