Force For Change - WIP by Seb Lansdowne

FORCE FOR CHANGE

TIMELESS PROBLEMS

TIMELY SOLUTIONS

FORCE

FOR CHANGE A manifesto for change in the UK Police Force from the inside out.

Force For Change

COVER

With many thanks to all those who helped

First published in 2021 by UWE Publishing in Bristol.

me while producing this book, especially to my tutor Gabriel Solomons for the guidance

Introduction & much of the writing by Seb Lansdowne, with occasional help from writers

in to becoming the designer I am today, and

using other authors writing under the cover of rights for students to use content without

to my housemate Freddie Nickerson for

fear of litigation from copyright infringement as production of this book is for purposes of

helping me stay sane during the crazy last

study and not intended for sale or reproduction to be disseminated further than necessary

12 months of 2020/21. With thanks to my

to obtain a first class degree.

publisher for helping me get this through to production and with special thanks to you

Design by SebLan

for buying this book - without you I would not

Infographics by SebLan

have a job and I am forever grateful.

Information collected through academic research.

Here’s to making the world a better place.

Start small.

Seb Lansdowne Printed in Bristol, England, on sustainable paper using minimal waste as to reduce the impact of this book on the current climate situation. ISBN 392-1-28342812-12-5 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1

A Manifesto

> COLOURS

CONTENTS: PREFACE

10-12

SECTION ONE: PROBLEMS

13-46

Stop and Search Custody Deaths Use of Force Drugs Perceptions Fines Sentences Inside the Force A Story From One Of Your Own

SECTION TWO: CHANGE

47-64

List of Demands Suggestions for Implementation

SECTION THREE: OVER TO YOU

64-87

Overview Design Consistency Detecting Bias Larger Scale New Signage New Uniforms

ADDITIONAL 88-89 Further reading Credits

Force For Change

NEW COLOURS

A Manifesto

Using the classic police associated colour way to produce a new fresher look that will represent the growth and moving forward of the force. The three colours will be used throughout the publication to relate the old police force to the force of the future. The addition of green will make the force appear friendlier and more open and branches between the contrasting feelings evoked by the current blue and yellow. 7

Force For Change

YOU D GET UN IGNORIN QUEST THAT HAV FAC

COLOURS

A Manifesto

DON T NITY BY NG THE TIONS VE TO BE CED.

PREFACE

– JAY WEATHERILL

Force For Change

PREFACE The British Police - an institution that brings a feeling of safety and security to many but strikes fear and distrust in others. These others are not criminals, they are people, disenfranchised from the very force supposed to protect them - those of minority ethnicity in the UK. Black and Minority Ethnic (BAME) people make up for 14% of the UK population and in the decade between 2001 and 2011 the Black population doubled, while the White British population as a whole shrunk by 7%. Our police force and justice service is for everyone and it needs to protect us all equally, give the same sense of security and provide a just response to crime. But does it?

( Sir Robert Peel )

The origins of the police go back over 500 years to the much more informal voluntary service of Tudor times. It became more formal in the beginning of the 19th Century - but still nothing like it is today. In 1828 Sir Robert Peel, the Home Secretary, supported the idea of the Government taking responsibility for organising policing. However, at the time the idea was still very controversial, many people who were opposed to the idea of a state-run police force believed it would threaten their freedoms in the form of the government trying to coerce certain behaviours. The force started out in 1829 with the Metropolitan Police Act which set up the Metropolitan Police Force in central London. Two commissioners were appointed to set up and run the new police force and 3,200 men were recruited to be full-time, trained and paid policemen. Many of the new Constables were ex-soldiers giving some brawn to the force, but also a regimental attitude. Numbers quickly grew and by 1882 there were 11,700 men in the Metropolitan Police. After the success of the Met Police, a series of bills were passed through government first the 1835 Municipal Corporations Act - this gave towns outside of London the power to set up their own police force. The 1839 Metropolitan Police Act extended the area covered by the Met Police to a 15-mile radius from the centre, the same year the County Police Act gave each county the power to set up their own police force. And finally the 1856 County and Borough Police Act made it compulsory for all towns and counties in England and Wales to set up a proper full-time, paid police force. This marks the beginning of the nation wide police force - albeit broken in to much smaller chunks than it is today. 10

Preface

A Manifesto

THEY ARE NOT ACTED UPON, THE SUGGESTIONS ARE NOT LISTENED TO

In the modern day the police are split in to 54 different forces, 45 in England and Wales, 7 across Scotland, one in Northern Island and the British Transport Police to cover networks such as the railways. The worry today is often about budget, cuts and whether the police force will be able to maintain the falling crime rates of the last decades with massively reduced force sizes. One problem that persists but is rarely acted upon is, rather, that the British Police - especially in London - have a race problem. You can count the number of reports in to this exact issue time and time again but you can also count the times the police have effectively listened to these reports and changed on well - no hands. This is because after every report, review or inquiry they are not acted upon, the suggestions are not listened to and no change actually happens or lasts.

( Inside a UK prison )

There is the Macpherson Report, 1999, after the killing of Stephen Lawrence the Lammy Review 2017, commissioned by David Cameron and Teresa May to look in to racial bias in the Judicial system, the Angiolini report, 2017, which looked into deaths in police custody, including the disproportionate number of people from BAME backgrounds who die while detained by police, theres the McGregor-Smith review of 2017 and the Windrush Report of 2020. All found significant evidence of racism and bias against BAME people - but since there has been no action and no change in the Police force or the Judicial system. Yet - Boris Johnson has called for another “cross-governmental commission” this time looking into racial disparities in education, health and criminal justice. All things that have been inspected before and not acted upon. What is going to be different this time? What we need as the general public is to know that our police force moves with the times - they are open to change and they respond to being told they are wrong. For the police are not the law - they are just there to enforce it. 11

Force For Change

( UK police with a BLM protester )

Across the UK, people from minority ethnic backgrounds are breaking through barriers. More students from Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic (BAME) backgrounds are achieving in school and going to university. There is a growing BAME middle class, powerful, high-profile institutions, like the House of Commons, are slowly becoming more diverse. Yet our justice system bucks the trend. Those who are stopped and searched, arrested, charged, tried and punished are still disproportionately likely to come from minority communities. Despite making up just 14% of the population, BAME men and women make up 25% of prisoners, while over 40% of young people in custody are from BAME backgrounds. If our prison population reflected the makeup of England and Wales, we would have over 9,000 fewer people in prison – the equivalent of 12 average-sized prisons. There is greater disproportionality in the number of Black people in prisons here than in the United States. Doesn’t this sound a lot like people’s original reservations before the police were set up in the 1800s? Restricting people’s freedoms and trying to change whole groups behaviours? This book is a manifesto for change, a demand for difference written by a concerned citizen about the state of the country that he is about to be left with as he ventures into adulthood. It is a call to action for individual officers to do what they can, for civilians to get involved in police elections and to bring the police force in to the 21st century. We must bring change and it must come soon. 12

AThe Manifesto Issues

SECTION ONE OVERVIEW

THE ISSUES 13

Force For Change

PREFACE

OVERVIEW The tensions that currently exist between the police and black communities are not recent phenomena. Since the 1950s, successive generations of black people in Britain have felt under protected as victims and over policed as suspects. Although it may be argued that the apparent over policing of black communities can be justified as a response to the disproportionate involvement of black males in particular forms of criminality, what cannot be ignored is that racism, whether institutional or that of individual officers, has played a central role in shaping the relationship that black people have with the police. The prevalence of deep seated racist attitudes amongst police officers during the 1970s and 1980s has been well documented. For example, in her research on the role of the police, Maureen Cain found that many of the police officers involved in her study believed that most black people, (whom they casually referred to as ‘niggers’), were ‘pimps’ and ‘layabouts’ and she also found that it was common for black people to be treated with contempt and even brutalised by the police. Their actions were rationalised through the belief that black people were ‘different’, ‘separate’, and ‘incomprehensible’ and therefore there was ‘no good reason for not being violent if the occasion arose’. In 1979, extensive accounts of police intimidation, harassment and brutality against black people taken from solicitors’ case files, advice centres, black self-help organisations were recorded and published by the Institute of Race Relations (IRR). The document, entitled Police Against black People, also provide an insight into other forms of police malpractice such as their unwillingness to protect black people against racist attacks, treating black victims as perpetrators, the medical negligence of detained suspects, the fabrication of evidence and the use of forced confessions. According to Fryer the content of these reports exposed the ways in which ‘criminal procedure was being used to harass black communities’ and subsequently, the antagonism between the police and the black community during this time had culminated in the inner city ‘riots’ of the 80s. Lord Scarman, who was commissioned to conduct an inquiry into the 1981 Brixton riots, concluded that, essentially, the riots were an outburst of anger and resentment by young black people against the police. Scarman pointed to the combined effects of negative socio-economic pressures, racial prejudice and the ‘irrational’ beliefs and attitudes of both the police and the (black) public as contributory factors. In an attempt 14

The Issues

( Police in a defensive position during the inner city riots,1981 )

to reassess the role of the police, he set out a number of recommendations to improve the way in which black communities were policed which included identifying racial prejudice among police recruits, the recruitment of more ethnic minority officers and measures to improve relations. Despite the recommendations put forward by Scarman and police attempts to implement them, racism within the police continued to be a problem for black communities through the 1990s. The racially motivated killing of Stephen Lawrence and the police’s ‘bungled’ handling of the investigation meant that the issue of racism within the police had again become an issue that was high on the political agenda. In the subsequent government commissioned inquiry into the failures of the police investigating the case, Macpherson (1999) indicated that to some extent such failures were a result of ‘institutional racism’ within policing. Amongst the recommendations made in the report, Macpherson proposed that to increase trust and confidence in policing amongst minority ethnic communities, police should begin using performance indicators, the overall aim being the elimination of racist practices and the demonstration of fairness 15

Force For Change

in all aspects of policing. He also recommended that police officers should receive ongoing training in racial awareness and the valuing of cultural diversity. However, as with The Scarman Report, the recommendations proposed in The Macpherson Report appear to have failed adequately to address the issues of racism in the police. Thus as Sharp and Atherton (2007) found in their research on young black and ethnic minority people’s experience of policing, reports from the young people about the disproportionate extent of negative behaviour and misconduct by the police towards young people from black and other ethnic minority groups, suggest that race plays a significant role in police/ suspect encounters. Research by the Centre for Social Justice shows the overall, interactions between young black people and police were particularly problematic. ( Steven Lawrence )

Suzella Palmers research which focuses on the young black males and their involvement in crime in post war Britain has revealed similar findings about black people’s experiences of policing. Respondents who were in their youth during the 1980s and those currently under the age of 25 both talked about their own experiences of being stopped and searched in a provocative manner to ‘get a rise’ out of them. Others claimed that they were racially abused and beaten up by officers. One young man, who had never been in trouble with the police and appeared to be of ‘good character’ claimed he was beaten up for no reason and talked about the impact that this had on him: ‘I look at myself now as they see me, as a criminal. They make me feel like a criminal.’ The failure by police to provide documents after a stop and search implies that some stop and searches go unrecorded by the police. If the unrecorded stop and searches tend to be disproportionate to particular racial groups, then the reliability of the police statistics become (even more) undermined. Also questionable is the idea that the police are working well with black communities, particularly in relation to Operation Trident, the Metropolitan Police command unit that was set up to investigate shootings amongst London’s black populations. Respondents in the research referred to the unit as one of worst perpetrators of unwarranted aggression against not only black young people, but against family members of suspects and victims and witnesses of gun crime. 16

The The Issues Issues

THE

NOTICE

FAILURE

POLICE

CONTINUE

PRO-

VIDE DOCUMENTS AFTER A STOP AND SEARCH AND

IMPLIES

SEARCHES

THAT GO

SOME

UNRECORDED

Yet failure to fill in or respond to a police notice can lead to a court date with the risk of prison, a large fine or community service. What is the penalty of police not filling in documentation of an unlawful stop and search?

