Op-Ed: Britain' s politically correct police — fighting crime or racism?

London - Patrolling the streets protecting the public from at times violent predators can be dangerous, so Britain's politically correct police have found a safer pastime, pursuing "racists".

Patrolling the streets can indeed be dangerous, especially in Manchester, but most people who use offensive language fall into the category of "his bark is worse than his bite". Or her bite, as the case may be. This purge against racists didn't start with the ridiculous John Terry affair, and it shows no sign of ending. It has another advantage over fighting real crime, not only is it safer, but most of the time, the police don't have far to look. There are two reasons for this: one is that a lot of the perpetrators can be found within their own ranks; the second is that the culture of silence (known in America as The Code) is increasingly being ignored by snitches who are not only informing on colleagues but taping their anti-social conversations as well. Shades of George Orwell? Last month saw two women police officers dismissed not for abusing members of the public or other police officers but for using what might be deemed inappropriate language in a private conversation. Although they were on duty at the time, they were not in a public forum, but their locker room at Islington Police Station. What is more, this private conversation was taped by a colleague - presumably without a warrant. Special Constable Rosanna Garofalo and WPC Joanna Sugda have now been dismissed. Among other things, Garofalo was heard to have said she could never sleep with a black man - a claim once made in a public forum by Eddie Murphy in far less diplomatic language. Dismissal does seem unwarranted, certainly for WPC Sugda who is said only to have laughed at and agreed with her colleague's banter. Garofalo has now launched an action for unfair dismissal. Why not a privacy claim as well? Also in the Met, a black female officer has been sacked for racially abusing both black and white colleagues. She is said to have described one black colleague as a "black monkey" and a "coconut" while criticising a white officer for marrying a black woman, a sentiment that appears to be shared by many professional black women, though only the brave will admit it. PC Philip Juhasz has also been given his marching orders for abusing the Pakistani manager of a takeaway at King’s Cross. This case though is in an entirely different category from the others. To begin with, he was abusing a member of the public, and although off-duty he appears to have been the worse for drink. He also found himself in court, twice, including for a partially successful appeal. His behaviour was rightly deemed to have fallen far short of that expected of the men and women who have not only great power but great responsibility, as the saying goes. As if the police didn't have enough of this sort of nonsense within their own ranks, they have been called back to Chelsea Football Club for a reprise of the aforementioned John Terry nonsense. This time it is the referee of all people who has been accused of the ultimate crime, and a black Chelsea player who is the alleged "victim". Peter Herbert, who is a recorder of all things, has written to the Met in connection with this non-incident. At one time, any police force would have given a complaint of this nature short shrift; don't expect that to happen here.