Update on the Stephen Lawrence Inquiry report

Report: 08
Date: 1 December 2005
By: Commissioner

Summary

This report provides an update on progress in meeting the Stephen Lawrence Inquiry Report recommendations and related future governance arrangements.

A. Recommendations

That:

1. Members note the content of this report and the attached appendices; and
2. Members endorse the progress made towards the recommendations contained within this report and satisfy themselves that they are being monitored and progressed effectively.

B. Supporting information

1. The Stephen Lawrence Inquiry into policing reported on the failed police investigation into Stephen Lawrence’s murder and the broader issue of Black and Minority Ethnic communities’ trust in policing. The Inquiry Report pointed to fundamental flaws in the investigation that were attributed to professional incompetence, institutional racism and a failure of leadership.

2. The Home Secretary published an action plan for implementing the seventy recommendations of the Inquiry in 1999, overseen by the then Lawrence Steering Group, consisting of independent members, police and other agencies.

3. The Metropolitan Police Service (MPS) Diversity and Citizen Focus Directorate (DCC4) provides six-monthly updates on each recommendation, in the form of a status report, to the MPS Lawrence Review Group. This group includes significant internal and external stakeholders, including the Metropolitan Police Authority (MPA), and is the mechanism whereby consultation and communication take place in seeking to progress the recommendations. The most recent update is provided at Appendix 1, which outlines the progress, outcomes and activities associated with each individual recommendation. Members should note that the Lawrence Review Group has not yet met to consider this latest update.

4. The update suggests that the following recommendations still require further activity or assessment. Other relevant reports, which complement the 70 recommendations, are shown in brackets – these refer to:

• Commission for Racial Equality Formal Investigation into the Police Service (CRE)
• The Morris Inquiry Report The Case for Change, an examination of professional standards and employment matters within the MPS, and also national issues and wider issues of leadership and management (Morris)
• Assistant Commissioner Tarique Ghaffur’s Thematic Review of Race and Diversity in the MPS (Ghaffur)

5. As Outlined in the report on the MPS Race Equality Scheme to the MPA Full Authority on 29 September 2005, the governance arrangements for race and diversity delivery are being reviewed. It is proposed that the new arrangements will more actively and effectively monitor all aspects of diversity, which explicitly includes the Stephen Lawrence recommendations. In this way, the Diversity and Citizen Focus Directorate will directly take the recommendations forward, in consultation with our independent stakeholders.

6. A number of the recommendations shown above have a higher priority in terms of impact on employment and/or service delivery than others. The new governance arrangements will need to be robust enough to drive and clearly prioritise actions, but also be structured in a way that affords synergy with the Modernisation Programme, as that project will be a key driver for all organisational activity. It is the case that a number of those recommendations listed were at one point considered embedded and activity lessened. New events and demands have led to a requirement to take new account of them e.g. those concerned with racism awareness training, because of the CRE investigation report findings, and FLO activity, as a result of the Tsunami and July bombings responses.

7. The barriers to progress mainly in lie in the existing governance arrangements. The structures in place do not, in some cases, have the authority or terms of reference required to effect any required activity. This has been recognised in the drive to enable and streamline the governance. This is also the case with the other works mentioned, some of which have direct cross over with Stephen Lawrence matters. It is now the intention of the MPS to collate and progress issues collectively. Another barrier is behaviour; whatever governance structures are put in place, there must be awareness of the criticality of issues such as these recommendations, as a well as a willingness and commitment to deliver what is agreed.

8. To provide clarity and ownership, and to ensure the letter and spirit of the Inquiry Report are being progressed, the new arrangements will place day-to-day ownership of the recommendations under DCC4’s Organisational Learning. This unit currently owns the recommendations arising from, for example, the Morris Inquiry and the CRE Formal Investigation. This will ensure that the Stephen Lawrence recommendations remain at the forefront of activity and progress, in tandem with the other recommendations.

9. Furthermore, the Race and Diversity (Confidence and Equality) Strategy, currently in draft form, in accord with the corporate strategy, will have an accountability framework and a requirement for action plans from each directorate and Operational Command Unit. These will be monitored locally with the DCC4 monitoring them corporately. This will have a significant impact on progressing the recommendations out to the wider organisation and down to the service delivery level.

10. A joint Home Office (HO) and London School of Economics (LSE) report was published on 27 October, assessing the impact of the Stephen Lawrence Inquiry on policing. It highlights progress made, areas where the inquiry has driven change and where further work is required. Many of the issues identified in this study point to the need for a greater appreciation of the needs of different communities by the police service. The new governance arrangements will develop the report’s findings.

11. An internal MPS report is attached to this submission:

• Appendix 2 – a summary of the five subheadings used within the HO/LSE report.