STOP

Force For Change

NOTICE

I LOOK AT MYSELF NOW AS THEY SEE ME, AS A CRIMINAL.

THEY

MAKE -

ME FEEL LIKE A CRIMINAL

The young people that Palmer spoke to did not make complaints against the police as it was a ‘waste of time’, as ‘nothing would be done’ because the police ‘are the law’. In many ways, this sentiment is responsible for what appears to be the gross under reporting of such incidents to the police or other agencies. During the 1970s and 1980s a number of organisations such as the IRR and black community activists and] leaders were actively engaged in monitoring and campaigning against such incidents and providing support for the victims. Since the 1990s however, these organisations are almost non-existent. Instead, black led organisations and community leaders appear to be far more concerned with supporting the police, who are viewed by many in Britain’s black communities, as illegitimate. For example, Mike Best, the editor of the national black newspaper, The Voice, controversially called for an increase in police stop and search practices against young black males in response to growing levels of ‘gun crime’ involving black young males as both perpetrators and victims. Perspectives which appear to be less concerned with the marginalisation and criminalisation of young black males and more amenable to harsher crime control measures to deal with ‘black youth criminality’, have been expressed by other prominent black figures such as Lee Jasper, former Director for Equalities and Policing for the Mayor of London and Trevor Phillips, former head of the Commission for Racial Equality. In contrast, many within Britain’s black communities hold views that are more critical of the police and instead emphasise the injustices experienced by young black males as a result of what they perceive as an institutionally racist criminal justice system that intentionally criminalises black people. Until the issues of racism in policing and the unjust and 18

The Issues

> THE NUMBERS

sometimes brutal treatment of black young people by the police are taken seriously by the police, politicians and, more importantly, black community organisations and black leaders who claim to represent them, we should expect more anti-police sentiments expressed strongly. So in the last 50 years, the relationship between specifically the black community, but also the wider BAME group, and the police has been rocky, there have been many calls for change and yet nothing has happened. Here lies the problem. The world we live in is fast-paced and always moving but the police force and criminal justice system has been relatively static in how it deals with race and race relations since the 1990s. We might have on the whole moved past the police beating Black or Asian people on the streets but it does still happen - reference the man who was restrained by a knee hold to the neck in the UK just days after George Floyd was killed this way in the United States of America. We need to a get to a point where the police force can be trusted by all communities - so people don’t feel like they are under protected when they call the police - if they call them at all. We need to get to the point where minority communities feel safer by having on the beat coppers walking their streets not as if they need to prove that they have a right to live in the UK or a right to be in the neighbourhood they are in, or to drive the car that they drive - note the nurse that was held overnight in jail for having windows tinted ‘too dark’. ( Derek Chauvain using a neck hold in George Floyd )

The issue here comes in twofold, institutional issues and personal problems. The institutional side of the coin comes from the history of the police and court system, how it was set up and run for years dictating the way it is run today. Personal issues relate more to each individual in the police force and judicial system, and biases people have - both conscious and unconscious and how people react to them. Institutional racism comes in many forms in each institution around the world but specifically when talking about criminal justice its a big issue the whole system was formed before slavery became illegal in the UK. So it is originally based on a system of values that thinks people of different skin tones have different worth. Even for the years after that when devel19

Force For Change

oping new practises such as finger printing etc white people could hold openly racist opinions and no one would bat an eye. Right up until the 70s and 80s this kind of situation permeated the whole UK. But essentially the institutional issue with the police is that it hasn’t been reviewed and hugely changed its operating style since conception while the whole rest of the world has developed new ways of working. At the same time it has had to start dealing with things that the police didn’t cover when first started such as mental health issues, domestic violence and social issues. This all stretches one force so thin that it cannot operate efficiently in the modern day. The personal issues boil down to the beliefs of officers. As you grow up you form attachments to the types of people around you and these closer bonds often lead to more preferential treatment such as those between whites and other whites. But these biases can be even more subtle than that, the associations we make with POC are influenced by everything, the films we watch and the news we read. What the police should have is a way to help their officers identify these bias and try to be more impartial.

( Police briefing in Wales before a drugs raid with the NCA )

Over the course of this chapter, we will look in to the problems identified in specific areas of policing and the criminal justice system as a whole, the problems will be backed up with statistics so you can see that the numbers do not lie and that the situation is serious -

The Issues

THE NUMBERS

Force For Change

563, OVERVIEW

STOP & SEARCH

The Issues

,837 DEATHS

carried out in 2019/20

Stop and search could be a useful police tool - if it was used right and in a nondiscriminatory way. As things stand currently Black people are 9 times more likely than white people to be stopped and searched - but as mentioned before, not all stops are recorded by police. Asian people and those of mixed race are also nearly three times as likely as a white person, all these differences have been stable over the last decade. The discrepancies represent hundreds of thousands of people who are singled out simply because they ‘don’t fit in’ in the area, reinforcing barriers between ‘groups’, this can lead to poor mental health and distrust of the police which only makes situations more hostile in future. As little as 13% of stops and search under PACE Section 1 lead to arrest and as low as 5% of stops under section 60 of the public order act, these statistics do not show stop and search to be an effective use of police time. 23

Force For Change

STOP & SEARCH

CUSTODY DEATHS A - 86%

B - 8%

C - 2%

D - 3%

E - 1%

Percentage of Deaths in Custody

The Issues

USE OF FORCE

A - 86%

B - 3%

C - 8%

D - 2%

E - 1%

A = White B = Black C = Asian D = Mixed E = Other

Percentage of Population Here we need to look deeper in to the statistics to fully understand what this means - obviously deaths in custody are no good thing no matter what but if we saw true fair treatment of people regardless of their skin tone then the percentage of deaths in custody should be the same proportion as the percentage of that ethnicity in the general population. So here we need to ask - why are proportionally more than twice as many black people dying while under police or the justice systems care? why are at least 1.5 times as many people from mixed ethnicities not surviving police contact? These percentages may seem small but when looked at in terms of per million people 43 white people will die in police custody, but in every one million black people 72 will end up dead. These are people’s lives - we don’t have the death sentence in the UK so why are these statistics so uneven? 25

Force For Change

DEATHS

USE OF FORCE

30%

70%

Black / white deaths came after use of force 2017-2019

The Issues

> DRUGS

For every white person force is used against black people get the same treatment* *proportionally

The police used force tactics 614,660 times in 2018/19 where the ethnicity of the person is known - including tactics such as handcuffing, other restraints, use of batons, irritant sprays, tasers, and firearms. Of those, 447,337 tactics were used against White people, and 94,222 against Black people - a rate of 90 times per 10,000 White people and 450 times per 10,000 Black people. In particular, police were 11 times more likely to use firearms (including cases where they were not fired), eight times more likely to use batons, and six times more likely to use handcuffs on Black people. This is not fair treatment - do the police need more training in de-escalation? ways to resolve situations peacefully? British police are miles better than those in the US for not using force but there’s always room for improvement.

Force For Change

USE OF FORCE

DRUGS

Black people are s searched for drugs 45 per 1000 peop Asian people are stopped and searched for drugs at a rate of 18 per 1000 people

White people are stopped and searched for drugs at a rate of 7 per 1000 people

The Issues

> PERCEPTION

stopped and s at a rate of ple

These figures become even more alarming when you know that in a 2013/14 study it was found that black and white people use drugs at largely the same rate, and Asian people use them at an even lower rate than both black and white - meaning there is little to no evidence that these stops and searches are legal and the officers completing them do have ‘reasonable’ suspicion. It goes further than just being searched for drugs - when found with drugs different races are treated with different levels of harshness. When in possession of cocaine only 22% of black people come away with a caution, 78% are charged, hugely contrasting to 56% of white people that get away with just a caution and the 44% that are actually charged. It is evident from these figures that the policing of drugs is an important driver of ethnic disparities in stop and search across England and Wales. 29

Force For Change

DRUGS

PERCEPTIONS 80% of people think the police have become less effective

Less effective

46% think the police have become much less effective

Perceptions of police effectiveness over the last 3 years

The Issues

FINES

11% of people think the police have not changed

More effective 8% of people think the police have become more effective

Throughout the last decade of austerity, the funding the police receive to complete their job has reduced by 20% in ‘real terms’. So a reduction in efficacy is understandable but to be perceived as much less effective by nearly half the population surely something needs to be changed. Looking at the rates of reported crimes resulting in a charge the data seems to show a severe lack of effectiveness. In a number of areas such as domestic burglaries and vehicle thefts about 4 in 100 crimes lead to a charge and even less a conviction. Overall a suspect is actually charged in only 7.8% of all crimes committed in the UK. The proportion of victims of crime who are unwilling to support a prosecution has nearly doubled from 13.2% to 22.6% between 2015/16 and March 2019 - showing a significant drop in trust that the police will effectively solve a crime. The lack of trust in police is exacerbated in minorities - around 5% lower. 31

Force For Change

PERCEPTIONS

FINES

4.8 Fines per 100,000 people

Asian

Black

Fines per 100,000 people

1.8 x more likely Black and Asian men are

to receive a FPN for breaching COVID rules.

