Asian shopkeepers accuse police
01 January 1991
Asian shopkeepers accuse police
artdoc April=1992
Following the murders of two Asian shopkeepers in an area of
Hackney close to where PC Brown was killed, the police have been
criticised for failing to act quickly enough when crimes are
reported. In June, a sub-postmaster, Raojibhai Patel, was shot
dead by three masked attackers, and six weeks later and only 200
yards away, Baldev Hoondle was shot as he was closing his
off-license.
Although both attacks were carried out by West Indians, Asian
shopkeepers in the area dismissed any racial motive behind the
killings. But local police were criticised for their handling of
the murder investigations and their general response to reported
crime. One local Asian youth said: `If this was a fashionable
area they would have caught the killers by now, but this is
Hackney and the police don't really care.' It is claimed that it
took police half-an-hour to arrive at Baldev Hoondle's
off-license after his shooting. (Guardian 1.9.90)
Institute of Race Relations, Police-Media Bulletin, no 63