12. The Home Office has now disbanded the Stephen Lawrence Steering Group, seeking to continue progress by addressing themes from the Inquiry Report through several new project groups. The MPS will continue its involvement through, and provide communication on progress to, these new groups. Furthermore, the MPS makes submissions to the Home Office annual national update on the recommendations. The sixth annual report of the Stephen Lawrence Steering Group was published on 27 October 2005. Additional communication exists via Her Majesty’s Inspectorate of Constabularies (HMIC), which encompasses the Stephen Lawrence recommendations within its baseline assessment process, and publishes the reports through the Home Office.

13. The new Deputy Assistant Commissioner for the Diversity and Citizen Focus Directorate, Rose Fitzpatrick, has emphasised her commitment to developing the role of the MPA, and in particular its Race and Diversity Unit, within the work of the Directorate. The increased regularity of formal and informal meetings will enable this important partnership to progress the recommendations further. The MPS currently has some difficulty in being able to articulate how elements outside of the DCC4 are actively progressing the recommendations.

14. Murder investigations are an example of how policing outcomes have changed in response to the Stephen Lawrence Inquiry. The MPS introduced a number of changes as a result, including new standards and procedures for the management of murder scenes, a requirement to record investigative decisions and their rationale, trained and dedicated family liaison officers and additional resourcing. These have resulted in significant improvements both to the overall quality of murder investigation and the treatment of victim’s families.

15. Additionally the following were introduced to concentrate skills and improve the quality of investigations: dedicated Murder Investigation Teams; a Homicide Assessment Team who attend and advise at life threatening assault, unexplained death and murder scenes; more oversight and formal reviews of Senior Investigating Officers and their investigations; and critical incident training. These changes led to an improved initial response at murder scenes and increased scrutiny of investigations.

List of abbreviations

MPA

Metropolitan Police Authority

MPS

Metropolitan Police Service

HO

Home Office

LSE

London School of Economics

CRE

Commission for Racial Equality

DCC4

Diversity and Citizen Focus Directorate

HMIC

Her Majesty’s Inspectorate of Constabularies

FLO

Family Liaison Officer

C. Race and equality impact

Race and diversity are fundamental to the Stephen Lawrence Inquiry Report. By meeting and surpassing the recommendations, London’s communities will have a greater confidence in the service provided by the MPS.

D. Financial implications

There are no financial implications from this report; activity is progressed within existing budgets.

E. Background papers

None

F. Contact details

Report author: Colin White, MPS Diversity and Citizen Focus Directorate

For more information contact:

MPA general: 020 7202 0202
Media enquiries: 020 7202 0217/18

Appendix 1

Stephen Lawrence Inquiry recommendations - Status report

Introduction

This report considers each of the Inquiry’s recommendations and illustrates MPS organisational progress in relation to those it is charged with progressing or, in respect of those it is not, a broad update is provided. This document summarises the extent to which the recommendations have been adopted and mainstreamed into standard operating procedures. Analysis of impact and linkage to other strategic activity is included where appropriate.

Status

By working towards the mainstreaming of the Inquiry recommendations, the MPS acknowledges the need to build them into the policies, practices and procedures of the organisation over the long term, along with the requirement to effectively oversee any related activity.

Monitoring

Many of the issues raised are now built into the way the MPS works and in some cases can be fairly described as ‘common practice’. In relation to the recommendations, where activity is still being conducted to progress them, the process of monitoring remains critical.

This report draws on themes that exist across other recent reports concerning the police service, including the Morris Inquiry, The Commission for Racial Equality’s Final Investigation Report and the internal Thematic Inspection undertaken by Assistant Commissioner Tarique Ghaffur after the screening of the BBC TV programme ‘Secret Policeman’. Where there is a direct linkage between a specific Stephen Lawrence Inquiry recommendation and the other works, this is indicated.

The governance arrangements for all these other proposals are currently being revisited and will be restructured to allow robust monitoring. How the Stephen Lawrence proposals will be included has yet to be determined but any activity will need to be consistent with the MPS Corporate Strategy and its strands.

Overview

• There are 70 recommendations in total.
• Of these, 31 have not been actioned directly, because they were not seen as being directed specifically towards the MPS.

Recommendations

1. That a Ministerial Priority be established for all Police Services:

"To increase trust and confidence in policing amongst minority ethnic communities".

The Home Secretary used his powers under Section 36A Police Act 1996 to make this recommendation an objective for all police services. The ministerial priority was incorporated into the MPS Policing Plan for 1999/2000 and in subsequent policing plans. It is currently reflected in the National Policing Plan 2005/2008 under the guise of what police services need to deliver to achieve a ‘citizen focused’ service. This objective will be assessed using a number of performance indicators to see how well individual forces are performing. The relevant performance indicators set up through the Police Performance Assessment Framework (PPAF), which came into force in April 2004, include:

• Racist Incidents – Satisfaction of victims of racist incidents with respect to the overall service provided
• Stop and Search – Comparison of arrest rates following Stop and Search, based on ethnicity
• Violence Against the Person – Comparison of percentage of offences detected, by ethnicity of victim
• Achieving equal satisfaction – Comparison of satisfaction with service delivery by ethnicity
• Recruitment, Retention and Progression – Proportion of BME recruits based on the economically active population and the ratio of BME officers resigning compared to non BME officers

