Castlefield youth 'feel anger towards police' (From Bucks Free Press)
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Castlefield youth 'feel anger towards police'
1:48pm Saturday 13th August 2011 in News By James Nadal
Police officers during a previous patrol in Castlefield
YOUNG people on the Castlefield estate feel anger towards the police, a former High Wycombe youth worker says, in the wake of this week's national disorder.
A vigil was held last night to call for calm among the youth population after attacks on police cars in Castlefield the previous evening.
This followed the widespread civil unrest and riots elsewhere in the country this week.
The vigil, attended by between 30 and 40 young people aged between 12 and their mid 20s, was organised by the Justice for Habib Ullah campaign.
Mr Ullah suffered a cardiac arrest after being restrained by police three years ago and the Independent Police Complaints Commission is investigating.
Spokesman Saqib Deshmukh, a High Wycombe father-of-two, knows many of the families living in Rutland Avenue, Castlefield, from when he was a youth worker in the town from 1997.
He said: “I was here in Wycombe Tuesday evening, we patrolled around the town centre.
“We were aware there were some tensions, off the back of what happened nationally on Monday, and young people had been talking about this.
“We felt it was our responsibility to calm things down because sooner or later someone is going to get hurt.
“We know there's some anger on the estate towards the police and what we tried to do yesterday was to talk it through, get them to channel it far better.”
He said this anger stemmed from their own experiences with police and remembering events surrounding Mr Ullah's death.
A group of 20 to 25 youths threw stones on Wednesday night, smashing windows.
On Thursday night a similar sized gathering pelted a police car after officers. In an unrelated crime, another police vehicle on Rutland Avenue had its window smashed with a brick.
Mr Deshmukh told the youngsters: “If you have got a issue to do with the police you put a complaint in, what you don't do is throw stones at the police, be abusive and bring attention to your area.
"There's no point in throwing stones.”
He said the meeting passed off peacefully.
“It was successful in that sense,” he said.
“A lot of the community leaders as they were leaving, coming out of the mosques, were quite thankful that it was relatively peaceful.”
However, organisers had expected a senior police officer to attend to speak to the group.
Mr Deshmukh said this was a “shame” and a “missed opportunity” but Thames Valley Police insisted it had not received an invite as claimed.
Mr Deshmukh is hopeful lingering tensions have been eased and that there will be no further trouble.
Wycombe's Chief Inspector Colin Seaton said he had attended a mosque at 2pm yesterday as invited but there had not been a request for a senior officer to attend the vigil.
There was no trouble at the event and he thanked organisers for ensuring it was peaceful.
He said he would be more than happy to meet and address any groups in future to discuss these issues.
“We'll continue to work with the community,” he added.
Comments(31)
J B Blackett
says...
2:36pm Sat 13 Aug 11
geoffW wrote:I agree - it's provocative and irresponsible journalism
Why is this story linked with a picture of a burning car in Birmingham ... except for the obvious desire of the writer to inflame the situation and insinuate that this will happen in Wycombe?
.
When someone is arrested for possesion of a knife you don't link the story to pictures of stabbing victims.
.
When someone is arrested for dangerous driving you don't link it to pictures of mangled cars that have been involved inserious accidents.
holly4
says...
4:12pm Sat 13 Aug 11
dren too, they are doing their jobs to feed their families and the majority of them do it very well.. if you have a problem with any aspect of the police force take the complaint higher.. don't throw stones that is pathetic!!!! Parents.. where are your children and what are they doing at night? If you do not know the answer to that question then you deserve to be in court answering to their actions. A man has been sent to prison for stealing water worth £3.50 in the riots.. why are we not arresting these youths and setting an example there too?
john_b
says...
5:00pm Sat 13 Aug 11
kh_wycombe
says...
5:09pm Sat 13 Aug 11
erm
says...
5:18pm Sat 13 Aug 11
john_b wrote:I agree with that
I do not honestly think there is a real principle anger from the Castlefield youths, I think we are just seing a bunch of pathetic, immature, jobless, no-hope little twerps with absolutely no respect for society and humanity.
geoffW
says...
5:24pm Sat 13 Aug 11
J B Blackett
says...
5:43pm Sat 13 Aug 11
geoffW wrote:Thank goodness for that - belatedly. And it did not do any favours to the BFP in the first place. What was the thinking behind that , I wonder.
Oh, the provoctive picture of a burning car in a riot, attatched to the story by Mr Nadal, has disappeared!
Veritad Veritad
says...
