Today, Friends, Families and Travellers (FFT) was made aware of video footage circulating on social media depicting Greater Manchester Police (GMP) violently restricting and over-policing young Romany Gypsy and Irish Traveller children at a Manchester Christmas market, as well as forcing them onto trains out of the town centre.
These actions by GMP raise serious questions on its operational approach, decision-making processes, and how it allowed so many innocent Romany and Irish Traveller children to be treated in such a reprehensible and violent manner in its hands.
This is extremely distressing for the young people involved, their families and the wider communities, and FFT will be pushing for a full and comprehensive explanation of the decisions that led to children being restrained and subjected to brutality.
It’s vile that instead of being allowed to act like the children they are, Romany and Irish Traveller kids are criminalised, humiliated and abused daily.
This is a serious example of how structural racism sustains the ‘cradle to grave’ policing pipeline of Romany Gypsy and Irish Traveller communities. Incidents of racism have an ongoing and reverberating impact, and FFT will not let this go unanswered.
For further advice or support, contact the FFT National Helpline on 01273 234 777, 10am-4pm, Monday to Friday.
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About Friends, Families and Travellers (FFT)
Friends, Families and Travellers is a leading national charity that works to end racism and discrimination against Gypsy, Roma and Traveller people and to protect the right to pursue a nomadic way of life.
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