The Issues

SENTENCES

4.7 2.5 White

English and Welsh police forces issued 17,039 fines during the two months of the first corona-virus lockdown – a rate of only three per 10,000 people over the population. Seventy per cent of all penalties were issued to men aged under 45, who make up 22 per cent of the population. Some forces fined BAME people at a rate of up to 6.5 times per 100,000 people - but this high figure can in some cases be put down to small proportions of BAME people in a few jurisdictions. But what this does show is evidence of the over policing of BAME neighbourhoods due to stereotyping, an issue that was highlighted massively by the pandemic - generally across race we break the COVID rules at the same rate, enforcement is the difference.

Force For Change

FINES

SENTENCES

27.1

19.5 Average sentence length (in months) Black / White 2019

The Issues

> IN THE FORCE

Sentencing is another area of huge disparity between races. As the diagram shows the average sentence is nearly 8 months longer for those that are black than those that are white. The overall length of sentences has been rising too - but more sharply for BAME offenders than white - between 2009 and 2019 average sentences have risen 8 months for BAME offenders but only 4.9 months for whites. A study also recently found being recorded by a police officer as coming from a BAME background was independently associated with approximately 39% higher odds of being sentenced to prison. This shows the total lack of equality within the whole justice system - not just the police.

Force For Change

SENTENCES

INSIDE THE FORCE 3.1$% are Asain

1.3% are black

2.2% are of Mixed race

UK Police Workforce

The Issues

> QUOTE

92.7%$* are white.

This may be reflective of a culture that is not open to difference and is closed off to those who are not part of ‘the group’. The statistics are improving in London where there is independent overview of hiring by the Stephen Lawrence Steering Group but elsewhere the statistics have stayed largely the same, improving marginally year on year. But still stories come out about the difference in treatment such as a veteran black met officer who says he was on the receiving end of a witch hunt over a claim of £80 expenses - when nothing of the sort happens to white officers. Nick Glynn, a retired senior police officer, told MPs that just before he left the service in 2015 he was targeted with a “racial slur” from a colleague. Making the police force a more diverse group and more representative of the make up of the UK might bring more understanding of minority differences and might close the discrepancy of police enforcement. 37

Force For Change

EVEN IF UNCONS BIAS TH THE POLIC THESE FIG HAVE NOT 38

The Issues

THIS IS SCIOUS HE FACT CE KNOW GURES BUT T DECIDED 39

Force For Change

TO QUEST THIS IS HA AND HA ADDRESS IS INSTITU RAC 40

The Issues

> A STORY

TION WHY APPENING AVEN’T SED IT - IT UTIONALLY CIST

- LEROY LOGAN, 62, FORMER MET OFFICER AND EX-CHAIRMAN OF THE NATIONAL BLACK POLICE ASSOCIATION.

Force For Change

QUOTE

A STORY FROM ONE OF YOUR OWN ( Anonymous words of a Met Police officer written in 2020 )

As a black woman, watching a sea of faces shouting “Black lives matter”, “I am not a threat” and “I can’t breathe” has been powerful and humbling. As a frontline officer with the Metropolitan police, it has felt like a reckoning. The world appears to be waking up. For the first time in decades, London’s police service is beginning to stir. Police leaders have realised the spotlight is upon them. They know they must look like they want change. During the first week of protests, our commissioner, Cressida Dick, and her senior leadership teams voiced words of praise for the resilience of officers facing “challenging times”, and the need to “strike a fine balance” when policing the Black Lives Matter protests. But by the following weekend, Dick’s tone had shifted. She condemned the “assaults” by protesters, deeming them “unacceptable”.

( Police confronting a protester at London George Floyd / BLM protest July 2020 )

As a black officer in the Met, I’ve worked on the frontline in uniform for several years now. It’s going to take a little more than a blog or a speech to start driving the changes that the force needs. The problem of a breakdown in the policing of black communities runs far deeper than the devastating death of George Floyd in the United States. Deaths in police custody in England and Wales have increased over the last decade, and the proportion of black people dying after the use of force in police custody is higher than the proportion of black people in the population of England and Wales. Indeed, for Neville Lawrence, the father of Stephen Lawrence, the Metropolitan police remains institutionally racist. Since the Macpherson report in 1999, the Met has undoubtedly made efforts to improve. It has introduced various schemes and assistance to BAME officers and has developed a working conversation with local communities. But until the commissioner, her commanders, senior leadership teams and every other white police officer realise and understand what it means to benefit from white privilege, this won’t be enough. If you are BAME, in London you are 2.5 times more likely than a white person to be stopped and searched, with the numbers leaping to 10 times as likely if you’re in a vehicle. These numbers speak for themselves. 42

The Issues

THE WAY THAT THE POLICE LOOK IS

FORM

RARELY

THE

INSIDE

CONSIDERED Black communities are disproportionally policed. I see this part of my job: in poorer areas, young black boys are targeted and hunted, while in central London, habitual drug users partying on the town are left untroubled. The black community in London is well aware of these problems and deeply resents the police as a result. As a black police officer, this has made my job difficult. Due to the complex political history between the police service and black Britain, officers of colour representing the Met are regularly targeted by these communities when out on patrol. I have seen and experienced slurs of “Here comes the black one”, “Coconut” (a racial slur meaning black on the outside yet white on the inside), “Trust them to roll out the black one for us” and jeers of “Uncle Tom”. I’ve been told repeatedly that I am “working for the white man”. Yet white supervisors overlook this added difficulty for their BAME staff, and don’t seem to consider its impact on our emotional wellbeing. I have repeatedly found myself both deflated and exhausted when trying to educate my colleagues on the painful history of policing and the black community. That its legacy has filtered down to our everyday interactions on patrol – a legacy of disproportionate policing fuelled by negative racial stereotypes which inevitably make the work of BAME officers harder.

( Police protecting Downing Street - officers in the back have taken the knee )

I’ve seen and heard how an environment of micro-aggressions and white privilege affects fellow BAME officers in the force, forcing them to carefully navigate a minefield while feeling hemmed in on either side. The Metropolitan Black Police Association has been championing the fair treatment of BAME officers, yet the playing field is still not remotely level. To this day, a BAME officer is twice as likely as a white officer to be subject to a misconduct allegation. As we saw in the treatment of Carol Howard, Robyn Williams and Khafi Kareem, if a black officer commits a misdemeanour there is an increased likelihood of the press getting hold of it and plastering it across the tabloids.

Force For Change

( Black people are hugely misrepresented in the police)

Those damaging stories were contorted to shame accomplished black female police officers, despite their excellent previous work. Although white male officers are regularly dismissed for gross misconduct and breaking the law, these cases often go under the radar and tend not to receive the same level of press coverage. In the case of Sean Rigg, the black British musician who died in police custody from a cardiac arrest after he was restrained by three officers for more than seven minutes, all five officers involved in the incident were cleared of misconduct. Black people often say we must work “twice as hard to be considered half as good”. All too often, I find myself biting my tongue to avoid being perceived as “the angry black” by white colleagues and senior white officers. When raising an issue, I take the bass out of my voice so I don’t intimidate who I’m speaking to. I have been likened to confectionery, heard racist language passed off as a joke and witnessed BAME officers in plain clothes accused of being intruders or told they look like they’ve just left the custody suite by other officers. That’s just in the last 12 months. The offenders continue to hold their jobs and one has even been promoted. So believe me, we understand the black community’s lack of trust in policing. As a black officer, turning up every day to an environment where those in power use their bias against you – bias cultivated by an organisation that refuses to truthfully acknowledge its history and persistent racism – makes it hard to feel safe. And this fear that we aren’t safe is reflected in the black communities we police. I love my job and always have. I joined the Met because I wanted to lead the way for children from my own community. These goals have been tainted by my experience so far. Here is an opportunity for the Met to self reflect. How does it treat its BAME staff? Why does the institutional racism identified in the Macpherson report continue to exist in 2020? And how will the Met better serve and mend its broken relationship with the black community in the months and years to come? -

The Issues

NOTICE

26 OF 43 FORCES IN ENGLAND HAVE 10

AND

WALES

FEWER

THAN

BLACK

OFFICERS

This means the force as a whole is still missing the target set in 1999 to be at least 7% from BAME backgrounds by 2009 - currently only 6.8-6.9% of officers are BAME. This is less than half the 14% proportion BAME people actually make up in the general population.

SUMMARY

Force For Change

NOTICE

PIECING THIS TOGETHER So you’ve seen the numbers you’ve read how it feels to be black and in the force, but what does this all mean? These numbers are the symptoms of systemic racism that stems from the force being so big and around for so long. It takes a lot to overhaul a force like the British Police and all too often these changes are suggested like the many from the Macpherson Report, the Lammy Review, the Angolini Review, I could go on, and fixed on the surface level - process are re-branded, re-named and things below that stay exactly the same. But in 2021 we can’t have suggestions ignored any longer - we have passed the tipping point, the protests of last summer represent the end of the general public sitting back and watching structural racism persist. Things must change the police force must represent the same values of the country that it protects otherwise the public are being held to a standard by the wrong people in the wrong ways. Deep structural change needs to happen - not just to change the police but to fix them. The police may not look broken through white eyes but I implore you to read back through the numbers, re-read the anonymous account from being inside the Met - and think why do you think she chose to remain anonymous? Try and look from the perspective of a Black man, an Asian woman, a teenager with Arab heritage. We have to have a force that serves us all - without that then the force is little more than comparable to a vigilante that does the dirty work for an underground society who dictate the rules. Why should an immigrant of African heritage feel any less at home or safe on the streets of Southampton than a Polish immigrant - we have moved past surface level racism and now we require more than surface level change. In the next chapter of the book I am going to set out a list of demands for the force and the justice system as a whole, I will cover things that should change, things that need to be worked on, and new elements that should be added to the force. I want to also detail a restructuring of the police to allow them to be more effective in their role, currently some of the problem - the lack of good police work - comes from being asked to do too many different things at once and that is due to no fault of the police themselves - that is down to the pace of the world we live in 46

The Change Issues

SECTION TWO THE LIST

CHANGE 47

Force For Change

SUMMARY

WE DEMAND YOU BE FAIR

2. WE LEARN

DEMAND FROM

YOU

THE

PAST

3. WE DEMAND YOU ACTIVELY COMBAT BIAS IN CURRENT AND 4. WE SIGHT

FUTURE DEMAND BY

OFFICERS OVERCIVILIANS

5. WE DEMAND YOU CREATE MORE TRANSPARENT PROCESSES AT EVERY LEVEL 48

Change

DEEPER

6. WE DEMAND YOU HAVE A BAME 7.

WE IN

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COUNCIL

DEMAND

REFORM

THE

8. WE

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9. WE DEMAND A MORE PROPORTIONAL USE OF FORCE 10. WE ING

DEMAND STOP

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Force For Change

THE LIST

1. FAIR

2. PAST

3. BIAS

This may seem simple but it also one of the most difficult points of the list. Equal treatment has been the corner stone of the fight for civil rights since the suffragettes - this is all we ask of the police. Treat everyone as you would like to be treated - with respect, understanding and dignity. This applies to things wider than just race.

