British police have been accused of discriminating against the Urban music scene, reports the Guardian Newspaper
At a recent concert, police arrived stating that they had specific intel on one artist, who they would not specify, searching the artists performing for weapons as well as a group of young people who were on work experience that had been organised by a charity.
When police arrived, an Airport style scanner was used on everyone in attendance at the concert, artists and audience. The promoter of the concert, who wishes to remain anonymous, said that “Of course we complied, we can’t afford to rock the boat, but it is definitely racist, it is definitely not fair”. “The problem is that it reverberates through young people, they go to different types of events, they see that at indie events they are not treated like this. It just antagonises them.”
These types of events are starting to occur regularly, with a handful of events being shut-down due to the police using their risk assessment as an excuse to do so.
Jo Dipple, acting chief executive of UK Music, the UK music industry body, has spoken up about the matter, saying; “We have seen no evidence that directly links music, never mind artists and musicians, with crime and disorder.”
The British Urban Music scene has recently produced acts like Dizzee Rascal and Ms Dynamite, who in no way promote or condone any form of violence like the British police suggest.
