Coleagues from across the Criminal Justice System (CJS) meet on

Monday 23 April in a Symposium focussing on statitistics on race and

the CJS (section 95 data)

The symposium will bring together the leadership of the BME Staff Networks

and a representative of United Nations Committee on the Elimination of

Racial Discrimination (CERD). Further information is available via this link;- Symposium information

Sultan Alam, 48, had already received £400,000 in damages from Cleveland Police.

A hearing has now agreed a figure for loss of future earnings, bringing the total to £800,000.

Mr Alam was jailed for 18 months in 1996 for conspiracy to steal car parts, but was cleared in 2007.

He served half his sentence and carried on his legal battle while working as a taxi driver.

A civil case, which ended in January, heard that Mr Alam was “stitched up” by fellow officers after he launched industrial tribunal proceedings in 1993, complaining of racial discrimination.

Cleveland Police admitted malicious prosecution and was ordered to pay damages.

Leaving the latest hearing, at Leeds County Court, Mr Alam said: “It was never about the money.”

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-tees-17729120

We hope that the Commissioner will use this opportunity as a watershed moment and set out to the public his strategy for, first of all getting to grips with the nature and extent of racism both at the individual and structural level within the MPS.

He has an opportunity to set out to the public, how the Met BPA and community organisations can play a role supporting him in bringing about lasting cultural change within the organisation.

Furthermore, we feel that given Sir Bernard is the Commissioner of our nation’s capital, he has a responsibility and a great opportunity to demonstrate leadership to his colleagues across the country. 

His appearance at the Home Affairs Select Committee offers an opportunity to encourage his colleagues in the other 42 constabularies to join him in setting out a credible anti-racism stance for the police service.

Chief Constables across the country need to be held accountable on their performance in relation to anti- discrimination legislation.

Charles Crichlow

NBPA President

16 April 2012

The Prime Minister David Cameron has been told by the National Black Police Association (NBPA) to get directly involved in the current debate about alleged racism in police forces,

The call came as newly released data showed that while 120 Metropolitan Police officers had been found guilty of race discrimination since 1999, just one of them had been dismissed.

NBPA president Charles Crichlow said in a letter to the Home Secretary Theresa May: “This issue has now taken on a greater national significance in terms of public trust and confidence in policing and the wider criminal justice system.

“The NBPA is absolutely clear about the need to show leadership in this most challenging area of public engagement. I am therefore asking that you reconsider our recommendation that the Lawrence Steering Group be reconvened in order to give Leadership to a situation that is unfortunately spiralling out of control.”

He went on: “I note that Prime Minister Cameron recently convened a summit at Downing Street on the issue of racism in football. I would respectfully request that our concerns be also brought to the attention of the Prime Minister in order that he may consider taking a similar leadership role in this current crisis.”

Last week, the Metropolitan Police Commissner Bernard Hogan-Howe said there was “no place for racism in the Met”.

He added: “I know that the Met has changed greatly over the years, and most of you have directly been involved in improving our relationship with all Londoners and those who visit us. Unfortunately just one alleged incident like this can be very damaging to public confidence.”

http://www.publicservice.co.uk/news_story.asp?id=19405

Mark Townsend, home affairs editor

guardian.co.uk, Saturday 7 April 2012 

 The police should not be trusted to tackle racism on their own, according to a senior officer who has called for government intervention to hold forces to account in the fight against discrimination.

Following a spate of revelations concerning racism within Scotland Yard, the chairman of the Metropolitan police‘s Black Police Association said a pan-Whitehall group to restore trust between police and communities should be reintroduced.

Bevan Powell said the organisation should be modelled on the Stephen Lawrence steering group, which was established in May 1999 after the Macpherson inquiry’s first recommendation into the black teenager’s murder said that it should be a “ministerial priority” for police services to build “confidence in policing amongst minority ethnic communities”.

The steering group, whose membership included Doreen Lawrence, the mother of the murdered teenager, was disbanded in 2005 by then home secretary, Charles Clarke, a decision increasingly seen as premature amid growing evidence that the problem of racism remains.

