60. Supplementary memorandum
submitted by the Commmission for Racial Equality
— There is no hard data to prove that
there would be a disproportionate adverse impact on Muslims and
black and other ethnic minority communities. However stop and
search statistics from the Police, combined with evidence from
other countries show that ethnic minority communities are more
likely to be asked to produce their ID card than host communities.[141]
There is also a perception that ethnic minority and Muslim communities
will be targeted particularly as a result of their experiences
in relation to the use of anti-terrorism-related legislation.
— Beck and Broadhurst (1997) argue
that "Even is a voluntary card was introduced with no additional
powers for the police to check an individuals identity, evidence
from other EU countries would suggest that through a process of
compulsion by stealth, officers may be increasingly suspicious
of those who did not have a card, and this in itself could cause
tension when performing a stop and search".[142]
— The view of the Muslim Council of
Britain is: As we have seen with the anti-terror laws and with
stop and search, if powers are used in the wrong way they can
have the effect of singling out a community for no good reason.
We are not against ID cards as such, but we want to ensure that
they are used properly (25 April 2004, IslamOnline.net).
— "FAIR (Forum Against Racism
and Islamophobia) believes that introducing a scheme (for ID cards)
which could lead to Muslims feeling alienated and discriminated
against would do nothing to improve security in the present environment.
If anything, it could worsen it. Compulsory ID cards and the police
powers that could accompany them could potentially damage to community
relations.", "Negative Impact of Compulsory ID Cards,
FAIR".
July 2004
141 "Policing the Community: The impact of National
Identity Cards in the European Union", July 1997, Paper submitted
to the Journal of European Migration Studies, Adrian Beck and
Kate Broadhurst. "Compulsion by Stealth: Lesson from the
European Union on the use of national identity cards", July
1997, Paper submitted to Public Administration by Adrian Beck
and Kate Broadhurst, Scarman Centre for the Study of Public Order. Back
142
ibid for both sources. Back
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