6:16pm Sat 13 Aug 11
kh_wycombe wrote:Yep, that's the guy. I don't understand why none of these stone-wielding youths are being arrested for criminal damage. It's our taxes that'll end up paying for the damage to police property. It's really irritating that this extremely poor and criminal behaviour is being allowed
Me. Ullah - Is that the same guy that was pushed over by the police because he had a whole load of drugs in his mouth?
Plus ça change...
says...
6:33pm Sat 13 Aug 11
J B Blackett wrote:I thought it was a bit much to leave one of the previous articles sitting in prime place on the site for about 3 days.
geoffW wrote:I agree - it's provocative and irresponsible journalism
Why is this story linked with a picture of a burning car in Birmingham ... except for the obvious desire of the writer to inflame the situation and insinuate that this will happen in Wycombe?
.
When someone is arrested for possesion of a knife you don't link the story to pictures of stabbing victims.
.
When someone is arrested for dangerous driving you don't link it to pictures of mangled cars that have been involved inserious accidents.
BFreeP, when you have nothing to say, don't say it...
deecee01
says...
8:13pm Sat 13 Aug 11
Bookermum
says...
10:09pm Sat 13 Aug 11
It was over 3 years ago that they were calling the emergency services then attacking them when they arrived on the estate to help whoever made the 999 call (some children involved were only 6)!!
The police were on the estate 2 weeks ago chatting with big groups of locals!
I can't see the people of Castlefield ever accepting the police, and they will always find new excuses for their behaviour towards them!! Shame!!!
brookie77
says...
10:19pm Sat 13 Aug 11
1. white peoples windows??
2. white families??
no consideration for the poor little children inside them homes!!
brookie77
says...
11:58pm Sat 13 Aug 11
Judge 2
says...
4:13am Sun 14 Aug 11
Secondly, I would ask him what he did for Castlefield having served for 10 years as a youth worker in the area? He spent all his time in Green Street and did very little if any work with the youth in Castlefield, who really needed his help at the time.
He does not reflect the view of the community, who I can tell you do not agree with any acts of this kind.
Bookermum
says...
5:50am Sun 14 Aug 11
Judge 2 wrote:Thankyou for sharing this info with us!!
This guy, Mr Deshmukh is no longer involved in the Oakridge and Castlefield community so doesn't reflect the view of the wider community. To clear up a few points with the truth! This guy has his own issues with the police and he uses these incidents to get one over them.
Secondly, I would ask him what he did for Castlefield having served for 10 years as a youth worker in the area? He spent all his time in Green Street and did very little if any work with the youth in Castlefield, who really needed his help at the time.
He does not reflect the view of the community, who I can tell you do not agree with any acts of this kind.
:)
homer13
says...
7:17am Sun 14 Aug 11
Lastly, why would anyone listen to this justice for Ullah group. The same man who decieved his own family, dealt drugs and died of his own stupidity.
Why has the BFP listened to this group about anything?
Veritad Veritad
says...
8:29am Sun 14 Aug 11
ImpeturbableLawrence
says...
10:47am Sun 14 Aug 11
geoffW wrote:'Why is this story linked with a picture of a burning car in Birmingham ... except for the obvious desire of the writer to inflame the situation and insinuate that this will happen in Wycombe?'
Why is this story linked with a picture of a burning car in Birmingham ... except for the obvious desire of the writer to inflame the situation and insinuate that this will happen in Wycombe?
.
When someone is arrested for possesion of a knife you don't link the story to pictures of stabbing victims.
.
When someone is arrested for dangerous driving you don't link it to pictures of mangled cars that have been involved inserious accidents.
/
BFP has form in this respect - when Osama bin Laden was killed in Pakistan by American special forces (how’s that for local interest?) the BFP published a photo of him with a letter by a retired local clergyman asking local Muslim religious leaders to tell their congregations not to indulge in revenge attacks.
ImpeturbableLawrence
says...
11:00am Sun 14 Aug 11
Plus ça change... wrote:'BFreeP, when you have nothing to say, don't say it...'
J B Blackett wrote:I thought it was a bit much to leave one of the previous articles sitting in prime place on the site for about 3 days.
geoffW wrote:I agree - it's provocative and irresponsible journalism
Why is this story linked with a picture of a burning car in Birmingham ... except for the obvious desire of the writer to inflame the situation and insinuate that this will happen in Wycombe?
.
When someone is arrested for possesion of a knife you don't link the story to pictures of stabbing victims.
.
When someone is arrested for dangerous driving you don't link it to pictures of mangled cars that have been involved inserious accidents.
BFreeP, when you have nothing to say, don't say it...
