Challenging race discrimination in policing: My reflections from the National Black Police Association Conference

On 12th October, I was invited to speak at the National Black Police Association (NBPA) Conference, which was a real a privilege. I was glad to share our work on race discrimination and some of the issues we have found. 

I have worked at the IOPC (and previously the IPCC) for nearly 15 years, and I’ve held a number of different roles in the organisation. So, although I am not a police officer I have been around policing and working with communities and stakeholders involved in policing for some time.  

From that work, I know how important it is for everyone – all communities - to have trust and confidence in policing. Some of the work involves challenging race discrimination in policing so that we can build trust and confidence amongst communities of colour. 

The NBPA and Black police officers alike, are vital in driving cultural change within the police service, both as an employer and as an organisation that serves the public. They are doing extraordinary and brave work. 

We all know there has been a focus in recent weeks about the arrangements for police accountability and the decisions we take in high-profile and complex cases. We know that sometimes our decisions can feel deeply uncomfortable for the individuals and the organisations involved. It is also the case that our decisions are scrutinised, and we have been challenged for some of them. We do not shy away from that challenge. 

In these serious cases we do not take our decisions lightly, and we are led by the evidence and our responsibilities under the law. It is vital we get that balance right and that it is informed by a range of voices both inside and outside policing. This is essential because we understand the implications of the decisions we make, and the impact they can have on policing and the wider community. 

Racial discrimination in policing, findings from the Casey review and Operation Hotton

Wider issues of police accountability have been in the spotlight in recent months, not least following the Casey review which sent a shock wave through policing. I think for everyone involved in policing it was a hard hitting and at times a very difficult read. Her finding that the Met is institutionally racist, sexist and homophobic has prompted some debate.

There is broad consensus both within policing and wider society that systemic problems around race discrimination still exist in policing. We think it is important that those communities who are most affected by these systemic issues should be listened to and they are clear: language matters.  

We therefore believe it is important to acknowledge that there remains institutional racism within policing. This is not about making political statements, it’s not about calling all police officers racist, and it’s not about ignoring or erasing the welcome progress that has been made. What it is about is being clear that a problem still exists and to talk about it in a way that resonates with those communities most affected so they feel heard and confident to work with the police to continue to make progress.

In terms of the detail of what Casey found, it was strikingly similar to our findings in our Operation Hotton investigation. Hotton found evidence of wide scale race discrimination, misogyny, harassment and bullying involving officers predominantly based at Charing Cross Police Station. Following our investigation and as a result of our recommendations, the MPS ultimately took the decision to disband that team.  

That was a specific investigation, but we have also been doing significant work more broadly on race discrimination. In Autumn, we will publish a summary of our work, but will now take you through some of our findings.

Our findings on race discrimination in policing

We have found race discrimination exists in some policing practices and both its presence and perception undermines legitimacy. Where it exists it perpetuates a negative interaction which leads to further distrust which we know dates back many years.  

The use of stop and search is at the heart of concerns about race discrimination, and we have seen how its use leads to the disproportionate impact of other powers such as use of force.

These issues leave a profound impact on some people from Black, Asian and minority ethnic backgrounds, perpetuating a cycle of negative interactions between police and communities. 

This was summed up by the testimony of one of our stakeholders from a Black community who said that when people come into contact with the police from his community they automatically put up their guard. Why? Because, he says, “naturally in our communities we don’t feel safe around the police”. The use of the word naturally I find particularly telling as suggests that mistrust is taken as read, which shows that we all have a mountain to climb to build trust amongst minoritised communities.

Tackling racial discrimination in the future

I don’t want to paint a completely bleak picture because we have also found great evidence of local and national policing initiatives aimed at tackling racial disparities and demonstrating fairness in policing. 

We’re working with the APCC to make sure those examples are shared with the relevant PCC for every police force in the country to drive local improvements. We are also sharing the full list of examples with CC Amanda Pearson, NPCC lead for stop and search to assist her in driving progress. We welcome their support and these efforts of all 43 police services who have signed up to the Police Race Action Plan, and will be publishing a report summarising these local initiatives.

We’ve been really pleased that Andy Marsh and the team have approached these issues collaboratively and constructively. 

For example, as part of the College and NPCC’s response to our stop and search report, they agreed to include specific activity to improve training in areas such as de-escalation and community involvement within the plan.

Involving the community is key to making progress in this area. The young people we have engaged with including our Youth Panel have highlighted the importance of training and awareness for police officers on the intersectionality of race and age and the potential consequences of policing that may cause trauma among young people. 

We’ve also come up with several practical and positive recommendations for police forces that we believe will make a difference.  

These include focusing on the quality of police interactions with the public, prioritising improvements to address racial disparities and actively listening and responding to feedback from communities to build confidence in policing. 

We’re already influencing policing through the recommendations from reports like our stop and search report, or our Taser report which has changed national policy. Undertaking this work has also been a learning journey for the IOPC. 

We don’t sit in a glass house throwing stones. We recognise that institutional racism doesn’t just exist in policing – it’s something that all organisations, including the IOPC, needs to address as well so that we can move towards a truly anti-racist future. As a practical example of that we’re grateful to Andy George and others who have supported us in training all our decision makers to better handle cases involving race discrimination.

A message of thanks and an uplifting story

Through my work at the IOPC, I know that policing is one of the most difficult jobs you can choose. The specific challenges faced by people of colour in policing makes the job even harder. So, I want to thank them for the work that they do, the strength that they show in meeting those challenges, and the sacrifices they all make to keep us safe.  

For policing to move forward, it needs the voice of people of colour in policing. I ask all people of colour in policing to keep making their voices heard, to keep working together and having that positive impact so that we can all have trust and confidence in the police. 

I’ll end this post with an uplifting story. Recently we delivered a session with young people to explain our role and to set out some of the rights young people have when stopped by the police. The very next day a young person who had been at the session had been stopped and searched with a group of his friends. He remained calm and composed and said to the officer, “Officer, “GOWISELY”.

With those two words, the stop was transformed – there was an immediate understanding between the officer and boy. Tension dissipated and the search was done quickly and without incident. The boys were able to go on their way having experienced a friendly and professional interaction with police which ended with the officers apologising for the inconvenience. By being informed and engaged, that young person was empowered.