'Random' Security For Carnival Weekend

Over the weekend I have seen an extraordinary number of stop & search incidents around the borough. In East Ham, in Forest Gate, in front of Stratford shopping centre and outside the station - where yesterday, the British Transport Police had also set up an airport style security arch.

Why, asked one of my friends when I was taking the photos above, was a metal detector necessary? "Because of Carnival," said the senior officer on duty. And what was the criteria for choosing who to force through the arch, considering neither one of us had been pulled over? "It's random," came the reply.

Random? Everyone subjected to special security checks in the time we were hanging around the station was young and black. Indeed, everyone I've seen stopped and searched this weekend has been young and black. I'm just saying...