These will be reported on quarterly and will be subject to annual assessment. This process commenced in November 2005 with the publication of Her Majesty’s Inspectorate of Constabulary’s (HMIC) ‘Baseline Assessment’ (BA) findings. The performance of the MPS is monitored and compared against other forces. In the two relevant key areas of BA, ‘Fairness and Equality’ and ‘Race and Diversity’, the MPS was graded as ‘Fair’ in both. A number of positives and areas for improvement were identified, details of which can be found in the full report. Fundamental to addressing any shortcomings and improving the organisation’s level of performance will be the governance arrangements that are being enhanced as part of the DCC4 reorganisation process. It should be noted that the PPAF measures are Race Equality based, whilst the BA assessments are more ‘diversity’ focused. Citizen Focused Policing is now a key element of DCC4’s work overseen by DAC Fitzpatrick.

2. The process of implementing, monitoring and assessing the Ministerial Priority should include Performance Indicators in relation to:

1. the existence and application of strategies for the prevention, recording, investigation and prosecution of racist incidents;
2. measures to encourage reporting of racist incidents;
3. the number of recorded racist incidents and related detection levels;
4. the degree of multi-agency co-operation and information exchange;
5. achieving equal satisfaction levels across all ethnic groups in public satisfaction surveys;
6. the adequacy of provision and training of family and witness/victim liaison officers;
7. the nature, extent and achievement of racism awareness training;
8. the policy directives governing stop and search procedures and their outcomes;
9. levels of recruitment, retention and progression of minority ethnic recruits; and
10. levels of complaint of racist behaviour or attitude and their outcomes.

The overall aim being the elimination of racist prejudice and disadvantage and the demonstration of fairness in all aspects of policing.

It is the Home Office’s intention that the PPAF measures shown above under recommendation 1, will meet the requirement of this recommendation accepting that the MPS already measures many of the areas internally. However, the PPAF measures do not explicitly address sections iv, vi, vii or x, above. The MPS does internally measure activity in support of vii, but only on a quantitative basis i.e. how many staff have received CRR1 training. The inability of the organisation to evidence corporate progress in these areas has been highlighted recently by both the GLA and HMIC. The new Race and Diversity Strategy, which outlines the way in which, centrally, the MPS will measure and monitor all local activity to provide a corporate performance position, will provide a vehicle with which to fully meet this recommendation.

(Recommendations 3-11 have been assessed as not being the responsibility of the MPS to take forward)

3. That Her Majesty's Inspectors of Constabulary (HMIC) be granted full and unfettered powers and duties to inspect all parts of Police Services including the Metropolitan Police Service.

The MPS was specifically inspected and subsequent reports were published in 2000 and 2003. Further HMIC Inspections led to the publication of two reports: Winning the Race – Embracing Diversity in 2001 and Diversity Matters in March 2003. Both reports included activity in the MPS. Other HMIC activity included an examination of unsolved murder investigations and concluded that thorough investigations of murder be made a specific priority by the MPS. This recommendation was accepted and in 2001 HMIC reported that the recommendation had been met. The MPS is included in HMIC’s new generic BA process, which is similar to the approach adopted by OFSTED, etc. and as stated in 1, above, reported in October 2005. The MPS was awarded with a grade of ‘Excellent’ in the investigation of major and serious crime.

4. That in order to restore public confidence an inspection by HMIC of the Metropolitan Police Service be conducted forthwith. The inspection to include examination of current undetected HOLMES based murders and Reviews into such cases.

See 3, above

5. That principles and standards similar to those of the Office for Standards in Education (OFSTED) be applied to inspections of Police Services, in order to improve standards of achievement and quality of policing through regular inspection, public reporting, and informed independent advice.

See 3, above

6. That proposals as to the formation of the Metropolitan Police Authority be reconsidered, with a view to bringing its functions and powers fully into line with those which apply to other Police Services, including the power to appoint all Chief Officers of the Metropolitan Police Service.

The Metropolitan Police Authority was established in July 2000, after publication of these recommendations. The MPA has the same role in appointing senior personnel as other forces have in appointing Chief Officers.

7. That the Home Secretary and Police Authorities should seek to ensure that the membership of police authorities reflects so far as possible the cultural and ethnic mix of the communities which those authorities serve.

Membership is a matter for each individual police authority. The MPA consciously strives to ensure it is representative of London. For example, BME membership is currently 30%, and female members make up nearly 40%.

8. That HMIC shall be empowered to recruit and to use lay inspectors in order to conduct examination and inspection of Police Services particularly in connection with performance in the area of investigation of racist crime.

Currently, HMIC has in place two ‘non-police’ Inspectors of Constabulary engaged in the inspection process and an Assistant Inspector of Constabulary employed specifically for the assessment of Race and Diversity matters, who was appointed in December 2003.

