British law enforcement has begun to use racial profiling to identify and search terrorist suspects as the hunt continues for a possible third terrorist cell in London - with most government officials expressing at least tacit support for the controversial new policy.
Interviewed by the Daily Mail on Sunday, British Transport Police Chief Constable Ian Johnston first broached the issue, saying his officers would not shy away from targeting those groups most likely to present the greatest threat.
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"Intelligence-led stop-and-searches have got to be the way," he told the Mail. "We should not waste time searching old white ladies."
Johnston insisted that "there is every sign that the Muslim community understands the predicament we face."
Interviewed on BBC Radio 4, Home Office Minister Hazel Blears defended the new racial-profiling policy.
"What it means is if your intelligence in a particular area tells you that you're looking for somebody of a particular description, perhaps with particular clothing on, then clearly you're going to exercise that power in that way," she said. "That's absolutely the right thing for the police to do."
Tory MP and former Home Office Minister Ann Widdecombe concurred, telling BBC 4 on Monday, "People understand that at the moment there is a certain form of person who is a danger to society and that sort of person is more likely to fall into that category."
Widdecombe insisted that innocent Muslim or Asian men would not mind being stopped if treated politely.
"In the times we are in, I think people understand that. It is common sense. It is not racial, it is not religions."
National Black Police Association Superintendent Ali Dizaei agreed, telling BBC 4 that racial profiling was acceptable because "these are extraordinary times."
Downing Street, while issuing no formal statement, had a tepid reaction to Constable Johnston's "don't search white ladies" announcement, with a senior spokeswoman explaining, "It is not language we would have used."
While July's attacks have spurred a new sense of urgency for British officials, America's four-year hiatus since the 9/11 attacks has rendered leaders unwilling to adopt the same get-tough measures.
Though 3,000 of his constituents died at the hands of Muslim suicide hijackers, New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg remains adamantly opposed to racial profiling.
"I think if we've learned anything, it is you can't predict what a terrorist looks like," Bloomberg insisted last week. "Terrorists come in all sizes and shapes and forms."
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