Learning from the past is also easier said than done but its definitely possible. People won’t be as mad when things go wrong if they know that after an event such as the vigil for Sarah Everard, the BLM protests of 2020 or even something like the Hillsborough disaster the police will perform a proper review and things actually change. Be that adding a new process or forming a new body to monitor similar situations to stop things going wrong in the future. This could be a crisis team that can handle high pressure situations, a panel of high ranking officers that meet once a week to look at the events of the week in a certain area to discuss responses or even something as simple as an apology when the police get it wrong - admitting when things go wrong and taking appropriate steps with officers involved to help train them in different ways of dealing with the situation.

Policing the streets with racist officers is not something that is progressive or useful - a lot of bias’ are unconscious so fighting these are important. To do this you could implement a few strategies: starting with new recruits, part of the application process could be a bias test - focusing on race and ethnicity this would identify bias’ right from the start in officers that haven’t even begun training - this would allow for cutting out applicants with too high bias scores and the ones that get through this additional stage could have training targeted at their specific bias issues allowing for a much more effective and open incoming police force. This same test could be run with serving officers so that you can also understand the bias’ that they have. Those with too high scores could be either retrained to work in non-public facing roles or to be made redundant, those with more normal bias can be trained in ways that you can overcome bias or act more impartially. 50

Change

( Group of UK police after a briefing )

Those with more open bias or obvious ones will be more difficult to tackle but these will be easier to spot - for both implicit and explicit bias an intensive training course with annual refreshers would help to lessen their impact on policing greatly.

4. CIVILIANS

The police are there to protect the people - but what happens when that doesn’t happen? Who are the police answerable to? This should be the people. Putting together an elected board of civilians outside and independent of the police to review police decisions - not just cases where things went wrong this group should review all large decisions so that they can ensure the way the police is moving is in the public interest and in line with public opinion. Ensuring that these people are elected at the same time as other police related elections would be key in ensuring that they represent the people.

Force For Change

5. PROCESS What goes on inside the police is a mystery to most of us but, accountability and safety is key so having policies of transparency needs to be central to that of the reformed police. Our communities need to know that the police act accordingly to these policies and unfortunately this is not all police do abide by the rules they are supposed to so by requiring front-facing cameras to be actively recording for all on-duty police officers they will be able to be held accountable for their actions at all times while on the job. Also ensure at least two cruiser cameras are utilized in every police car: one facing toward the street and another facing toward the person in custody. Other areas of transparency are more simple, things like enforced publishing of diversity statistics - revealing the lack of diversity and holding forces accountable for not being a more welcoming place for POC to work. Publishing pay differences will help to keep the forces accountable to a fuller sense of equality. Also demanding more detailed race breakdowns on deaths in custody and use of force - over the last 10 years reporting has been inconsistent so comparing years has been difficult. It is important to have a racial breakdown on these things so we can find out in what areas the problem is most serious and needs the most work. ( Officer writing a FPN )

6. COUNCIL

As you have read the experience for a BAME officer is very different to that of a white officer - this BAME council would be formed of lower level BAME officers to give guidance to the decision makers to keep them in touch with how decisions might make minority officers feel. This move would allow decisions to be filtered out quickly and simply - this additional role could be switched around every 6 - 12 months so that as new recruits join then new opinions can be filtered to the very top of the police tree. This kind of strategy works well in businesses around the world so implementing it in to the force as it evolves would be relatively simple. This council could also question the commanding officers - bring to their attention points like - why do BAME officers disproportionately hug the lower ranks, should new targets be introduced? Areas such as London have a 40% population of BAME people and yet only 14% of the police there are BAME. 52

Change

7. COURT Like the police the courts system is not representative of the society we live in - this is recognised on the government website so clearly something needs to change. As has been repeated throughout this publication the UK is 14% BAME and the court and judicial system currently is well below that. The prison service is 6%, 7% in the judiciary, 11% amongst magistrates drives to employ a more representative proportion of the nation need to take place. This would make the system fairer in an easy way. Another way that the UK court system needs to change is that there needs to be a system for detecting juror bias. Stopping people with racial bias from serving on a trial where this factory may play a key role in their judgement would reduce the number of mistrials and would overall save money through improving efficiency and would make going to court less swayed. ( Police training in North Yorkshire)

A third way that the courts need to be reformed is to become more transparent - cameras are not allowed in UK court but having audio and transcripts of what goes on inside a court room published in the public domain would make the mystery of what goes on behind the doors much more solid. A final way to reform the courts is to have judges that pass sentences trained and informed on the disparities in sentencing for the exact same crimes committed by those of different races. This knowledge should be reiterated to judges when trials that it is relevant to come up - this would help keep future sentences in check.

8 TIME SERVED

Reviewing past sentences and disparities between POC and white people would allow for the justice system to make sweeping adjustments. As long as it is appropriate then sentences for crimes committed by POC should have their sentences reduced to be the same length as white counterparts. This would show a commitment to equality and would help families to be reunited - of course this should be reviewed on a case by case basis and can be influenced by behaviour inside but the prevailing thought should be to reduce the sentence.

Force For Change

9. FORCE As we have seen force is used more towards POC by the British police - getting a more proportional use of force is important to building up a better relationship with the wider public. Bringing down the number of incidents that might aggravate someone will lead to improved relations as a by product. If POC see that the police are not as bad as they were before these reforms then it will be much easier to build a new relationship between minorities and the police force. De-escalation training to help bring high-stress high-pressure situations under control through talking rather than hand cuffs and physical violence would be useful for all on the beat officers. Alternative methods to restrain moving away from going straight to putting people in handcuffs will help to show a new side to the police. While also reducing the use of force generally clear bans need to be imposed on neck holds or restraint techniques and also limiting the amount of time someone can be restrained under the weight of multiple officers will help to avoid situations like George Floyd in America. ( A met police officer performing a stop and search in London )

Change

> QUOTE

10. STOP & SEARCH

( Officer pulling over a car for a stop and search)

The police currently have the power to stop and search citizens across the UK under a wide range of legislative acts for the purpose of preventing and detecting crime. For years, this has been one of the most controversial and contentious police powers, with the promise of extending the powers regularly being used as the go-to rallying call for politicians who want to show that they are being ‘tough on crime’. The power has not proven useful to solve crimes as only between 3 and 13% of stops lead to an arrest and even less lead to a charge. All that has been proven is that you are 8.5 times more likely to be stopped and searched if you are black than if you are white. If you are Asian you are around 2.5 times more likely to be searched than a white person. There are largely 2 ways to be stopped and searched - with reasonable suspicion from an officer under a large array of acts or there are powers that do not require such suspicion, most notably section 60 of the Criminal Justice and Public Order Act 1994 (s60), intended to prevent acts of serious violence; and section 44 of the Terrorism Act 2000 (s44, since repealed) intended to prevent acts of terror. These are highly controversial as they allow the police to stop and search individuals in certain situations and they do not have reasonable suspicion at all. These problems mean that police do not have to have any reason to stop anyone. Although the powers of stop and search say that race is not a factor that can be used to stop someone - the numbers don’t lie. A report paper published by the British Journal of Criminology, which looked at 10 years of police, crime and other data sources from London it was found that: ‘the effect of stop and search on crime is likely to be marginal, at best. While there is some association between stop and search and crime (particularly drug crime), claims that this is an effective way to control and deter offending seem misplaced.’ So surely if stop and search barely works as a deterrent or an effective way to catch crime, then the only logical step would be to ban stop and search all together. This would allow officers more time to actually complete good police work and at the same time would stop the largest cause of alienation from the police of minorities in the UK.

Force For Change

DEEPER

IN A R SOCIETY, ENOUGH TO RACIST. WE ANTI-R 56

Change

> REVIEWS

RACIST IT IS NOT TO BE NONE MUST BE RACIST. - ANGELA DAVIS, AMERICAN POLITICAL ACTIVIST 57

Force For Change

QUOTE

BREAKING THE MOULD With a new review that has been called for by Boris Johnson in the wake of the 2020 protests that took over almost every town and city in the UK. This review is supposed to be looking in to all “aspects of inequality.” But as has been made clear throughout this manifesto there have been many reviews in the past that have not been acted upon. This is the mould that we look to break. No action is no longer acceptable. In this section I will go through each of the previous reviews and look at the suggestions that were proposed and see how they were acted upon. The view that this new review is not necessary is widely supported especially by David Lammy, the shadow justice secretary, who said the government should focus instead on implementing recommendations from existing reviews. Starting with the most recent review in to race - The Lammy Review (2017) - Lammy was asked to lead a government-backed review into the treatment of black and minority ethnic (BAME) individuals in the criminal justice system in England and Wales.

( David Lammy MP )

This report made 35 recommendations to the government, some of the key points were: introducing assessments of young offenders’ maturity, exploring how criminal records could be “sealed” or kept from employers, in particular for young people, allowing some prosecutions to be deferred, a new approach to record and publish ethnicity data and to explicitly explain or reform any instances where there are racial disparities. On 24 June, the Prime Minister said that 16 of the recommendations had been met, but Mr Lammy has since written to the Prime Minister saying that summary contained “a catalogue of falsehoods”. He said just six had actually been implemented and a further five had been partially implemented “at best”. The Ministry of Justice has, in some places, stated that some recommendations have been “completed”, even where they have rejected them on cost grounds or feasibility. This shows clear disregard for the importance of the review - unwilling to change and reform practices to ensure equality is achieved.

Change

The government says this has been “completed”, even though they said “we have no plans to require magistrates to follow an agreed number of individuals cases each year”. They have, however, increased “information sharing” between the youth justice system and magistrates. They have “completed” their actions, it could be argued, but not necessarily done what was recommended. In his letter to the prime minister, Mr Lammy says that “many of the injustices I raised in my review have since got worse” with the main cause for concern being the youth justice system. For example, young BAME individuals represent half of the entire youth justice system (see graph).

