'Stop and search' shows that we live in a two-tier society

A few years ago, I went to Westfield in Stratford, east London. I find going shopping a bore at the best of times, so the idea of a place where all the stores I might want to go to are under one roof – a shopping centre, if you will – sounded super convenient, if also my idea of a living hell.

- AVA VIDAL

I was halfway up an escalator when I saw a team of immigration officers floating around the concourse. If you’re part of a visible minority in this country, you’ll know the drill. An overzealous official will stop you to ask a series of questions about who you are and where you come from, and demand to see some ID. That day, I just didn’t want the hassle – so I went into flight mode. My instinct told me to run back down the escalator.

A quick glance over my shoulder told me that was going to be impossible, as it was packed. I would have had to barge past other shoppers. I suppose I could have tried sliding down the moving handrail, though either option would just have attracted attention. But to this day, I still imagine making a break for it and being chased and wrestled to the floor.

The usual question I get when I retell my “shop and search” story is: “Why did you think about running if you had nothing to hide?” It’s usually asked by the same people who ask: “Why would stop and search bother you if you’re not carrying anything illegal?”

The answer is because these incidents can be extremely traumatic, intrusive, and – especially when you’re laden with shopping bags – inconvenient. Technically, you have a legal right not to answer immigration officers’ questions, but try it and see how that works out for you. I’ve found some of them to be extremely aggressive, which I find genuinely terrifying. And if you give the “wrong” answer, have a look they don’t much like, or simply display the wrong attitude, they can and will detain you.

“Not if you’re in the country legally!” I hear the naysayers cry. Not true. It is depressingly common for people living in Britain legally to find themselves unlawfully held in detention centres.