Broadwater Farm estate in Tottenham is Haringey council have ALAN SINCE S October there rested have been charged;
of those released without charge have since TWO MONTHS after the events of 5 October, the under police occupation. Conditions on the estate are a chilling foretaste of the future Thatcher has in store for Britain. The treatment they are getting has until now been reserved for the North of Ireland. The estate is not being 'policed' — it is being punished. By attempting to protect Broadwater Farm residents from this continued intimidation, Bernie Grant and again hit the aftertes.
FREEMAN reports from the Farm.
been rearrested and charged.
What does it mean if you are arrested on broad water Farm? It starts with night raid on a dawn or your home by a gang ol police with guns sledgehammers. The al bitrary. Until recently they concentrated youth, but have now switched to women The squad Scotland Yard's armed unit — is on the estate all the time In was honed case told: "There are five armed officers outside. Come out quely. wren sne inca le inform the defence campaign, her phone wouldn't work. uike several olers SnOUTS Materne detenct campaign had an police phone can ene mem to see to the unattended children The police invariably break in , in anoler cast they broke into the wrong flat a common event allu lalisalkeu sioner's home. He collapsed iwo hours after coming home lo the wreckage anc died two days later.
But the story starts with the arrest houd you for the hold for claiming they Crimina Evidence Act. Though Anne's and Bruce Urove Be stiped off to a diant Dolce station where vour friends relatives can't find If they do find you they aren't allowed to ser Nor will the campaign solicitor be allowed to see alone, without help under con tinuous interrogation and pressure to sign a confes SOn Then the police tel you that the campaign ha let : you down and no one has come to help you Ee defence" solicitor in comes thi olic Two of them are already su cases. Yel be handling cases. the campaign's own solicitor has een told - by the police - that he could noi han dle a Broadwater Farm case because already had one on his books.
This has nothing to do with law and not much to do with order. But Bernie Grant campaign worker exDantedd 'After Lucy ve been at you for 72 hours and a clean-cut face comes in ottering lo lake your if youre just a righ Then you find out tha he doesn't He asks for it, press tor i. Meantime, int police are telling you tha if you 'admit' what they wa When you are released you'll - if you are - you come out win the come. your back nothing else. belongings, even your food, has beer seized and is being studie forensic tests' or lne people wro come l‹ the defence campaign after release have to be fitted up win coming ust to begin 1o resume normal life The charge against you will probably fakery, because the police no evidence Winston Silcott. Charge with the murder of PC Blakelock, has not ever Deel committed. Each veek the police sa are still 'lookin for fur ther information' photographic evidence which 'proved' he was present at the event has beer But the intimidation is not confined to those resca. Accordin to the Police Research Commi lee, based on the estate. the morning would • Slal until recently with police on the estate an Toilse vas caterer around the corner Gloucester Road i used to rise 1o about 100 by the evening, though this has diminished a bit since the council began campaignpolice numbers grow 1o 200 o permanenily scene This atmosphere what generated the drive, the estate and the council, to stop the heavy olicing. The police, hali reartedly, try to claim the because are utic residents want them. So a couple of weeks ago the estate panel, which unites all the various vi callsa meeting to discuss it. a discuss it. the biggest the estate was CVCT which seats 200, couldn't hold them. The mood was unclin clear wanted the police out.
was unanimously passed asking the council to press for a return to nor mal policing , and this it is aoing. Il wants the ponce off the walkways. It wants DIl squad out it wants police numbers back normal levels The police are obviously going to pusn tor a legal showdown challenging the council's right to move inen off. Since polic profile lowered when the coll. mittee goes out in the morning to count them, they try and hide themselves in all the services,' explained a campaign worker. 'The! even sav "good morning to you now.
month the resi dents gained a small victory when the police were discovered squatting in an empty flat overlooking the Youth Association. sovins on the residents and taking their photos The evicted them and put the defence campaign in the newly-vacated premises.
It's not the final victory, but it certainly makes the air smell sweeter.
• The Broadwater Farm Defence Campaign Police Research Com mutter neen meno belonging Have veer stolen by the police. They need resolutions sup port. And they need peo ple to help them with th work. The meetings are or Monday nights. anyone willine to do serious work for the campaign is welcome. For informatior Coinci them Tangmere, Willan Road Tottenham or phone 88.
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arrests. Ninety-three of those as
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have real