Percentages of Young People in Custody by Ethnicity 80%

= White population = BAME population

70% 60% 50% 40% 30% 20% 10% 0%

13 Years

Force For Change

The next review to do with the Police and justice system was the - Angiolini Review (2017) - a review of deaths in police custody, it found that, while the death rate of black individuals arrested was not disproportionate to white people in England, the proportion of deaths involving use of force was. It also found that mental health and intoxication was a major factor in deaths in police custody, meaning black people with mental health issues often suffered “double discrimination”. ( The Ministry of Justice Coat of Arms )

Only a handful of the 110 recommendations were specific to race which are: the police complaints body should explore more regularly whether race and discrimination played a factor, mandatory training and refresher training on the nature of discrimination, improvement of restraint-related deaths and ethnicity statistics. The government’s response or progress update did not make specific reference to deaths in police custody involving minority groups. But, the Independent Office for Police Conduct noted it had reviewed guidance on handling allegations of discrimination and given a better breakdown of data over the last two years. The government’s response here is very lacking - not even referencing the disparities in deaths in police custody involving different minority ethnicities. This shows no effort to develop the police force past the current point something that is hugely worrying in a 21st century society. The IOPC response is better but being just ‘better’ is not enough there needs to be large scale change to address the fact that BAME people are up to 5 times more likely to die after the use of police force and black people are dying at more than twice the rate that they are in wider society. The last review in to the police and justice system was the Macpherson Report (1999) - there have been many other reports such as the McGregor-Smith Review (2017) a review in to BAME groups in the workplace, The Timpson Review (2019) a review in to BAME children in school - this found BAME children are disproportionately excluded and the Parker Review (2017) looking in to high level BAME business leaders. But back to the Macpherson Review, a review called for in July 1997, more than four years after Stephen Lawrence was murdered by a group of white youths, the then home secretary Jack Straw announced the establishment of 60

Change

an inquiry into his death. It followed the dropping of charges against two youths, years of campaigning by the Lawrence family, the collapse of a private case by them and a subsequent announcement of an investigation into the case by the Police Complaints Authority. The point of the review was to “inquire into the matters arising from the death of Stephen Lawrence on 22 April 1993 to date, in order particularly to identify the lessons to be learned for the investigation and prosecution of racially motivated crimes”. There were 70 recommendations made and the Metropolitan Police were branded - Institutionally Racist. Some of the recommendations: - Government inspectors will have “full and unfettered powers” to inspect police services. An investigation into the Metropolitan Police will begin immediately, with particular emphasis on unsolved murders and the handling of racist incidents. - The Government will establish performance indicators to monitor the handling of racist incidents, levels of satisfaction with the police service among ethnic minorities, training of family and witness liaison officers, racial awareness training, stop and search procedures, recruitment of ethnic minorities and complaints about racism in police forces. - Police forces should reflect the cultural and ethnic mix of the communities they serve. - Race relations legislation should apply to all police officers. ( Sir William Macpherson, the leader of the Stephen Lawrence inquiry - known as the Macpherson report )

- The definition of a “racist incident” will now include incidents categorised in policing terms both as crimes and non-crimes. It will now encompass “any incident which is perceived to be racist by the victim or any other person”. A new Code of Practice will record all such crimes. - The public will be encouraged to report racist incidents by making it possible to report them 24 hours a day, and not only at police stations.

Force For Change

- Dedicated Family Liaison Officers must exist in every police force at local level. Any complaints or requests from a victim’s family must be recorded.

( Mark Duggan - man shot by police that sparked the 2011 riots )

- The Victim’s Charter should be reviewed, particularly for racist incidents. Trained victim and witness liaison officers to be available to all those in need In the judicial system these points were recommended: - Any evidence of racist motivation to be declared at all stages of the prosecution. No exclusions on the grounds of plea-bargaining. - Crown Prosecution Service must always notify a victim (or the victim’s family) of plans to discontinue a prosecution. - Full consideration of a change in the “double jeopardy” law to enable the appeal court to allow a new prosecution after acquittal “where fresh and viable evidence is presented”. - Consideration of a change in the law that would allow prosecution of racist offences that took place other than in public (such as in the home). - Consideration of the proposition that victims (or their families) become “civil parties” to criminal proceedings, enabling them to have access to all relevant information in the case. - Prevention of the intimidation of victims and witnesses through appropriate bail conditions. These changes to police procedure were recommended: - Revised first aid training for police officers - Review and revision of racial awareness training in police forces. Local ethnic minorities to be involved in regular training for all police.

Change

> BREAKING

MANY RECOMMENDATIONS HAVE BEEN REPEATED IN REPORT

AFTER

REPORT

- New powers to discipline police officers for five years after retirement.

- All proven “racist words or acts” should lead to disciplinary proceedings, and such behaviour should normally be punishable by dismissal. - New steps to ensure independent investigations into serious complaints against the police. - Review selection and promotion of officers at inspector level and above. - No change in the stop-and-search powers of the police. Records of all stop-and-search operations to be published, and a copy of the record given to the person involved. - Annual published reports on the progress of police authorities in meeting their ethnic minority recruitment, promotion and retention levels.

( The 2011 riots spread from Tottenham to most cities across the UK )

Force For Change

THE MOULD

( Bristol Riot in 2021 - followed a peaceful protest about a new police powers bill )

Looking back at a lot of these recommendations made nearly 20 years before the Lammy review there are still persistent issues. More than 20 years since the Macpherson report the government has not mentioned how much further it has got with meeting the recommendations - in 2009 it said there was at least some progress on 67 out of 70 but there was no confirmation of any actually being implemented or fully met. This is hugely disappointing. These suggestions are not unjustified they have been suggested after deep research and consideration - a 350 page report supports them all and yet there has been such little progress. Some of them are as simple as reviewing racial training - something that was also recommended in the Lammy report - and something that has been recommended again in this manifesto. Increasing recording of race in all situations has also been stipulated multiple times across the reports and is something that has been demanded in this report. The lack of transparency from the government and the police when it comes to the progress of responding to and working on the recommendations is shocking - falsehoods have been told by the government to cover up the clear institutional racism that is harboured - this is not acceptable. Now having seen many of the recommendations over the last 20 years of reviews in to the police and criminal justice system you can see how static this element of our society has been. Unbending the police and courts have broken. Now a defunct and ineffective force they do not stand for what they say they do - they do not lead to equality they do not serve and protect us all. They serve the white ruling class to the detriment of all other ethnicities, and they do this without an apology or even a facade of change. This most recent review called for by Boris Johnson will likely be no different. It will as expected lead to no change because the review system is not listened to by the government or the police. The institutions that rule and govern think that they are the law and they can keep us all in the box they put us in. But they are forgetting who they are here to serve. Both institutions are here for the people and the people demand change. The current force must break the mould set over the last two decades, they must change when demanded -

Over Change To You

SECTION THREE OVERVIEW

OVER TO YOU 65

Force For Change

BREAKING

OVERVIEW This section is going to provide a number of resources designed speculatively to help the police implement these new ideas and concepts. It will include new structure diagrams for how each force could be simplified and made more efficient and effective, questionnaires that could be used to help find bias, new uniform designs etc. These are not demands as such, that is what the last section promoted, these are simply suggestions from an outsiders’ perspective that may help the demands be implemented. But to ensure that these demands don’t fall short of the intended purpose and that this brings about more than just surface level change these suggestions provide easy routes for the police force to take to bring about deep change. Sometimes its helpful to sit change on this scale along side some surface level visual change to help provide a fresh mindset / blank canvas for the reformed police to build back from.

DESIGN CHANGE

Already discussed at the beginning of the manifesto is a rejuvenated colour scheme for the police to use. The addition of green in to the mix is a simple step but green can represent a lot and much of the colour theory behind green is very much in line with the direction the police will move when this manifesto is implemented. Green is a cool colour that symbolizes nature and the natural world. Perhaps because of its strong associations with nature, green is often thought to represent tranquillity, good luck, health and safety. Green is often also read as a calming colour - something that could help officers have an improved relation with residents of the UK. Being related to nature green also brings in that element of growth that the police force will be doing by implementing this new strategy. Keeping the original yellow and blue but just updating the colour codes a little to bring the three tones in to a more harmonious group that sit well together along side white and black. Using this Royal Blue (strength), Forest Green (calming) and a Golden Yellow (positivity) represents the way the police should be perceived if they’re doing their job right. 66

Over To You

> BIAS

The typography of the police is already very clear so this area does not need updating but - to eliminate inconsistency is key - this will make it very simple to understand what is a police sign, note or form. Currently signs made by individual forces and parishes can differ largely - a standard title, heading and legible typeface to use is Transport - already used by the police on much road signage and by some forces on printed signage. Body copy can be a simple typeface such as Arial as this is available widely and is legible even at small point sizes such as small print on a form.

Transport New Medium (shown) & Heavy

Aa Bb Cc Dd Ee Ff Gg Hh Ii Jj Kk Ll Mm Nn Oo Pp Qq Rr Ss Tt Uu Vv Ww Xx Yy Zz 1234567890?!

Arial Regular

Aa Bb Cc Dd Ee Ff Gg Hh Ii Jj Kk Ll Mm Nn Oo Pp Qq Rr Ss Tt Uu Vv Ww Xx Yy Zz 1234567890?!

Force For Change

DESIGN

DETECTING BIAS

To effectively change the police you need to do more than just change policy - bias’ towards certain groups is something that is inherent to every human being. This is not the fault of the force or the individual - it is just human nature. But to properly serve the people of the nation - of all races and ethnicities - officers need to be able to act impartially. To know what needs to be worked on then the force needs to find out its staffs bias’ and find out the bias of all future employees. This is an example of a questionnaire that could be used to help the force to gauge the understanding of bias and what it is. Levels of bias in different officers and departments can be detected with simple online tests that flash up images of people of different races and these have to be categorised. From the answers of these tests / questionnaires the police can than target specific training at each officer to help people learn about their bias’ and how to combat it, and also more general training about what bias’ are and information about different cultures.

( Screenshot of the online Harvard unconscious racial bias test )

Below is an example unconscious bias test for skin tone bias - this test is devised by the University of Harvard and is used widely but a specific test could be created for the UK police by an independent body. The next page is a questionnaire that could give an idea of understanding of bias, race and ethnicity within the force.

