Met's 2,000 racial arrests a month

Racial incidents dealt with by the Metropolitan Police topped 18,000 last year.

And the racial and violent crimes task force is now making 2,000 arrests a month for race-hate crimes, ranging from people persistently harassing their neighbours, to violent, unprovoked assaults.

The 18,000 incidents represent four times as many as were dealt with in the year before the Met's reputation was so badly damaged by the report into the Stephen Lawrence case. Prior to Stephen's murder in 1993, the Yard received fewer than 400 racial complaints a month.

Around one in five investigations leads to criminal charges and the rest have helped police amass a bank of data about racist suspects. They believe that the vast increase in crimes logged is not a reflection of rising racial hatred, but the result of a more vigorous attitude by Scotland Yard in dealing with racial incidents which has encouraged more people to come forward.

Another factor is that complaints of racism may not have been logged before Sir William Macpherson's report into police handling of the Lawrence investigation; today, if a victim says they believe crimes such as vandalism or abuse were motivated by prejudice, it is recorded.

Deputy Assistant Commissioner John Grieve, head of the racial and violent crimes task force and the Met's most celebrated detective, retires this week. He admits police "did not have a clue" about the scale of racism in London at the time of the Macpherson report. He said: "We learned a lot about our society. It came as a shock to learn what sort of lives people have to live because of race hate."

But the man handed the job of trying to salvage the Yard's reputation in the wake of the Lawrence case believes that ultimately, the report was "good for the Met and good for London" - that its legacy is a better and more sensitive police force.

Mr Grieve, 55, quits after a distinguished 37-year career. A former head of the anti-terrorism squad, his approach to combating racism has borrowed much from his days fighting the IRA, targeting racists by completely overhauling intelligencegathering.

Community safety units at local level log incidents, complaints from the public about individuals and convictions. The information is all passed up to the Yard for use in a giant database. Detailed information is also kept about the activities of known racist groups.

Thus patterns of behaviour can be analysed and officers become aware if a number of allegations are made against particular individuals. The use of advanced forensic and DNA technology means even the authors of race-hate mail and graffiti risk being detected.

Rounding on critics who say the Lawrence Inquiry has hampered police, particularly on stop-andsearch, he said: "This has not been the ruination of the Met. People who think that should meet the murder squads and talk to some of the people now serving life. They should ask the black guy who came up to me the other day and said, 'Can I give you some information'?"

Mr Grieve is in no doubt about the importance of family liaison, especially after the evidence of mistrust poured forth at the Lawrence Inquiry.