The lack of progress has been partly highlighted by new figures revealing that just two officers out of 2,270 accused of racist behaviour in the last five years have been dismissed. Those who lost their jobs were required to resign instead of being sacked, which meant they kept pension entitlements.

Powell said: “We need to look at political structures as well, such as the Stephen Lawrence steering group within the Home Office. This was a group of people who could hold police chiefs to account in ensuring they moved towards an anti-racist organisation, but unfortunately that was done away with.”

He added that “complacency” had been allowed to creep back in following the publication of the Macpherson report in 1999, and also called for an internal Met inquiry to establish the extent of racism within the force.

The Met has suspended eight officers and a civilian worker as part of an investigation into 10 separate allegations of racist abuse, bullying and violence involving 18 officers and one staff member. An internal inquiry by the Police Service of Northern Ireland has seen four officers suspended over racist and sectarian text messages. Powell said the recent disclosures embroiling Scotland Yard, which include an audio recording of an officer racially abusing a man in east London, underlined the importance of officers being able to report prejudice without fear of persecution by colleagues.

The Met commissioner, Bernard Hogan-Howe, has urged officers to report any colleagues who made inappropriate remarks, stressing his determination to stamp out racism.

Powell said: “We need a new era of community and police race relations looking at supervision at a local level.”

Following the Macpherson report, which branded Scotland Yard institutionally racist, the Met’s leadership pledged to weed out prejudiced officers, but those monitoring the issue say it has slipped down the agenda.

“After the Stephen Lawrence inquiry there was a lot of activity within the Met and major inroads were made, but in recent years race has been put on the back burner and that has been a concern of the association,” Powell said.

One issue that could exacerbate tensions between police and their community is the forthcoming elections for police and crime commissioners. Some are fearful that elected individuals might inflame racial tensions or not grasp the sensitivities required.

“These people are extremely powerful and will be deciding the way in which policing priorities are made,” Powell said. “It’s absolutely crucial these individuals demonstrate that they are committed to an anti-racist police service.”

The Prime Minister, who recently held a Downing Street summit on race discrimination in football, is facing calls from the National Black Police Association to take on a “leadership role” in the crisis.

Campaigners also want ministers to bring back the Lawrence Steering Group, which helped monitor the relationship between police and ethnic minorities in the wake of the Macpherson Report that branded the Met “institutionally racist”.

Meanwhile senior officers in the country’s largest force will be questioned by MPs on the powerful Home Affairs Select Committee about the growing number of racist allegations.

The Independent Police Complaints Commission is now investigating 10 complaints of alleged racism in the Met, involving 18 officers and one member of civilian staff, while four officers have been suspended from the Police Service of Northern Ireland over allegedly racist and sectarian text messages.

The claims emerged after a young black man in east London said he had recorded a policeman racially abusing him.

Fears have been raised that such allegations are not taken seriously, after figures showed that 120 Met officers had been found guilty of race discrimination since 1999 but only one had been dismissed.

So far senior Government figures have steered clear of commenting on the claims.

But in a letter to Theresa May, the Home Secretary, the President of the National Black Police Association calls for politicians to make a stand in order to reassure the public.

Charles Crichlow wrote: “This issue has now taken on a greater national significance in terms of public trust and confidence in policing and the wider criminal justice system.

“The NBPA is absolutely clear about the need to show Leadership in this most challenging area of public engagement. I am therefore asking that you reconsider our recommendation that the Lawrence Steering Group be reconvened in order to give Leadership to a situation that is unfortunately spiralling out of control.

“I note that Prime Minister Cameron recently convened a summit at Downing Street on the issue of racism in football. I would respectfully request that our concerns be also brought to the attention of the Prime Minister in order that he may consider taking a similar leadership role in this current crisis.”

Keith Vaz MP, chairman of the Home Affairs Select Committee, said: “I remain deeply concerned about these allegations of racism.

“The Committee is due to hold an inquiry into leadership of the police and the Met in the near future and we shall also be examining the workings of the IPCC. We will deal with the issues raised in the last few days as part of those inquiries.

“I will also be writing to HM Chief Inspector of Constabulary Sir Dennis O’Connor to ask him to look at what guidelines exist to deal with conduct and ethics of officers.”

