What’s happening?

STOP the SCANdal

Police have recently undertaken a national rollout of mobile fingerprint scanners linked to Home Office immigration databases, after a pilot in West Yorkshire.

These scanners now allow officers to take someone’s fingerprints any time they ‘suspect’ an offence has been committed and they doubt the person’s identity.

Mirroring racist Stop and Search, this new practice will disproportionately target Black and Brown people, trans people and migrants. The initiative is also funded by the Home Office, in a clear attempt to re-purpose the police into border enforcement squads.

Any form of history with the immigration database – which has been shown to contain gross inaccuracies – will bring up a positive match. As the Windrush scandal has shown, this could lead to hundreds of innocent people being detained or deported.

A number of machines are already being used in West Yorkshire and they could be on their way to yours soon.

JOIN US TO DEMAND THAT THE POLICE:

• End the racist Stop and Scan initiative immediately
• Sever all connections between police activity and Home Office databases
• Only use fingerprint scanning in police stations following an arrest
• Publicly release the data taken in the West Yorkshire pilot.

To send in your questions and concerns, or to find out how you can resist mobile fingerprinting in your area, contact us at stopthescan@racialjusticenetwork.co.uk.

The Racial Justice Network

#Yorkshire Resists

#STOPtheSCANdal – #CareDontShare