9. That a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) should apply to all areas of policing, both operational and administrative, subject only to the "substantial harm" test for withholding disclosure.

The FOIA is now enacted. Reasons for non-disclosure are explicit and tightly controlled.

10. That Investigating Officers' reports resulting from public complaints should not attract Public Interest Immunity as a class. They should be disclosed to complainants, subject only to the "substantial harm" test for withholding disclosure.

The Police Reform Act ensures investigating officers’ reports do not attract public interest immunity (PII) as a matter of course. PII may be claimed in some cases but on an individual case basis only. The newly established Independent Police Complaints Commission (IPCC) for the police service has the power to disclose investigating officers’ reports subject to passing a sensitivity test where it has ownership of the case and can direct a force to disclose such a report following a successful appeal from a complainant even if it does not ‘own’ the case.

11. That the full force of the Race Relations legislation should apply to all police officers, and that Chief Officers of Police should be made vicariously liable for the acts and omissions of their officers relevant to that legislation.

The Race Relations (Amendment) Act 2000 came into force in April 2001 and the police service is now fully bound by the powers of the Act. The Act made discrimination in carrying out public functions not previously covered by the Race Relations Act, unlawful. The MPS, in meeting the requirements of the National Strategy for Improving Performance in Race and Diversity has appointed DAC Fitzpatrick as the ACPO level ‘Diversity Champion’. These champions are chief officers who have overall responsibility for promoting good practice in race and diversity issues as well as ensuring that the necessary support and resources are in place to implement race and diversity policies. This is a move that was welcomed by the CRE in their recent report into the Police Service. However, this is yet to have a tangible impact in the MPS, few staff are fully aware of this approach. The communication strategy for the reorganisation process referred to in 1, above, will formally address this.

Definition of racist incident

12. That the definition should be:

"A racist incident is any incident which is perceived to be racist by the victim or any other person".

No changes since the last update and considered embedded, that is the definition is that solely employed within policing policy and practice in the MPS.

13. That the term "racist incident" must be understood to include crimes and non-crimes in policing terms. Both must be reported, recorded and investigated with equal commitment.

Despite the embedding of the definition, a number of recent issues such as the case of Supt. Ali Desai et al, and in the content of the Morris Inquiry, suggests the application of the term may not be as robust as is necessary. It has been alleged for example, that crimes and discipline matters committed by black officers and white officers are not pursued equally. In some cases, these matters would, if they involved members of the public, be readily classified as racist incidents. This is not always the situation in respect of internal issues despite extensive training, information and policy. Therefore, it should be considered that this recommendation is not yet fully embedded and is, therefore, still critical.

‘The Thematic review of Race and Diversity in the Metropolitan Police Service’ by Assistant Commissioner Tarique Ghaffur was published in March 2004. The 42 recommendations emanating from his report are being implemented as part of the wider Morris et al programme of work. Each recommendation has a named senior officer or senior member of police staff as the lead stakeholder responsible. The Ghaffur Report is 55 pages long and is too comprehensive to list here. However the report is being progressed and is reviewed quarterly.

The new ACPO Hate Crime Manual contains a section on internal issues, its full implementation within the MPS and will need to be carefully managed and monitored. The governance arrangements for this are being developed.

14. That this definition should be universally adopted by the Police, local Government and other relevant agencies.

No changes since the last update and considered to be embedded. It is the case that this definition is in widespread use across many parts of the public sector.

Reporting and recording of racist incidents and crimes

15. That Codes of Practice be established by the Home Office, in consultation with Police Services, local Government and relevant agencies, to create a comprehensive system of reporting and recording of all racist incidents and crimes.

The Home Office published a code of Practice on the reporting and recording of racist incidents in May 2000. An evaluation of the use of the code was conducted at the national level in 2004 and the final report was published in late 2005. The MPS has sophisticated systems in place to manage performance in this area but it will vital for the organisation to take account of any evaluation in terms of learning from effective processes in use elsewhere.

16. That all possible steps should be taken by Police Services at local level in consultation with local Government and other agencies and local communities to encourage the reporting of racist incidents and crimes. This should include:

1. the ability to report at locations other than police stations; and
2. the ability to report 24 hours a day.

The issue of Third Party Reporting has received a new impetus through the ‘True Vision’ initiative; this was recently launched on a national basis owing to a perceived reluctance on the part of victims to report crimes to police, despite the opportunities offered through third parties. For example, analysis of Operation Theseus has highlighted the reluctance of some people to report Hate Crime directly to the MPS. Activity in this area has been to date somewhat inconsistent when assessed across all BOCUs, but is now receiving high-level attention including analysis of accessibility and effectiveness. Individuals do have the ability to report crimes on a 24/7 basis, but the issue lies, which is included within the scope of the new analysis, with identifying which third party ‘sites’ are available across all Boroughs?

17. That there should be close co-operation between Police Services and local Government and other agencies, including in particular Housing and Education Departments, to ensure that all information as to racist incidents and crimes is shared and is readily available to all agencies.