Over To You

Force For Change

Over To You

LARGER SCALE

So that the changes in detailed in this manifesto don’t fall by the wayside the implementation could also be supported by a shake up of the force unheard of in its history. The force being static for so long is partly to blame for it staying so stuck in the past - so don’t immediately reject the idea of a total overhaul. Currently the police structure is relatively complex, with each force run by a single commissioner, supported by a deputy commissioner, the force is then split in to 4 departments, which are run by assistant commissioners - the current 4 divisions are Operations and Administration, Transport, Personnel and Training and Criminal Investigations. These 4 divisions are supported by a deputy assistant commissioner, who has up to 10 Chief Superintendents under their direction - these people play a critical lead role in operational policing for major or critical events or incidents; planning and directing the activities in line with the legal framework and wider policing policies/objectives to uphold the law and ensure public safety and strengthen public confidence, Superintendents support the Chief Super’s in their role. Below the Super’s are Chief Inspectors who plan, manage and monitor daily operational policing activity. They effectively and efficiently set the plan for deployment of resources to incidents, including major and/or critical incidents. Chief Inspectors manage and mitigate risk effectively in order ensure the safety and well-being of officers, staff and the public and to respond effectively to problems, incidents and crime. Each Chief Inspector may have a couple of inspectors also assigned to their case or task to help with the day to day running of activity.

( A constable sat at his desk in the police station)

The bottom two rungs on the police ladder are Sergeants and Constables, Sergeants are the first level of responsibility - they will co-ordinate, monitor and respond where necessary, to front line policing activity to uphold the law, enable public safety and build public confidence in policing in line with legal frameworks and policy guidelines. Responsible for enabling the development of competence within their team of constables whilst ensuring that organisational standards are met and objectives achieved. Constables play a critical front-line role in the prevention and detection of crime and the criminal justice system. Constables work in partnership on a day-to-day basis with local communities, stakeholders and colleagues in order to promote law and order, reduce the fear of crime, provide reassurance and build confidence to improve the quality of life for citizens.

Force For Change

BIAS

In my total restructuring I have removed a number of upper levels of the police structure so that remaining roles can take on the other responsibilities. This will leave more room in the budget for a larger number of the lower level officers so that there is more engagement with the public. This will help to bring back the public confidence in the police - showing the force to be more effective but also allowing a deeper relationship to be built. Removing Chief Superintendent, Commander totally and reducing the numbers of Superintendents in each division has allowed for 1.5 times as many constables and sergeants and an increase in inspectors.

( A restraint used too often for non-corporative suspects )

The flow chart also has stopped being a tree - the Commissioner now sits under a Civilian oversight body made up of 5 members that will be elected in each constabulary - it is an odd number so that there is never an tied vote. This oversight body will be able to question force wide decisions and initiatives and will be able to present methods to move the force forward. This oversight can be brought in at any level so all officers are also answerable to this committee - bringing the policing back to people with the public interests at heart. The simplification of the upper levels of policing allows for 2 new specialist division to be created - the mental health focused division and a community relations division. The mental health division would receive more detailed specific training on handling situations involving those with poor mental health and conditions that impair decision making ability - this would not mean that other officers don’t receive training in this area but these specialist officers would be first to respond. These are appropriate as BAME people are more likely to suffer poor mental health so would help to reduce force being used in situations like breakdowns, domestic violence and disputes. The community relations officers would specifically be trained in procuring a relationship between themselves and the people of their given post code - each set of partnered officers would have an area they patrol and when incidents in their community occur they will be on hand to support the community and to provide transparency of the police activities occurring - the officers would receive deeper racial training and also training specific to the areas ethnic makeup. This would help to reduce the disenfranchisement of minorities from the police as these officers are not actively perusing crime. Though in the event they come across wrong doing they will pursue community based punishment such as cleaning for graffiti offences, volunteering for shoplifting etc. 72

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> DIAGRAM

In this new model police at all levels would receive deep training in defusing high-stress situations. This would be beneficial to not escalating tension and avoid unnecessary charges caused by miscommunication between officers and the public. There would also be training to all officers in restraints that do not restrict the breathing of suspects to remove as much probability as possible of injury or death. This new styled model is un-costed and untested but this kind of practice would allow for officers investigating crimes to not waste their time on smaller issues that could be dealt with by community relations officers. This compartmentalising of policing would allow for the force to be run more efficiently. As is shown in the private sector when tasks are specialised people become better at dealing with the few tasks they are asked to and they can deal with them quicker. Asking all constables to respond to all call outs seems irresponsible - sending in an officer with at most a few hours mental health training to a case of someone having a break down and going on a robbing spree is unlikely to lead to a positive outcome.

( Police in Devon and Cornwall Police out with mental health professionals )

The mental health division could be sent in and diffuse the situation much more effectively - being able to recognise the issue more specifically, understand possible triggers of negative behaviours and also rather than threatening arrest will be able to offer support and facilities to be taken to willingly rather than in cuffs in the back of a police van. This is not too far from something that already happens in some forces where the police and charities work together with one squad.

Force Force For For Change Change

NOTICE

£18.2 BILLION FOR A FORCE THAT LESS THAN HALF THINK PROVIDES

EFFECTIVE

SERVICE

NOT GOOD VALUE FOR MONEY

Improving efficiency in the manners explained could lead to real-time savings and increases in the public’s confidence. This would benefit the police in a two fold way, through saving money and increasing support.

UK POLICE STRUCTURE Over To You

COMMISSIONER

DEPUTY COMMISSIONER

DEPUTY ASSISTANT COMMISSIONER

COMMANDER

CHIEF SUPERINTENDENT

ASSISTANT COMMISSIONER

DEPUTY ASSISTANT COMMISSIONER

COMMANDER

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CHIEF INSPECTOR

CHIEF INSPECTOR CHIEF INSPECTOR CHIEF INSPECTOR CHIEF INSPECTOR CHIEF INSPECTOR CHIEF INSPECTOR

INSPECTOR INSPECTOR INSPECTOR INSPECTOR INSPECTOR INSPECTOR INSPECTOR INSPECTOR INSPECTOR INSPECTOR INSPECTOR INSPECTOR

CHIEF INSPECTOR

INSPECTOR INSPECTOR INSPECTOR INSPECTOR INSPECTOR INSPECTOR INSPECTOR INSPECTOR INSPECTOR INSPECTOR INSPECTOR INSPECTOR

CONSTABLE CONSTABLE CONSTABLE CONSTABLE CONSTABLE CONSTABLE CONSTABLE CONSTABLE CONSTABLE CONSTABLE CONSTABLE CONSTABLE CONSTABLE CONSTABLE CONSTABLE CONSTABLE

SERGEANTS SERGEANTS SERGEANTS SERGEANTS SERGEANTS SERGEANTS SERGEANTS SERGEANTS SERGEANTS SERGEANTS SERGEANTS SERGEANTS SERGEANTS SERGEANTS

CONSTABLE CONSTABLE CONSTABLE CONSTABLE CONSTABLE CONSTABLE CONSTABLE CONSTABLE CONSTABLE CONSTABLE CONSTABLE CONSTABLE CONSTABLE CONSTABLE CONSTABLE CONSTABLE

SERGEANTS SERGEANTS SERGEANTS SERGEANTS SERGEANTS SERGEANTS SERGEANTS SERGEANTS SERGEANTS SERGEANTS SERGEANTS SERGEANTS SERGEANTS

CONSTABLE CONSTABLE CONSTABLE CONSTABLE CONSTABLE CONSTABLE CONSTABLE CONSTABLE CONSTABLE CONSTABLE CONSTABLE CONSTABLE CONSTABLE CONSTABLE CONSTABLE CONSTABLE

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CHIEF INSPECTOR

CHIEF INSPECTOR CHIEF INSPECTOR CHIEF INSPECTOR CHIEF INSPECTOR CHIEF INSPECTOR CHIEF INSPECTOR

SERGEANTS SERGEANTS SERGEANTS SERGEANTS SERGEANTS SERGEANTS SERGEANTS SERGEANTS SERGEANTS SERGEANTS SERGEANTS SERGEANTS SERGEANTS

COMMANDER

CHIEF SUPERINTENDENT

SERGEANTS SERGEANTS SERGEANTS SERGEANTS SERGEANTS SERGEANTS SERGEANTS SERGEANTS SERGEANTS SERGEANTS SERGEANTS SERGEANTS SERGEANTS

CONSTABLE CONSTABLE CONSTABLE CONSTABLE CONSTABLE CONSTABLE CONSTABLE CONSTABLE CONSTABLE CONSTABLE CONSTABLE CONSTABLE CONSTABLE CONSTABLE CONSTABLE CONSTABLE

SERGEANTS SERGEANTS SERGEANTS SERGEANTS SERGEANTS SERGEANTS SERGEANTS SERGEANTS SERGEANTS SERGEANTS SERGEANTS SERGEANTS SERGEANTS SERGEANTS

CONSTABLE CONSTABLE CONSTABLE CONSTABLE CONSTABLE CONSTABLE CONSTABLE CONSTABLE CONSTABLE CONSTABLE CONSTABLE CONSTABLE CONSTABLE CONSTABLE CONSTABLE CONSTABLE

SERGEANTS SERGEANTS SERGEANTS SERGEANTS SERGEANTS SERGEANTS SERGEANTS SERGEANTS SERGEANTS SERGEANTS SERGEANTS SERGEANTS SERGEANTS

CONSTABLE CONSTABLE CONSTABLE CONSTABLE CONSTABLE CONSTABLE CONSTABLE CONSTABLE CONSTABLE CONSTABLE CONSTABLE CONSTABLE CONSTABLE CONSTABLE CONSTABLE CONSTABLE

TRANSPORT DIVISION

CONSTABLE CONSTABLE CONSTABLE CONSTABLE CONSTABLE CONSTABLE CONSTABLE CONSTABLE CONSTABLE CONSTABLE CONSTABLE CONSTABLE CONSTABLE CONSTABLE CONSTABLE CONSTABLE

SERGEANTS SERGEANTS SERGEANTS SERGEANTS SERGEANTS SERGEANTS SERGEANTS SERGEANTS SERGEANTS SERGEANTS SERGEANTS SERGEANTS SERGEANTS SERGEANTS

CONSTABLE CONSTABLE CONSTABLE CONSTABLE CONSTABLE CONSTABLE CONSTABLE CONSTABLE CONSTABLE CONSTABLE CONSTABLE CONSTABLE CONSTABLE CONSTABLE CONSTABLE CONSTABLE

SERGEANTS SERGEANTS SERGEANTS SERGEANTS SERGEANTS SERGEANTS SERGEANTS SERGEANTS SERGEANTS SERGEANTS SERGEANTS SERGEANTS SERGEANTS

CONSTABLE CONSTABLE CONSTABLE CONSTABLE CONSTABLE CONSTABLE CONSTABLE CONSTABLE CONSTABLE CONSTABLE CONSTABLE CONSTABLE CONSTABLE CONSTABLE CONSTABLE CONSTABLE