The racism allegations represent the first crisis to confront Bernard Hogan-Howe, the Met Commissioner who was appointed last September after Sir Paul Stephenson resigned over allegations over his links to a former editor of the News of the World, Neil Wallis.

Mr Hogan-Howe told his staff last week: “I wanted to take this opportunity to clearly and categorically reiterate that there is no place for racism in the Met.”

He went on: “I know that the Met has changed greatly over the years, and most of you have directly been involved in improving our relationship with all Londoners and those who visit us.

“Unfortunately just one alleged incident like this can be very damaging to public confidence.”

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/politics/david-cameron/9193236/David-Cameron-urged-to-get-a-grip-on-police-racism-allegations.html

But despite a shameful 2,720 racism complaints in the past five years, bosses have axed just two cops – and they were “required to resign” rather than be sacked, meaning their pensions were safeguarded.

A shocking Mirror investigation has revealed not a single officer proven to be a bigot has been fired.

Many escaped with written warnings or merely a word in their ear.

But we found the problem goes much further than just the Met. Scores of racist officers and staff across the country have escaped with just a slap on the wrist.

The National Black Police Association said our investigation shows the police chiefs are drifting away from the recommendations made in the Macpherson report into the Met’s handling of 18-year-old Stephen’s 1993 racist murder in South East London.

President Charles Crichlow added: “It’s a scandal. One of those recommendations said specifically there should be a ­presumption of dismissal where an officer or member of staff has been found to have been racist.

“These figures show the scandal that has gone on and how far we have moved away from those recommendations.”

Mr Crichlow blamed the disgraceful ­situation on a lack of political leadership from the Tory-led Government and police chiefs.

He said Home Secretary Theresa May and the Association of Chief Police Officers have both failed to deal with the issue.

Mr Crichlow added: “It’s a complete failure of their leadership. They have set the mood music within the police that officers and staff dance to. The message they are sending is race is off the agenda, they aren’t interested and that has filtered all the way down.”

The Mirror discovered bigoted cops were getting away with just a ticking off during an investigation launched under the Freedom of ­Information ­Act.

Apart from the two Met officers ordered to quit, three more found guilty of racism were not even punished, seven got written warnings, five “words of advice” and another five were allowed to retire or resign. Two officers were given simply “advice” and another had a “discussion” with a boss.

It comes as the Met, now under the command of commissioner Bernard Hogan-Howe, faces its worst racism crisis since Stephen’s murder, with 20 officers and one staff member now under ­investigation for alleged racist incidents.

The Independent Police Complaints Commission is probing the claims, which include bullying, abuse and assault.

Of 2,720 complaints of racism made between 2005 and mid-2011 by staff and the public against the force only 42 were “substantiated” and 816 “unsubstantiated”.

However, 572 were “locally resolved” – described as “a way of dealing with a complaint by solving, explaining, clearing up or settling the matter with the complainant”.

Outside the capital, other racist officers have been escaping the axe over the past five years.

• A Staffordshire PC was fined in 2007 after he admitted calling a black colleague a “jungle bunny”.
• A Nottinghamshire police civilian worker received a written warning in 2009 despite being found in possession of “racist propaganda”.
• All of five officers and four civilians in the county found to have been racist in the last five years kept their jobs.
• In Avon and Somerset a PC was “spoken to” by a senior officer after making a racist comment while searching the home of a black person.
• A ­DCI and PC in Surrey were given the same penalty for making racist comments.
• Five Cambridge cops faced ­racism misconduct ­hearings with two sacked, the others warned.
• In Kent, the grievances include racist jokes and an officer mimicking a complainant’s accent.
• Five ­allegations resulted in misconduct hearings, with one officer resigning over “discriminatory comments”.
• A written warning was given to a member of police staff in Wiltshire for racist comments on Facebook.
• An officer from the force was allowed to retire with full pension after being accused of racially abusing a colleague.
• A sergeant at West Mercia found guilty of racism was allowed to resign .
• Four Ulster officers have been suspended after the discovery of racist and sectarian text messages.

The Met was hit with 43 internal complaints of racism last year, the highest number in the last decade.

Racist allegations have risen from 370 in 2007, to 454 in 2008, 500 in 2009 and 464 in 2010.