No changes since the last update and could be considered as embedded. Current policy and practice allows for close working with partner agencies and sharing of relevant information takes place. Failure to ensure consistency across the MPS is likely to be to affect levels of trust and confidence in the MPS’ ability to deal with such issues.

Police practice and the investigation of racist crime

18. That ACPO, in consultation with local Government and other relevant agencies, should review its Good Practice Guide for Police Response to Racial Incidents in the light of this Report and our Recommendations. Consideration should be given to the production by ACPO of a manual or model for such investigation, to complement their current Manual of Murder Investigation.

ACPO’s Hate Crime manual, which includes internal hate crime issues, was published in March 2005.

19. That ACPO devise Codes of Practice to govern Reviews of Investigations of crime, in order to ensure that such Reviews are open and thorough. Such codes should be consistently used by all Police Services. Consideration should be given to such practice providing for Reviews to be carried out by an external Police Service.

The new ACPO Hate Crime Manual is being implemented across the MPS but it is too early to state that all activity adheres to the codes it contains or to demonstrate their effectiveness. Opportunities for, and examples of, external scrutiny do exist. HMIC assessments of MPS activity in relation to crime investigation range from ‘Poor’ in relation to volume crime, to ‘Good’ for Hate Crime and ‘Excellent’ for Major Crime.

20. That MPS procedures at the scene of incidents be reviewed in order to ensure co-ordination between uniformed and CID officers and to ensure that senior officers are aware of and fulfil the command responsibilities which their role demands.

A revised version of the MPS Critical Incidents Manual was published in Summer 2004. This contains guidance around the Gold, Silver and Bronze command structure and the procedures to be adopted at such events. These processes served the organisation well in relation to the terrorist attacks on London in July 2005 and provide absolute clarity on roles. Nonetheless, opportunities to examine activity are built into the Critical Incident review process undertaken by DCC4. On that basis, it should be considered that this recommendation is now embedded within our policies, practices and procedures.

21. That the MPS review their procedures for the recording and retention of information in relation to incidents and crimes, to ensure that adequate records are made by individual officers and specialist units in relation to their functions, and that strict rules require the retention of all such records as long as an investigation remains open.

The FOIA legislation provides clear and strict guidelines on access to information and also its storage and retention. The level and quality of information individual officers record is directed by training inputs and published guidance and in the format of the documentation employed for these purposes. However, this does rely on what an individual records at the relevant time, given all the surrounding circumstances, and therefore may provide grounds for some inconsistency when viewed across the whole MPS. The fact that the majority of officers engaged in operational policing are relatively young in service and experience, adds to this perception.

22. That MPS review their internal inspection and accountability processes to ensure that policy directives are observed.

A series of reviews and monitoring / supervision checks have been built into our key functions. Supervisors are more aware of their role and accountability, this is included in leadership and management training. The PDR process is not as effective as it should be. This is being addressed through the Police Race and Diversity Learning and Development Programme (PRDLDP), the new Corporate Strategy and within the ethos of the ‘Together Approach’, to provide greater accountability and transparency to this recommendation.

Family liaison

23. That Police Services should ensure that at local level there are readily available designated and trained Family Liaison Officers.

The MPS has systems in place to provide Family Liaison Officers (FLOs) and DCC4 assists in meeting the aim to have a minimum of 10 FLOs per Borough (rising to 20 on each of the priority Boroughs). In September 2005, eight Boroughs were just below the minimum target. However, since then over 30 new FLOs have come on line and in total there are around 1000 FLOs readily available across the MPS including within specialist departments.

Employing and training at least one Family Liaison Co-ordinator (FLC) for each Borough has also been progressed. These are responsible for reviewing, briefing, welfare, strategy and tasking for FLOs. FLCs must be aware of the make-up of their FLO teams to oversee resilience and succession.

Boroughs are also beginning to provide mutual support for each other. Some specific FLO skills can be difficult to resource e.g. languages and cultural awareness. However, these problems are becoming lessened as FLO's can also be deployed and assisted by other staff, including those who are members of the Community Cultural Resources Unit (CCRU), with requisite skills.

The MPS does experience resource issues at times of high demand and the matter of paying overtime for deployments can be impactive on departmental budgets, but FLO resilience and awareness is improving.

24. That training of Family Liaison Officers must include training in racism awareness and cultural diversity, so that families are treated appropriately, professionally, with respect and according to their needs.

Some relevant content is included in the FLO courses provided by the MPS. However, account should be taken of what has been reported (by CRE and HMIC et al) about the quality and effectiveness of police diversity training to date. The ethos of the new national learning and development strategy including the provision of the PRDLDP is intended to address these shortcomings. The programme is in the early stages of implementation. Until FLOs have received appropriate training as part of that programme, this recommendation is not fully met. The outcome, potentially, involves the function being provided to people from a specific culture by police personnel who may have a limited understanding of their needs.

