Race and the police

The following figures come from the Runnymede Trust: 7% recruitment target for black and ethnic minority police 4% level of recruitment achieved 47% forces fail to meet their recruitment target 2.9% sergeants from a black or ethnic minority background 6 times more likely that black people were stopped and searched in 1999 than white people 7 times more likely that black people were stopped and searched in 2008 than white people

The chair of the Equality Commission, Trevor Phillips, said recently that the Metropolitan Police could no longer be charged of institutional racism. On the eve of an official inquiry into racial equality within the Met, the Runnymede Trust have published a report which states that a decade on from the Macpherson Inquiry into the murder of Stephen Lawrence, black and Asian officers still face significant barriers within the force.

According to the Times:

‘The Metropolitan Police faces a new inquiry into discrimination in its ranks, ten years after it was accused of institutional racism in the report into the murder of Stephen Lawrence.

The Race and Faith Inquiry opens tomorrow to examine why black and ethnic minority officers are more likely to leave the force and are less successful in gaining promotion than their white counterparts.

The race inquiry also coincides with the Runnymede Trust’s review of the police service’s progress in tackling racism since Sir William Macpherson published his report into the death of Mr Lawrence.

The trust, which is chaired by Richard Stone, who advised the Macpherson Inquiry, concluded that black and Asian people still suffered discrimination in the police service and at the hands of the police. “It is difficult to argue that the charge of institutional racism no longer applies,” it said. “There is still significant progress to be made, notably in relation to the career experiences of black and minority ethnic officers, and the disproportionate use of stop-and-search procedures against black groups.”

The Runnymede Trust report contradicted the argument by Trevor Phillips, head of the Equality and Human Rights Commission, that the police could no longer be accused of institutional racism. It said that the service had difficulty in recruiting, retaining and progressing officers from black and Asian communities.

The report said: “While much is made of the fact that the percentage of officers from these backgrounds doubled between 1999 and 2008, this is only from a relatively low starting point of 2 per cent to approximately 4 per cent.” For black communities, the report said, there had been no change for the better in their experience of being policed, especially in terms of stop-and-search tactics.