Mr Crichlow praised Mr Hogan-Howe for finally taking a stand on race by referring cases to the IPCC and urging officers to report colleagues. The force says racism is not ­tolerated.

But former officer David Michael said it had to show its ­commitment to tackling the issue.

A spokesman said the Mirror figures did not include cases brought by officers which are “more likely” to result in a dismissal.

The Met were forced to reveal the scandal following a public outcry over the treatment of a black man in a police van.

Mauro Demetrio, 21, recorded PC Alex MacFarlane, 52, telling him: “You will always be a n*****.”

The Association of Chief Police Officers insists things have improved since the shocking Macpherson report in 1999.

Its diversity head Chief Constable Alf Hitchcock said: “The satisfaction with police among black and ethnic communities, and their willingness to come forward and complain when things go wrong has risen.

“Much has changed and while there is still some way to go, the service has shown it is willing to listen and learn from past events.”

Home Secretary and Minister for Equality

I am writing to draw your attention to our concerns about the current developments within the Metropolitan Police with regard to the handling of racist incidents. Download the complete letter via this link: Open letter HS Apr 12

Over twelve  years ago the Chief Constable of Greater Manchester Police Sir David Wilmott in an unprecedented move during the Lawrence Inquiry, acknowledged that his Force was institutionally racist. This statement caused a chain reaction among his senior colleagues across the country and he set an objective that Policing should be a ‘centre of excellence’ in anti-racism practice.  The Home Office took the lead with Jack Straw setting the tone for new engagement at the centre of Government and set us on the long road to restoring trust and confidence.

It is now abundantly clear that we are a very long way away from a centre of excellence and it appears sliding in the wrong direction.

How did we arrive at this state of affairs and who or what is responsible?

Make no mistake, the current racism scandal in the Metropolitan Police represents a major set-back in terms of addressing the troubling issue of trust and confidence particularly amongLondon’s black population. This issue extends way beyondLondon, after-all, this is the nation’sCapitalCity

For the decent and diligent officers who come to work every day to serve and protect the public without regard to race or other such factors, the current mess is in truth a failure of Political and Police Leadership over a period of time extending back to when Home Secretary Charles Clarke prematurely disbanded the Stephen Lawrence Working Group which kept a focus on race and Policing.  The Government’s own statistics in that period still showed a disturbing disproportionality in terms of the treatment of black people across the Criminal Justice Spectrum.

Despite our protestations and those of community activist, anti-racism gradually slid onto the back burner. The current administration at the Home Office put the final nail in the coffin of the Lawrence Inquiry by literally taking race issues off the agenda when Ministerial forums on race issues in the police were abruptly brought to an end. Ultimately the doors were closed to diversity Staff Associations in the very early days of the coalition government under its localism ideology.

This move gave the green light to the Association Of Chief Police Officers (ACPO) when their Equality Diversity and Human rights Chief took the disgraceful decision to exclude NBPA and other diversity Staff Associations from their forum under the philosophy mainstreaming anti-racism.

The well intentioned notion of ‘mainstreaming’ in this instance has effectively taken race off the policing agenda and what we are now discovering is that hard and valuable lessons from the landmark Lawrence Inquiry report are still proving difficult for leadership within the political arena along with police leaders and other Criminal Justice Agents to learn.

The basic fact is that those who we look to for leadership were fast asleep at the wheel. As they awaken over the coming weeks and months, current statistics on race and the Criminal Justice System in the context of the current racism allegations ought to make for sobering reading and hopefully usher in a new era of anti-racism from the top down in policing.

The way forward must now be, first of all ensuring that all allegations are properly investigated and those found guilty appropriately punished. Keeping in mind the recommendation by MacPherson of a presumption of dismissal where officers are found guilty of racism.

There is a need to reopen the doors and engage community anti-racist activist at local and national level who were instrumental in driving initial progress following the publication of the Stephen Lawrence Inquiry report.

Our political and police leaders need to be held accountable for their stewardship on police race relations. The Home Affairs Select Committee is well placed to establish a specific inquiry to delve into the nature and extent of racism in the Police Service with swift and appropriate remedy.

Charles Crichlow

NBPA President

6 April 2012