UK anti-racism police team accused of racism
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The UK's anti-racism police program has been accused of racism.
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British police officers keep a watchful eye on people at a protest, organized by Black Lives Matter, at Parliament Square in central London, Sunday, June 21, 2020. (AP)
Former members of staff at the UK's anti-racism Police Race Action Plan, set up to build better relationships with black communities after the murder of George Floyd in the US by a white police officer in 2020, have claimed that black workers were treated differently from their white colleagues.
A black former staff member who asked to keep his identity anonymous told BBC Newsnight they believed black workers were seen as “troublemakers or difficult”, with no more support offered as workloads increased.
“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,” they said. Another former worker said the entire process left them “completely disillusioned”.
‘Perplexing behaviors’
"The fact that these behaviors [racism] have been displayed on a program that set out with the good intention to ‘improve the experience for black people working in or interacting with police’ was perplexing, and left me thinking at times how serious the police were in wanting to make tangible change.”
The race action plan, developed by the College of Policing and the National Police Chiefs' Council, seeks to "make policing anti-racist" and "not over-police" black people by addressing racial disparities in stop and search, arrests, and homicides.
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In May of last year, the plan declared, "We accept that policing still contains racism, discrimination, and bias." We are ashamed of those facts, deeply regret them, and are resolved to remedy 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.”
Gaslighting claims
The program claimed to have seen documents containing complaints filed by members of ethnic minorities. According to Andy George, head of the National Black Police Association, cops had "been gaslit" as part of the strategy and made to seem noisy and challenging.
The man in charge of the race strategy, Deputy Chief Constable Tyron Joyce of West Yorkshire Police - one of the most senior black officers in the UK - quit in May after charges of bullying and prejudice were leveled against him. He hasn't spoken anything about it.
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The NPCC's chairman and Police Race Action Plan lead, Chief Constable Gavin Stephens, told BBC 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 our actions, not our 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 galvanized than ever to achieve this.”