See 48, below

25. That Family Liaison Officers shall, where appointed, be dedicated primarily if not exclusively to that task.

When any FLO is deployed, their role tends to include a period of high intensity where they are exclusively tasked within that role/investigation. This intensity reduces as the investigation progresses.

It is then for the SIO and the FLO to manage their roles whilst continuing to liase with the identified family. When deployed, FLOs should be used exclusively in that role (i.e. not carrying out any of the other core enquiries as part of that investigation such as interviewing, searching, etc). The SIO is required to monitor and review this situation closely ensuring that the established FLO role is maintained to the standard required. SIOs consider FLO commitments outside the particular investigation as part of this review process. The SIO decision log and FLO log entries should reflect these considerations, providing a clear audit trail.

It should be acknowledged that FLOs have been a success in terms of the support provided to communities involved in individual events and also in reactions to major incidents such as Operational Bracknell (Tsunami). The MPS’ use of these officers is admired across the police service and externally at government level. Success is also evidenced by the feedback received from those who are provided with FLO services and from partner organisations such as Victim Support. An evaluation of the use of FLOs in murder investigations has been proposed at the national level. This will require sensitive handling due to the need for renewed contact with victims’ families.

26. That Senior Investigating Officers and Family Liaison Officers be made aware that good practice and their positive duty shall be the satisfactory management of family liaison, together with the provision to a victim's family of all possible information about the crime and its investigation.

This recommendation and its connotations are embedded within the protocols outlining the responsibilities of the SIO and FLO. The use of evidential logs is now standard practice and supports the audit trail of information provided to families. Good practice sees the decision logs and the FLO logs being cross-referenced which forms a key part of the close working relationship between the SIO and FLO.

27. That good practice shall provide that any request made by the family of a victim which is not acceded to, and any complaint by any member of the family, shall be formally recorded by the SIO and shall be reported to the immediate superior officer.

Every communication, satisfactory or otherwise, between an FLO and specific family is recorded in the FLO Log. If any complaint/dissatisfaction is raised, this is recorded and brought to the attention of the SIOs as soon as possible. There is also an expectation that positive resolution of any such issues be progressed where appropriate. Currently, there is no MPS-wide FLO Quality Assurance system in place although external contractors are to report imminently on our performance, with a view to then devising and implementing such a process. IT is hoped that this work will be progressed early in 2006.

28. That Police Services and Victim Support Services ensure that their systems provide for the pro-active use of local contacts within minority ethnic communities to assist with family liaison where appropriate.

This recommendation is incorporated within the curriculum of the FLO training course but remains somewhat under-used as a tactical option. It is likely that opportunities being lost in this area. Structures and strategic relationships are in place to support the recommendation but the difficulty remains with mindsets and the learning in this area is still progressing. Issues of trust and confidentiality still remain in general terms and the concept of Independent Advice is yet to be embraced at all levels. The Quality Assurance protocols, which will need to be produced in support of such a function, will help address this issue.

Victims and witnesses

29. That Police Services should together with the Home Office develop guidelines as to the handling of victims and witnesses, particularly in the field of racist incidents and crimes. The Victim's Charter to be reviewed in this context.

The Domestic Violence, Crime and Victims (DVCV) Act 2004, gave the Home Secretary powers to introduce a statutory Code of Practice, which will replace the Victims Charter in 2006. The legislation enables courts, on conviction or acquittal for any offence, to impose restraining orders if they consider it necessary to protect a person from harassment. Until this act was passed, such orders could only be imposed on offenders convicted of harassment or causing fear of violence. The code of practice is to be issued in 2005 and the MPS, through Operation Emerald, will then need to implement the code on a consistent basis.

30. That Police Services and Victim Support Services ensure that their systems provide for the pro-active use of local contacts within minority ethnic communities to assist with Victim Support and with the handling and interviewing of sensitive witnesses.

By way of an example of related activity, the Independent Advisory Group (IAG) and Gypsy and Traveller Advisory Group (GTAG) have both looked at their operating protocols to try and find ways of making their advisors more accessible and more effectively linked to local communities, DCC4 continues to provide strategic and tactical advice to local and central units to assist in the conduct of investigations. The main issue with the IAG approach is the question of independence. Some members are concerned that over a period of time of working with the service, there is a danger of key IAG members becoming ‘too comfortable’ and no longer as challenging or as critical as they should be. This has the potential to impact on the concept of trust and confidence.

DCC4 is working on new protocols for IAG members and their recruitment. This is a key piece of work and should be completed early in 2006.

31. That Police Services ensure the provision of training and the availability of victim/witness liaison officers, and ensure their use in appropriate areas particularly in the field of racist incidents and crimes, where the need for a sensitive approach to young and vulnerable victims and witnesses is paramount.

No changes since the last update, the information provided in relation to FLOs and FLCs is relevant to this recommendation.

Prosecution of racist crimes

Recommendations 32 and 33 have been assessed as not being the responsibility of the MPS to take forward.

32. That the standard of proof of such crimes should remain unchanged.

The Home Office states that the standard of proof has remained unchanged.