/
That would put 'ivor', Colin Baker, and Steve Cohen out of a job half the time (all the time in ‘ivor’s’ case) and some of the writers who do non-articles on sport as well. (There is already an 'Olympics 2012' corner on this site with articles with a sometime distant local slant linking the Olympics to pretty young women or local schools, going back for two months – in one of them a young woman kayaker from Marlow says, “It’s weird to think that this time next year we’ll be racing at the London Olympics.” It’s also a bit weird that we’re getting stories this early about next year’s Olympics.)
Stand up for England
says...
12:04pm Sun 14 Aug 11
sai-diva
says...
12:33pm Sun 14 Aug 11
john_b wrote:Salient points there, I think, are Jobless and without hope.
I do not honestly think there is a real principle anger from the Castlefield youths, I think we are just seing a bunch of pathetic, immature, jobless, no-hope little twerps with absolutely no respect for society and humanity.
Pathetic? probably.
Immature? well if you have no job and still have to live at home then the chances to mature are pretty limited.
bequia
says...
2:55pm Sun 14 Aug 11
DocD
says...
3:51pm Sun 14 Aug 11
wycombe inspector
says...
8:18pm Sun 14 Aug 11
brookie77 wrote:It isnt white peoples window that are getting smashed only or there familys are getting targeted because i remember two weeks ago a house window got smashed in castlefield and it wasnt a white persons house so how can you say it is only white people who are targetted you are saying waht you want to believe to happen.
So if the youths of Catlefield are angry at the police, why the heck are they targeting . 1. white peoples windows?? 2. white families?? no consideration for the poor little children inside them homes!!
i know it is wrong smashing windows,buring cars etc... but it is the castlefield youths way of getting attention because i cant see them lodging a complaint to the police because they feel it will go unnoticed or there will be one outcome and that will be the police's.
brookie77
says...
8:23pm Sun 14 Aug 11
BACK TO THROWING BRICKS AGAIN AT RIOT VANS & POLICE CARS!!
Mozez
says...
10:25pm Sun 14 Aug 11
But the youth do have concerns about not just policing but how they are have been portaryed.
We may not understand and agree with their methods of raising these concerns, but this is where we as community members should intervene to support and assist these youths in raising a legitimate voice. Through their experiences and encounters many do gravitate to the Paps Campaign as it is a vessel that proves that a managed and principled voice can challenge and change, the campaign has been able to challenge and push for a change in processes and methods, what else would any society have teach its children.
You have only to read through the archive material on Castlefield and discover that there has always been dire problems in the area, from poor parenting to low educational and economic achievement to other societal problems.
Politicians and local authorities have come and gone, propelled on the back of these concerns, yet the concerns still exist, it is everyone's responsibility and we shouldnt be damning anyone that bothers to get involved because it elucidates our own disposition. Well done Mr Deshmukh and youre colleague Zia, how many of you exist in the many wards and down trodden areas that have been televised over the last week. My Bet, that these youth would be better champions of the area and show a greater inspiration for the next generation, than the many so called leaders that are quick to ****!
This could have been the beacon initiative that given the rioting, youth and police met to forge a working relationship and long term partnership, instead wycombe lost its opportunity...
J B Blackett
says...
10:38pm Sun 14 Aug 11
DocD wrote:You may be right . Castlefield was build in 1936 according to the history books and was a place where people really wanted to live to escape from the terrible slums , deprivation and poverty in Newlands and other areas of Wycombe.
Glad to see our very own rabid right wing out on force in the comment's page. It always astounds me how little understanding there is of High Wycombe's post war history and in particular the building of the new estates and the arrival of immigrants from our Commonwealth. There have always been poor communities in the town and riots and troubles pre date the recent trouble and even that of the 80's (thank you Bequia). Of course it will suit some people to racialise the situation and demonise groups of young Asian men and areas like Castlefield. But without addressing the underlying issues and the real social inequality that exists in the town then we will forever be plagued with these problems.
.
I do not understand the underlying issues and have no hard answers - all I do know there does not appear to be enough proper worthwhile jobs for all the people.
.
If that problem can be solved , perhaps things will improve , but I can't see any manufacturing well-paid wealth-creating jobs being created at the moment. Just the opposite.
.
There has to be hope for people.
dr death
says...
6:27am Mon 15 Aug 11
Dr John Dinosaur
says...
9:24am Mon 15 Aug 11
sparky49
says...
10:09am Mon 15 Aug 11
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geoffW says...
2:18pm Sat 13 Aug 11
.
When someone is arrested for possesion of a knife you don't link the story to pictures of stabbing victims.
.
When someone is arrested for dangerous driving you don't link it to pictures of mangled cars that have been involved inserious accidents.