Police chiefs in talks over admission of institutional racism
The Guardian|December 13, 2021
Britain's top police leaders are considering making a public admission that their forces are institutionally racist, the Guardian has learned.
Vikram Dodd
Police chiefs in talks over admission of institutional racism

High-level discussions, which began on Thursday, come as the special adviser on race to the National Police Chiefs' Council (NPCC) says the declaration is needed if promises of radical reform are to be believed by black, Asian and minority-ethnic communities. More discussions will be held in January, with a decision expected in February.

Policing has been engulfed in a race crisis with controversies over stop and search and use of force, leaving black people's confidence lower than white people's. Police chiefs have admitted that this damages their legitimacy and ability to fight crime.

The NPCC appointed the barrister Abimbola Johnson to chair an independent board to scrutinise a promised suite of reforms.

A new plan to make policing antiracist is promised and Johnson said: “The plan needs to accept institutional racism ... If the idea is to win the trust of black communities, policing needs to start by acknowledging both the historical and current manifestations of racism in policing.”

This story is from the December 13, 2021 edition of The Guardian.

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This story is from the December 13, 2021 edition of The Guardian.

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