Black police officers should not be expected to resolve racism in the forces and should be allowed to “continue their work”, said the head of the body examining a plan for England and Wales. those to combat racism.
Compulsory anti-racism training will be provided to all police officers along with the specific recruitment of black staff as part of a strategy published by the National Council of Police Chiefs (NPCC) and the Police College to address to prejudices between forces.
All officers and staff will be taught the history of black people policing and the impact of disproportionate interactions with law enforcement, the NPCC said.
The police career action plan, launched on Tuesday, also includes an apology for the “racism, discrimination and bias” still found in the forces.
Lawyer Abimbola Johnson, chair of an independent scrutiny and oversight board of the plan, said relying on hiring more black officers would not be enough.
“I think retention, recruitment and promotion are always positive goals when it comes to diversifying the workforce, but in my opinion, that’s not enough,” he told BBC Radio 5 Live. “The most important thing is to look at the real culture of an organization.”
He said it was unfair to expect those already recruited to resolve racism by force. “Ultimately, you are saying that it is also the duty of blacks themselves to resolve racism and resolve racial disparities they see in the workplace. Black people must be able to enter the workplace and continue their work.”
Blacks are seven times more likely to be stopped and searched than whites. They are also five times more likely to use force on themselves.
Despite detailed plans to deal with the bias, Sir Dave Thompson, the West Midlands police chief who leads police chiefs in the career plan, declined to say there was institutional racism in the police.
Thompson said he was “not trying to shed light on black communities” in an interview on BBC Radio 4’s Today program, but would not accept the label.
“We absolutely recognize that many in the community think that the police are institutionally racist, and this is the environment in which we have to work. label that can be quite divisive “.
The Macpherson report, published in 1999 after the assassination of Stephen Lawrence, found the metropolitan police to be “institutionally racist”.
The Guardian revealed last week that London City police were being sued by black social worker Edwin Afriyie after being shot with a stun gun and knocked unconscious during a road stop. He believes his treatment was racist and said he was “treated like a wild animal”.
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Thompson said police were taking racism seriously when launching the strategy, adding: “We don’t shy away from the fact that it’s about scrutinizing and challenging how police operate, not just which could be considered rotten apples or agents that can be racist.
“It’s about policies, processes and practices and relying heavily on the evidence on, ‘Why is this?’ and if we can’t explain it, we have to challenge ourselves and change. “