Britians Police track ethnic groups with profile technology

Police are analysing people’s surnames to conduct secret ethnic profiling. Racial equality campaigners said they were “very saddened” that organisations would now target black and Asian households without their consent and feared that the technology would become a tool for racists. Already several police forces have used the ethnic-profiling system, which uses a person’s name to work out which country his or her ancestors are likely to have come from. NHS trusts have also used the system, called Mosaic Origins, as have groups such as Amnesty International. It has attracted interest from Labour and the Conservatives, banks, supermarkets and other commercial organisations, which could soon have access to it. “I’m really very saddened that forces can’t see the inherent dangers of police having this information,” Keith Jarrett, the president of the National Black Police Association, said.