SPECIALIST OPERATIONS DIVISION

INSPECTOR INSPECTOR INSPECTOR INSPECTOR INSPECTOR INSPECTOR INSPECTOR INSPECTOR INSPECTOR INSPECTOR INSPECTOR INSPECTOR

SERGEANTS SERGEANTS SERGEANTS SERGEANTS SERGEANTS SERGEANTS SERGEANTS SERGEANTS SERGEANTS SERGEANTS SERGEANTS SERGEANTS SERGEANTS

CONSTABLE CONSTABLE CONSTABLE CONSTABLE CONSTABLE CONSTABLE CONSTABLE CONSTABLE CONSTABLE CONSTABLE CONSTABLE CONSTABLE CONSTABLE CONSTABLE CONSTABLE CONSTABLE

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CONSTABLE CONSTABLE CONSTABLE CONSTABLE CONSTABLE CONSTABLE CONSTABLE CONSTABLE CONSTABLE CONSTABLE CONSTABLE CONSTABLE CONSTABLE CONSTABLE CONSTABLE CONSTABLE

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CONSTABLE CONSTABLE CONSTABLE CONSTABLE CONSTABLE CONSTABLE CONSTABLE CONSTABLE CONSTABLE CONSTABLE CONSTABLE CONSTABLE CONSTABLE CONSTABLE CONSTABLE CONSTABLE

CRIMINAL INVESTIGATION DIVISION

OPERATIONS & ADMINISTRATION DIVISION This diagram shows how the UK police are structured - it is slightly simplified as the Constables, Sergeants and Inspectors have junior and senior ranks within them. The constable ranks actually have up to 100 times as many in this group as is shown on the diagram depending on the size of the force. Sergeants also have up to 100 times as many members with the Met police (the largest force in the UK) having 440. Inspectors have up to 2.5 times as many getting up to 120 inspectors per force. Chief Inspectors can be up to 40 times as big as is shown with up to 275 people at this level, Superintendents are roughly the same proportion bigger. Chief Super Intendants can be up to 2.8 times larger than shown with up to 50 per force. Commanders have anywhere between 4 and 5 times as many at this level. Anything above this level is exactly as shown.

SERGEANTS SERGEANTS SERGEANTS SERGEANTS SERGEANTS SERGEANTS SERGEANTS SERGEANTS SERGEANTS SERGEANTS SERGEANTS SERGEANTS SERGEANTS

CHIEF INSPECTOR CHIEF INSPECTOR CHIEF INSPECTOR CHIEF INSPECTOR CHIEF INSPECTOR CHIEF INSPECTOR

Commissioner: The Commissioner is the head of the Metropolitan Police Service. The Commissioner is appointed for a period of five years under the Police Act 1996. The post is accountable to the Home Secretary and MPA, chaired by Mayor of London and must answer to the public nationality. Deputy Commissioner: The Deputy Commissioner is the second-in-command of the Metropolitan Police Service. Deputy Commissioner: The Deputy Commissioner is the second-in-command of the Metropolitan Police Service. Deputy Assistant Commissioner: This is the rank between Assistant Commissioner and Commander. Commander: The Commander is a rank common to both the Metropolitan Police Service and the City of London Police. In both the police forces, the rank is senior to Chief Superintendent. Chief Superintendent: This is the sixth position of the Police Hierarchy. This post is senior to a Superinten-

Superintendent: The rank of Superintendent is above the Chief Inspector and below the Chief Superintendent. The badge of this rank is a crown worn on the epaulettes. Chief Inspector: A Chief Inspector is senior to an Inspector and is junior to a Superintendent. They perform a variety of functions on the basis of the different types of forces. Inspector: The Inspector is the second supervisory rank. The inspectors are directly concerned with the day to day policing. Sergeant: Sergeant is the first supervisory rank. The rank is senior to that of Constable and junior to that of Inspector. The Sergeants mainly supervise a group of constables and assigns duties to them. Police Constable: The Police Constable post is junior to Sergeant and senior to the Special Constable. The Police constables supervise the work of Special constables. Police Constable: The Police Constable post is junior to Sergeant and senior to the Special

The polices primary duties are the protection of life and property, preservation of the peace, and prevention and detection of criminal offences. In the British model of policing, officers exercise their powers to police with the implicit consent of the public. Here is the oath taken by British police: I (name) ...of (police force)... do solemnly and sincerely declare and affirm that I will well and truly serve the Queen in the office of constable, with fairness, integrity, diligence and impartiality, upholding fundamental human rights and according equal respect to all people; and that I will, to the best of my power, cause the peace to be kept and preserved and prevent all offences against people and property; and that while I continue to hold the said office I will to the best of my skill and knowledge discharge all the duties thereof faithfully according to law.

Force For Change

NEW POLICE STRUCTURE Over To You

OVERSIGHT COMMITTEE MEMBER

COMMISSIONER

DEPUTY COMMISSIONER

ASSISTANT COMMISSIONER

DEPUTY ASSISTANT COMMISSIONER

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CONSTABLE CONSTABLE CONSTABLE CONSTABLE CONSTABLE CONSTABLE CONSTABLE CONSTABLE CONSTABLE CONSTABLE CONSTABLE CONSTABLE CONSTABLE CONSTABLE CONSTABLE CONSTABLE CONSTABLE CONSTABLE CONSTABLE CONSTABLE CONSTABLE CONSTABLE CONSTABLE CONSTABLE CONSTABLE CONSTABLE CONSTABLE CONSTABLE CONSTABLE CONSTABLE CONSTABLE CONSTABLE

OPERATIONS & ADMINISTRATION DIVISION

INSPECTOR INSPECTOR INSPECTOR INSPECTOR INSPECTOR

TRANSPORT DIVISION

This diagram shows a new design structure for the force, I have simplified the upper ranks so that there is more focus on the on the beat coppers who actually interact with the public on a day to day basis. Removing the Commander and Chief Superintendent entirely would massively reduce the staff costs. I have also reduced the numbers of Superintendents, Chief Inspectors and Inspectors so that each division is more streamlined. To make up the force to remain the same size overall I have increased the sizes of Constable forces and Sergeants so that there are more police to be visibly seen doing police work. I have left the proportions that

INSPECTOR INSPECTOR INSPECTOR INSPECTOR INSPECTOR

SPECIAL OPERATIONS DIVISION

tors have up to 2.5 times as many getting up to 120 inspectors per force. Chief Inspectors can be up to 40 times as big as is shown with up to 275 people at this level, Superintendents are roughly the same proportion bigger. Chief Super Intendants can be up to 2.8 times larger than shown with up to 50 per force. Commanders have anywhere between 4 and 5 times as many at this level. Anything above this level is exactly as shown. The roles performed by each level of policing will be the same as the original police struc-

ASSISTANT COMMISSIONER

DEPUTY ASSISTANT COMMISSIONER

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MENTAL HEALTH DIVISION

ASSISTANT COMMISSIONER

DEPUTY ASSISTANT COMMISSIONER

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CHIEF INSPECTOR CHIEF INSPECTOR CHIEF INSPECTOR

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CRIMINAL INVESTIGATION DIVISION

In this restructuring there are two new defined divisions of policing - these are directly inspired by the figures and points raised in the first two chapters of this manifesto. The new divisions will specifically focus on improving areas of policing that are currently lacking - The Mental Health Division would focus on call outs for mental health problems and domestic violence - receiving more in-depth specific training to respond to call outs of this nature so that they can better support the public in their capacities - they will have the ability to section people under the mental health act and also to arrest those that are a danger to society

SUPERINTENDENT SUPERINTENDENT SUPERINTENDENT

CHIEF INSPECTOR CHIEF INSPECTOR CHIEF INSPECTOR

INSPECTOR INSPECTOR INSPECTOR INSPECTOR INSPECTOR

COMMUNITY RELATIONS DIVISION

The Community Relations Division will be the group that has the most impact on the issues raised in this outcome - they will be the police patrolling communities and will usually be the first on the scene, these police will receive specific race and ethnicity training with enhanced bias combating training. They will not have the power to stop and search but will be there to support communities and to police communities fairly creating a new name for the police in areas for. This will allow those in other divisions to focus more on their job rather than trying to target minority communities due to stereotypes.

Force For Change

Over To You

> SIGNS & UNIFORM

SENTENCE REDUCING

To attempt to make up for the disparities in sentencing for the same crimes, all BAME inmates currently serving over the average white sentence, will receive a letter of apology. This letter will inform them of how much their sentence was over the necessary amount and each will have this amount taken off the time they are required to serve. Prisoners would still have to be approved by a board to be released from prison so that no one that is not ready to be released or is dangerous will be allowed out on to the streets of the UK. The below example is a idea of the content of the apology letter that should be sent to prisoners.

Force For Change

NEW SIGNAGE

To support the full re-branding and restructuring of the force, new signage would need to be devised this would encompass the new colour and also a new tone. Signage could approach covering areas that aren’t currently covered by the police such as signs for bridges known for suicides, supported by the new mental health division, signage in shops advertising the new role community officers play and the support they can offer. These are all just suggestions but they could have real potential to help people see the new side to the reformed national force.

POLICE

ROAD TRAFFIC ACCIDENT

POLICE WE’RE HERE TO HELP TEXT OR CALL US ANY TIME

( Blue - a classic police sign slightly changed, Yellow - a new sign that could be used to advertise the new community officers in shops or on noticeboards, the Green - could be placed on bridges to advertise the new contact for mental health division )

0101 MENTAL HEALTH TRAINED OFFICERS PATROL THIS AREA HOURLY, DON’T STRUGGLE ON YOUR OWN

Over To You

NEW UNIFORMS

To support the two new more informal arms of the police a new uniform would be helpful to shift people’s preconceptions of the force. These new more relaxed uniforms would show the public that the new divisions have a different role and that first and foremost they are not there to accuse people but actually there to support them. This would be most visible in the Mental Health Division. Often a police officer is the first, and in most cases, the only emergency response to attend to mental health call outs. Not having the classic police uniform might help to diffuse the situations which disproportionately happen to POC. This would make people not feel as if they are about to be put in prison for having a mental health crisis. These new uniforms would also help in the community relations team allowing the police blend in more with the communities they serve and become part of it rather than an ‘other’. To maintain security while removing the visible police vest a new ultra thin kevlar vest can be employed underneath the t-shirts. New combination gel and kevlar vests make it possible to be just 3.5mm thick and flexible.