33. That the CPS should consider that, in deciding whether a criminal prosecution should proceed, once the CPS evidential test is satisfied there should be a reputable presumption that the public interest test should be in favour of prosecution.

The CPS published and launched its policy statement on the prosecution of Racist and Religious Crime in July 2003. In addition, the CPS has implemented a training programme for its staff on racially and religiously aggravated crimes. This has seen over 1200 lawyers trained since the programmes inception.

34. That Police Services and the CPS should ensure that particular care is taken at all stages of prosecution to recognise and to include reference to any evidence of racist motivation. In particular it should be the duty of the CPS to ensure that such evidence is referred to both at trial and in the sentencing process (including Newton hearings). The CPS and Counsel to ensure that no "plea bargaining" should ever be allowed to exclude such evidence.

All MPS case files contain form ‘MG1’ which indicates cases involving a Racist Incident or incidence of Child Abuse, Domestic Violence or that the defendant is on bail. The national Manual of Guidance for Case File Preparation also reinforces the ACPO definition of racist incident. If the incident is identified as being racist, the file must include all relevant records relating to the current incident and any previous records.

Any previous incidents involving the victim and/or the suspect or defendant may establish a pattern of racist behaviour. The records monitoring form and crime reports are classified as ‘unused material’ and listed. There is also a presumption that in cases involving allegations of racism, the police will take a Victim Personal Statement (VPS) detailing the impact on the victim, including the physical effect. If a VPS has not been taken, the MPS must explain why. The CPS is proactive in seeking a VPS or an explanation for its absence, but how consistently they do this is unclear.

The inception of Case Progression Supervisors and Duty Prosecutors at the point of charge, together with closer supervision ensures that racist cases are identified early and highlighted correctly. The issue for the MPS will be one of consistency, in terms of activity, across all Boroughs.

Recommendations 35-43 have been assessed as not being the responsibility of the MPS to take forward

35. That the CPS ensure that a victim or victim's family shall be consulted and kept informed as to any proposal to discontinue proceedings.

The national implementation of the Direct Communication with Victims (DCV) programme was completed at the end of September 2002. Under the DCV Scheme, the CPS writes to identifiable victims in cases where one or more charge(s) is dropped or substantially altered. This approach provides for transparency and explanation.

36. That the CPS should have the positive duty always to notify a victim and victim's family personally of a decision to discontinue, particularly in cases of racist crime, with speed and sensitivity.

Victims are given the opportunity to meet the CPS in certain case categories including those involving a death, racially/religiously aggravated offence and cases with a homophobic element.

37. That the CPS ensure that all decisions to discontinue any prosecution should be carefully and fully recorded in writing, and that save in exceptional circumstances, such written decisions should be disclosable to a victim or a victim's family.

As is stated above, the CPS, after consultation, launched their DCV policy statement in 2003.

38. That consideration should be given to the Court of Appeal being given power to permit prosecution after acquittal where fresh and viable evidence is presented.

This issue is included within the provisions of the Criminal Justice Act 2003, which came into force on 4th April 2005.

39. That consideration should be given to amendment of the law to allow prosecution of offences involving racist language or behaviour, and of offences involving the possession of offensive weapons, where such conduct can be proved to have taken place otherwise than in a public place.

The Government is working to identify a suitable legislative vehicle to make the required changes to existing Public Order legislation.

40. That the ability to initiate a private prosecution should remain unchanged.

The Government is not considering any changes in the legal status of victims in court cases.

41. That consideration should be given to the proposition that victims or victims' families should be allowed to become "civil parties" to criminal proceedings, to facilitate and to ensure the provision of all relevant information to victims or their families.

Within the provisions of The Domestic Violence, Crime and Victims Act, a national post of Commissioner for Victims and Witnesses is proposed.

42. That there should be advance disclosure of evidence and documents as of right to parties who have leave from a Coroner to appear at an Inquest.

National guidance for advanced disclosure for deaths in police and prison custody was issued in 1999 and updated in 2002. Further guidance was issued in relation to other areas of bereavement including CPS involvement and investigation issues.

43. That consideration be given to the provision of Legal Aid to victims or the families of victims to cover representation at an Inquest in appropriate cases.

Legal Aid has been available to families in death in custody cases since 2001. The Home Office states that all cases are considered on their individual merits.

44. That Police Services and the Courts seek to prevent the intimidation of victims and witnesses by imposing appropriate bail conditions.

Recent revisions of PACE, driven by the Criminal Justice Act 2003, enable Custody Officers to impose bail before and after charge. The statutory charging scheme means that in the majority of cases a CPS Duty Prosecutor is consulted before any charging decision is made. The decision to grant or refuse bail is the responsibility of the Custody Officer, but they will be guided by any recommendations made by the Duty Prosecutor.

This matter is also linked to recommendation 34 in that, for the courts to be effective they need to be informed at the earliest stage of those proceedings involving a vulnerable victim or witness, particularly if special measures such as a screen or video linked evidence are necessary.

