Police Relations
Policing
Since the 1981 Brixton riots, many things have changed in British policing. However, Black people are still nine times more likely to be stopped and searched than white people, and three times more likely to be arrested; Black people are far more likely to be searched, arrested and prosecuted for using drugs, and yet are no more likely to use drugs than white people.
The tensions that exist between the police and black communities are not recent; since the 1950s, successive generations of black people in Britain have felt under protected as victims and over policed as suspects. Although it can be argued that the apparent over policing of black communities can be justified as a response to the disproportionate involvement of black males in particular forms of criminality, what cannot be ignored is that racism, whether institutional or that of individual officers, has played a central role in shaping the relationship that black people have with the police.
Lord Scarman
Lord Scarman, who was commissioned to conduct an inquiry into the 1981 Brixton riots, concluded that, essentially, the riots were an outburst of anger and resentment by young black people against the police.
Scarman pointed to the combined effects of negative socio-economic pressures, racial prejudice and the ‘irrational’ beliefs and attitudes of both the police and the (black) public as contributory factors. In an attempt to reassess the role of the police, he set out a number of recommendations to improve the way in which black communities were policed which included identifying racial prejudice among police recruits, the recruitment of more ethnic minority officers and measures to improve community relations.
Despite the recommendations put forward by Scarman and police attempts to implement them, racism within the police continued to be a problem for black communities through the 1990s.
Marcus Mosiah Garvey once said, “A people without the knowledge of their past history, origin and culture is like a tree without roots.”
Stephen Lawrence
The racially motivated killing of Stephen Lawrence and the police’s ‘bungled’ handling of the investigation meant that the issue of racism within the police had again become an issue that was high on the political agenda. In the subsequent government commissioned enquiry into the failures of the police investigating the case, Macpherson (1999) indicated that to some extent such failures were a result of ‘institutional racism’ within policing. Amongst the recommendations made in the report, Macpherson proposed that to increase trust and confidence in policing amongst minority ethnic communities, police should begin using performance indicators, the overall aim being the elimination of racist practices and the demonstration of fairness in all aspects of policing. He also recommended that police officers should receive ongoing training in racial awareness, and the valuing of cultural diversity. However, as with The Scarman Report, the recommendations proposed in The Macpherson Report appear to have failed adequately to address the issues of racism in the police.
Twenty-two years on from the publication of the Macpherson report that followed the Inquiry into the racist murder of Stephen Lawrence, the Home Affairs Committee has found that whilst policing has changed for the better in many areas, there are still serious and deep rooted racial disparities, and that neither police forces nor governments have taken race equality seriously enough for too long. To read more on the Home Affairs Committee’s call for urgent action, key findings, and recommendations, please click here.
The National Black Police Association
In 1990 a joint initiative between black staff within the Metropolitan Police in London and a specialist support unit specialising in community and race relations training based in Turvey Bedfordshire raised concerns about staff wastage. This led to a meeting of Black staff from the Metropolitan Police. This meeting known as the Bristol Seminars led to the formation of a black support network. Other BME officers had met in other environments and discovered a commonality of issues.
The Metropolitan Black Police association then formed following discussions between black staff and the MPS. The association, which formed in September 1994, was launched by the then MPS Commissioner.
At the launch the Commissioner of the Metropolitan Police said,
“I have made it clear where I stand. I see the formation of this Association as the only way forward”.
From its inception the NBPA has sought to highlight issues facing BME staff in the Police Service, helping those in need of support by lending a listening ear and giving support.
In October 1996 with interest having grown across the country in the work of the BPA, a National Communication Network was formed. This network consisted of BME staff members spanning the length and breadth of the country. It was quickly realised that the only way forward was to form a national association, speaking with “ONE VOICE, STRENGTH IN UNITY”.
In early 1998 officers and staff met with RT HON Jack Straw then Home Secretary to discuss the role of BPA’s. The meeting resulted in tangible support with regular meetings between Home Office staff and the National Communication Network.
In November 1998 the National Black Police Association became a reality when an interim executive was elected to take the association to launch. The executive committee was comprised of 14 executive members from 12 Constabularies.
“If everyone does a little, no one has to do a lot.” Charles Harper
