By Mali Sapsed Foster
Photo by Ehimetalor Akhere Unuabona on Unsplash
With the head of Britain’s police chief claiming the force to be ‘institutionally racist’ in January 2024, there is an understandable lack of positive public reception of the police force within the black community.
The National Police Council (NPCC) admitted the rate of police use of force was five times higher for people who they perceived to be black, and that they apply their powers (like use of force and stop and search), disproportionately against black people.
“Much has been done by policing to address racism in the police and society,” Chief Constable Sir David Thompson, Senior Responsible Officer for the Police Race Action Plan said to the NPCC, “Policing is more inclusive, more diverse, and more reflective of our communities than we have ever been but equally it still contains racism, discrimination, and bias."
According to the NPCC, just 1.3% of police officers were Black, compared to 3.5% of the wider population, and there have been just two black officers who achieved the rank of Chief Constable or Assistant Commissioner in the entire history of UK policing.
Infographic created by Mali Sapsed Foster
Stuart, 34, a main response officer for the Met Police in the West London area, who is of Nigerian descent, says that while his situation is unique to others, he has found the force pretty diverse - considering these shocking figures.
“We all had quite a bond,” he said, discussing his specific unit - of whom are majority black officers, “There’s a lot of camaraderie especially amongst other officers of colour.”
While he says he has yet to experience or witness direct racism from his fellow white officers, he has noticed a lack of consideration when it comes to respecting other cultures.
“I think the hardest battle being a police officer of colour, whether it’s the public or people we work with is battling ignorance really.” He said, “I think there needs to be less ignorance and more teaching.”
Stuart continued, “Where I’ve personally found the ignorance is in people with no life experience. That doesn’t mean that they’re young, they’re people that have never experienced anything in life really, and live a very two-dimensional life, so that’s where the true problems start because they don’t know how to treat people, they don’t understand their faiths.”
"Equality is knowing what everyone’s needs are and attempting to accommodate for them.”
“Niko” a 19-year-old university student of Jamaican descent, has mixed feelings about the police force, due to “recurring issues in the force such as abuse of power, discrimination, and a lack of accountability”- but said he would feel safer with more black officers in the force.
The student, who studies Economics at SOAS University of London, has been stopped and searched regularly since becoming a teenager. He believes all of these incidents to be racially motivated.
“Recently I was on my way back home on one of those rental bikes, a lime bike, and a police van cut me off in the middle of the road, and several officers came out asking if I'd stolen the bike, did I have any drugs on me, any weapons and kept me there for about 10-15 mins while they ran my name through their database.” He said.
“The majority of the time it's only ever white officers and although I know to stay calm and composed in these situations, it can be really scary. Especially when you’re on your own and surrounded by 5 or 6 officers, and the thing that gets me the most is I really believe they didn’t suspect me of anything they asked me of, and it just felt like an excuse to stop me, and waste my time, and make me feel small at the end of the day.”
The latest national data released by the NPCC shows that black people are almost nine times more likely to be stopped and searched than white people.
“If you are to see an aspect of representation in these circumstances, it might ease the worry and the panic a little bit if it was potentially being racially motivated, so I think that having more black police officers would definitely help.” Niko said.
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