Anti-racism policing unit is accused of racism

A police initiative to stamp out racism in England and Wales has itself been accused of being racist.

Launched after African American George Floyd was murdered in the US in 2020, the Police Race Action Plan has been criticised for treating minority staff members as “troublemakers or difficult” for providing their perspectives on the project.

One Black person, who asked to remain anonymous, told the BBC’s Newsnight programme: “It was openly questioned if Black people were even needed to work on the plan. I increasingly felt my voice and – at times – my lived and professional experience were being ignored.”

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When it was published last May by the College of Policing and the National Police Chiefs’ Council (NPCC), the plan said: “We accept that policing still contains racism, discrimination and bias. We are ashamed of those truths, we apologise for them and we are determined to change them.

“We have much to do to secure the confidence of Black people, including our own staff, and improve their experience of policing – and we will.”

However, Newsnight obtained documents which showed that complaints were made by people from ethnic minorities who were involved in the process.

The National Police Race Action Plan is “the latest in a series of failed attempts at reform to address the frequent scandals of racism and misogyny in the police”, said Tribune magazine.

“From the Scarman Report in the 1980s to the MacPherson report in the 1990s, the police have a long history of recommending itself piecemeal reforms in response to major uprisings against police repression and discrimination against working-class and marginalised communities,” the magazine said.

Chief Constable Gavin Stephens, the NPCC’s chairman and Police Race Action Plan lead, told Newsnight: “We will be issuing a refreshed action plan that I am confident will deliver the change in our workforce, and the communities we serve, need and deserve. We must be judged on action and not words.

“I am not aware of any official complaints or allegations relating to racism. However, I am deeply saddened to hear of the experiences expressed in this report. It is a stark reminder of why we must drive change across policing and we are more galvanised than ever to achieve this.”