108: “My 17 year old son and I recently moved to South London...”

My 17 year old son and I recently moved to South London. He had a distinctive way of dressing, but it never posed a problem in the town we lived in. Once we moved here though, every single time my son was out, especially if he had his hood up, he'd be stopped and searched. Sometimes he was grabbed, thrown to the floor, or, handcuffed and put in the car temporarily whilst they established if he was who they were after. Every time, he was asked if he had any weapons or drugs on him. Every time he told them no. He's white. It scared me that my son was being treated badly and unfairly profiled and assumed guilty just for what he was wearing and his age, but then, I thought on it more. How much worse it must be for black teens. I've seen it, so has my son. He may well have been manhandled and cuffed but we have witnessed how much rougher black teens are treated and disbelieved if they say they have nothing on them.