Thread by @gmhales

Being back in S/SE London last week, esp the v diverse (and rel high crime) area I lived in 2010-17, reminded me of an observation I think is relevant to debates about disproportionality re #stopsearch: you just don't see many white teenagers out and about there.

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By contrast, loads of white younger (eg pre/primary age) children, including in local schools which are all (though varyingly) v racially mixed.

So where are the white teens? I've some thoughts/hypotheses, and hope to explore whether empirical evidence bears them out.

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First, to say that although the area is racially and economically quite mixed - lots of local authority owned terraced housing mixed in with owner occupiers/private renters; large post-war estates, some rebuilt - my impression is that it's also quite socially segregated.

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Pupils at local state-funded 2ndary schools in my area - & those using eg buses to travel to other (eg church) schools further away - seem to be predom black. Pupils using buses are almost all black.

(Overall, independent schools account for a bit over 10% of borough pupils)

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At the local-authority level (much wider than the area I'm talking about here), pupils in state-funded secondaries are more than 75% BAME, more than 50% black/black mixed race. Data at gov.uk/government/sta…

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That compares with 2018 demographic estimates for the 11-18 yr olds in the borough: around 2/3rds BAME, just over 45% black. As v often in London they're not spread evenly. Eg the borough has poorer (higher % black) and richer (higher % white) areas in rel. close proximity.

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Among my local white/middle class neighbours/peers w kids, 2ndary education - way more than primary - is a preoccupation, and many seem to move (incl within the borough) for schools elsewhere. Some stay put but go private (of which, many seem to drive kids to school).

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My impression is that white teens more often socialise at home (theirs/friends'). Occasionally you'll see the odd group in local parks, but otherwise they remain largely invisible. More private space than their black peers, and/or are they just not living in the area?

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For 20-somethings the picture is v different, reflecting a local student population and pockets of local gentrification (independent coffee shops etc). Reflects social segregation, incl in small local areas.

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To the visible (to me at least) local criminal economy: drug dealing (incl deals completed in local parks) seem to be mostly black males in teens/20s. Rel high levels of serious violence reported incl murders with predominantly black victims.

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A neighbour told me abt a friend, whose white son attends a predom black local 2ndary, and who lives on the edge of a local estate. His black male friends are assumed by their black peers to be gang/territorially involved. Being white, he evidently is not. Is that typical?

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Of course there's lots of less visible offending, incl locally-based such as DV, burglary and car crime - have seen all on my street over the years.

But the thing I keep coming back to is the fact you just don't see white teenagers in local public spaces.

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So to #stopsearch disproportionality: in the borough in question (again, a wider geography than I'm discussing) black people are stopped and searched at roughly 3x the rate of white, though this varies from month-to-month (range c 2-5x).

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Given my observations above, the 'available population' seems highly relevant, as does the Q of who is involved in local priority crimes, esp violence, where SS likely to be used as a tactic by police; also that as a rel high crime area it will also be policed more.

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I'm going to come back to this (hopefully) more holistic and locally-grounded take on proportionality, because I think there are wider implications. I'm v conscious my perspective is just that and wld be v interested for other views.

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In general I can't help thinking a much greater level of detail and specificity is required when #stopsearch disproportionality is discussed. That must be easier at a much more local level of geography.

[Ends for now]

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Here a summary of state funded 2ndry schools data for all London boroughs.

Overall, pupils are 61% BAME (25% black/black & white mixed), Inner London 71% (33%).

Boroughs w highest percentage black/black and white mixed
Lambeth 51%
Lewisham 49%
Southwark 49%
Hackney 40%

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For state-funded schools, pupil ethnicity data is available per school. The 5 state secondaries nearest me in London (3,100 pupils) are 61% black/black mixed race, 16% white.

Last file in this zip file - filename ends 'Pupils_UD' assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/upl…

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