( Left - Front design concept for Mental Health Division, Right - back design concept for mental health division )

Force For Change

SIGNS

( Green colour way for mental health team to use new police colour but also to subconsciously relate to tranquillity, good luck, health for the situation they will deal with )

( Blue colour way for community relations team to keep legibility high and to benefit from the calming effects and the symbolism of strength associated with the colour )

Over To You

> DIAGRAM

( Space for a mini radio to be clipped up here for ease of access rather than having to use belt mounted radio )

( All type and stitching contains reflective crystals so reduced need to wear additional reflective outerwear )

( Information on both sides to allow all officers to be identified at all times, officers numbers on sleeves of jumpers aswell )

( Large type to allow officers to be identified from a distance by those in need or by other officers in operations )

( Unique 2 letter and 4 digit identifying code to allow all officers to be easily identified )

Force For Change

To get around the issues of not having the usual police vest with all its pockets increasing the use of the police belt would be an easy way to relocate key items - the police belt use varies from force to force. Within the new divisions this is where key elements can now be stored, things such as, handcuffs, pepper spray and radios can be stored here. To keep the benefit of the new uniform the possible trigger items such as handcuffs and pepper spray should be on the back of the belt still accessible but not somewhere in the direct line of sight.

( Barely used police belt )

( Police in cargo trousers, but only one additional pocket is in use)

New trousers are also a need for the new force, current trousers are often impractical smart trousers, replacing these with cargo trousers with multiple additional pockets, some with zips for added security. Additional items that are less vital to have immediate access to or that don’t need to be on display can go in these pockets. Some forces already use cargo’s but this would standardise. Body cameras can be attached T-shirts and jumpers through to the kevlar vest underneath for security. These new extra thin kevlar vests worn underneath the outerwear would help reduce the barrier between police and the public, but still keep the force safe.

Over To You

SO WHAT NOW?

( Most call outs wont require this kind of equipment but this will provide peace of mind for officers that though the uniform has changed their the priority of their safety has not ) ( Combination of shock absorbing gel and kevlar woven fabric )

( Possible to get kevlar stab vests as thin as 3.5mm so it would be easily concealed )

( As light as 2kg )

( Could be also branded with officers numbers and divisions so that it can be worn on the outside of T-shirts for more dangers call outs or areas )

( Breathable and flexible to support the wearer for a full shift )

Force For Change

SO NOW? So you’ve read the numbers on why this is needed, you’ve seen the demands on what is necessary and you’ve even seen our suggestions on what could be put in place to make this reformation more effective. Whoever you are reading this there a many things you can do to make this little book have some more impact. If you’re just a normal civilian like me - we can protest, sign petitions, email your local MP, council or even your constabulary but also something often forgotten is that we can vote. We vote in the top police officer in each area - they will publish their priorities and you can choose who you want to get in to office. This is the quickest most direct method to actually achieve police change - a vote on the Police and Crime Commissioners took place on the 6th May 2021. The PCCs are similar to the suggestion in the book of having the police answerable to a civilian board of directors but in a much more limited form - having a larger board would make representing a larger group of people more possible rather than just one person.

( Poll card for electing new PCC )

The pressure on the police has not been higher since the 2011 riots - March 2021 there have been riots and protests taking place up and down the country trying to stop new powers being added by the government. With these new demands we can place more pressure on the government and the force to change. If you are a member of the force you can do even more - actively you can embody the ideal officer, you can recognise your bias and you can consistently support movements you believe in. But also you can put pressure on from the inside asking your commanding officers about the things in place to support BAME officers, you can be a friend to those from minorities on your force and you can ask for a meeting with your commissioner and you can ask questions about the points raised in this book, maybe even leave a copy on their desk. Generally though - what needs to happen is we need to spread the message and spread awareness of how differently people of colour are treated in the UK justice system. Once the public know about the scale and depth of these disparities then this will not be tolerated. 2021 can be the year that change happens.

Over To You

INCREASED RELEVANCE

In the final days of setting this manifesto up for print the recent report ordered by Boris Johnson after the Black Lives Matter protests of 2020 was published. This report was called ‘The report of the Commission on Race and Ethnic Disparities’ and it was led by Tony Sewell but was pushed in to reality by Johnson’s advisor Munira Mirza. This report concluded that “we can no longer see a Britain where the system is deliberately rigged against ethnic minorities.” This finding directly contradicts every past report looking in to the impact race has on people’s experience of life in the UK. The report even suggests stopping racial bias training, something integral for many white people needing to understand the ways they may unconsciously be perpetuating racism. On announcing the findings of the report there has been a widespread rejection of its findings, people quoted as being consulted and contributing research to the report have come forward saying they were not properly consulted or their findings were taken out of context. This shows how much the government were perusing a “certain outcome” from the outset. Mirza herself has denied the existence of institutional racism before the report was comissioned, as has Sewell the person she chose to run the report. Something looks a lot like the government marking their own homework here... There have been a number of calls from charities to and movements for the government to withdraw the report but there has been no response from Number 10.

( Munira Mirza - one of Boris Johnson’s top advisors )

This frankly shocking abuse of power gives space for an outright denial of racism in the UK and the report doesn’t even cover the instigator of the protests of 2020, police brutality against POC. The ill prepared report shows just how much we need police and justice reform alongside much wider far reaching institutional reform in every section of the country. I would love to go in to much more detail about everything that is wrong about the report but there’s not enough space in the book left. But you can read it for yourself - there are a number of useful breakdowns of the report and its critics, one on the guardian is good, there’s also one on CNN and the BBC.

Force For Change

CREDITS

1 - ‘Institutional racism’: 20 years since Stephen Lawrence inquiry - Robert Booth, 22 / 02 / 2021 2 - The Stephen Lawrence Inquiry Report - Sir William Macpherson Of Cluny, 02 / 1999 3 - The Lammy Review, An independent review into the treatment of, and outcomes for, Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic individuals in the Criminal Justice System - David Lammy MP, 09 / 2017 4 - The Race Disparity Audit, Cabinet Office, 10 / 10/ 2017 5 - Boris Johnson should implement previous race review recommendations before starting a new one - Gavin Freeguard, 18 / 06 / 2020 6 - Macpherson Report—Ten Years On, Houses of Parliment, 2010 7 - Police Workforce statistics, Gov.uk, 03 / 2020 8 - All the data on black people and the police in England and Wales, In your Area, 05 / 06 / 2020 9 - Criminal justice system statistics - Institute of Race Relations, 2015 10 - Race and the criminal justice system statistics 2018, Ministry of Justice, 08 / 11 / 2018 11 - The Colour of Injustice: ‘Race’, drugs and law enforcement in England and Wales - Michael Shiner, Zoe Carre, Rebekah Delsol and Niamh Eastwood - 2012 12 - The Numbers In Black And White: Ethnic Disparities In The Policing And Prosecution Of Drug Offences In England And Wales - Niamh Eastwood, Michael Shiner And Daniel Bear, 2014 13 - Hate crime, England and Wales, 2019 to 2020 - UK GOV, 10 / 2020 14 - Racially motivated hate crimes for 2018 to 2020 - ONS, 2020 15 - Black people nine times more likely to face stop and search than white people Vikram Dodd, 27 / 10 / 2020 16 - Stop and think: A critical review of the use of stop and search powers in England and Wales - Equality and Human Rights Comission, 2010 17 - What has really happened since Macpherson’s report - Shamaan Freeman-Powell, 24 / 02 / 2019 18 - Leroy Logan: the man who risked everything to fight racism in the police force – from within - Hugh Muir, 20 /10 / 2020 19 - As a black police officer, I know the Met is still institutionally racist -Anonymous, 15 / 06 / 2020 20 - Black and blue: the secret lives of BAME police officers - Hugh Muir, 07 / 02 / 2021 21 - Stop-and-search ethnic disparity ‘troubling’ - BBC Editors, 12 / 12 / 2017 22 - Harvard Unconscious Bias Test - University of Harvard, 2015 23 - William H. Freivogel. St Louis: Desegregation and School Choice. Century Foundation Press. 2002 24 - Matthew Ladner and Christopher Hammons. Special but Unequal: Race and Special Educa tion. Houston Baptist University. 2000 25 - Linda Darling-Hammond. Unequal Opportunity: Race and Education. Education, Race. Education, Race. Spring 1998 26 - St. Lois Government. 1996. St. Louis Historic Context. Education. 28. 04.2010. Official web site of St. Louis city. 27 - Amy Stuart Wells. St. Louis Evaluates Its Pioneer Integration Plan. The New York Times. June 8, 1988 28 - Burke, A. (2015). The extent of conflict between being black and being British. Criminal Justice Matters, 101(1), pp.6-9. 29 - Cloake, J. and Tudor, R. (2001). Multicultural Britain. 1st ed. Oxford: Oxford University Press. 30 - Denham, J. (2007). Young black people and the criminal justice system. 1st ed. London: Stationery Office. 31 - Hood, R. (2008). Discrimination in the courts?. In: B. Spalek, ed., Ethnicity And Crime: A Reader: A Reader, 1st ed. Berkshire: Open University Press, pp.54-63. 32 - Keith, M. (2008). Between Being and Becoming? Rights, Responsibilities and the Politics of Multiculture in the New East End. Sociological Research Online, 13(5). 33 - Rowe, M. (2012). Race & Crime (Key Approaches to Criminology). 1st ed. London and Thousand Oaks: Sage Publications.8 - All the data on black people and the police in England and

A Manifesto

34 - Criminal justice system statistics - Institute of Race Relations, 2015 35 - Race and the criminal justice system statistics 2018, Ministry of Justice, 08 / 11 / 2018 36 - The Colour of Injustice: ‘Race’, drugs and law enforcement in England and Wales - Michael Shiner, Zoe Carre, Rebekah Delsol and Niamh Eastwood - 2012 37 - The Numbers In Black And White: Ethnic Disparities In The Policing And Prosecution Of Drug Offences In England And Wales - Niamh Eastwood, Michael Shiner And Daniel Bear, 2014 38 - Hate crime, England and Wales, 2019 to 2020 - UK GOV, 10 / 2020

Force For Change

First published in 2021 by UWE Publishing in Bristol. Introduction & much of the writing by Seb Lansdowne, with occasional help from writers using other authors writing under the cover of rights for students to use content without fear of litigation from copyright infringement as production of this book is for purposes of study and not intended for sale or reproduction to be disseminated further than necessary to obtain a first class degree. Design by SebLan Infographics by SebLan Information collected through academic research. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying recording or otherwise, without the prior permission of the copyright holder © 2021 Printed in Bristol, England, on sustainable paper using minimal waste as to reduce the impact of this book on the current climate situation. ISBN 392-1-28342812-12-5 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1

TRYING TO FIX A PRODUCT OF INSTITUTIONAL RACISM

A MANIFESTO WRITTEN BY SEB LANSDOWNE

TIMELESS PROBLEMS

TIMELY SOLUTIONS