The CPS and the MPS are proactive in their prosecution of racist crimes. However, issues regarding the courts are made through the local court user groups, and strategically through the London Criminal Justice Board, whose Race and Diversity Action Group, offers a conduit to raise key issues such as those raised by this recommendation.

Training

1. First aid

45. That First Aid training for all "public contact" police officers (including senior officers) should at once be reviewed and revised to ensure that they have basic skills to apply First Aid. Officers must be taught to "think first aid", and first and foremost "A (Airways), B (Breathing) and C (Circulation)".

46. That training in First Aid including refresher training should include testing to recognised and published standards in every Police Service.

47. That Police Services should annually review First Aid training, and ensure that "public contact" officers are trained and tested to recognised and published standards.

The MPS has a programme of Emergency Life support training in place, which adheres to national standards. This is classed as mandatory for operational staff, and involves refresher inputs on a fixed cycle of three years. Such training is a key element of initial recruit training for regular officers, Special Constables and Community Support Officers. That the majority of operational officers have less than 3 years service means that most will have received the input relatively recently. It is not possible to say however, that a small number of individual operational members of staff will not have gone beyond the dates scheduled for their refresher training.

2. Racism awareness and valuing cultural diversity

48. That there should be an immediate review and revision of racism awareness training within Police Services to ensure:

1. that there exists a consistent strategy to deliver appropriate training within all Police Services, based upon the value of our cultural diversity;
2. that training courses are designed and delivered in order to develop the full understanding that good community relations are essential to good policing and that a racist officer is an incompetent officer.

In relation to a) above:

As a result of work undertaken in response to recommendations made in HMIC’s thematic inspection Diversity Matters, the Home Office based Police Race and Diversity Learning and Development Programme (PRDLDP) Board has developed a clear strategy for future race and diversity learning and development in the police service. This was issued to chief officers in November 2004 and was followed in January by the publication of Home Office Circular 4/2005 advising chief officers on the initial implementation around establishing a programme board and the appointment of a race and diversity champion.

The process of establishing a MPS programme board (and identification of the race and diversity champion being the Director of DCC4) has now been completed.

In relation to b) above:

The PRDLDP seeks to help fulfil a principal aim of the Government’s Police Reform Programme by providing a citizen-focused service that responds to the needs of individuals and communities, inspiring confidence in the police. The programme places community involvement at the heart of all stages of learning and development (i.e. needs analysis, design, delivery and evaluation).

In order to evaluate race and diversity learning and development effectively, all members of the police service will be assessed against National Occupational Standards (NOS) (in particular NOS 1A4: Foster people’s equality, diversity and rights and NOS 1A5: Promote people’s equality, diversity and rights). This is possibly to become a PPAF measure under requiring HMIC scrutiny. The MPS needs to articulate how it will effectively assess its staff and make any necessary arrangements to do so. This will be a key function of the PRDLDP board. It should be noted that the MPS Corporate Strategy does not explicitly indicate the importance of the PRDLDP to the organisation.

DCC4 (through its Diversity Strategy and Policy Unit Learning and Development Branch) is in the process of being re-structured to support the MPS implementation of the PRDLDP. The Unit is committed to the notion of providing central support for the local delivery of race and diversity learning and development.

See Also: Recommendation 43 Commission for Racial Equality Final Investigation Report March 2005.

49. That all police officers, including CID and civilian staff, should be trained in racism awareness and valuing cultural diversity.

A first phase of mandatory and corporate ‘Community and Race Relations (CRR) training’ was delivered throughout the MPS with the vast majority of staff trained by December 2002. A core aim of that training was to recognise the links between the training and operational service delivery. To date some 39,700 staff have been trained. 5,500 Police Staff have received a one-day input and since August 2001, all new recruits have received training as part of their foundation course.

Top-up training is being provided to capture those staff that missed the original inputs because of career breaks or secondments, etc. Relevant material is delivered during many other courses, including promotion development.

Whilst awareness of the Race Relations (Amendment) Act 2000 has been raised throughout the MPS, a proportionate training strategy to meet the requirements for training in the general and specific duties of the legislation, but the planning has still to be finalised. It is envisaged CENTREX and NCALT will produce a race e-learning module, which covers the RR(A)A in November 2005. The commitment to deliver this training is built into the current annual training plan and it is likely that this will commence in the New Year.

This matter needs to be progressed quickly in order that the MPS’ Race Equality Scheme remains compliant with the relevant legislation.

See Also: Recommendation 56 Commission for Racial Equality Final Investigation Report March 2005.

50. That police training and practical experience in the field of racism awareness and valuing cultural diversity should regularly be conducted at local level. And that it should be recognised that local minority ethnic communities should be involved in such training and experience.

The PRDLDP places community involvement at the heart of all stages of learning and development (the needs analysis, design, delivery and evaluation). To support this aim, the Association of Police Authorities (APA) published guidance in November 2004 on community involvement in the design, delivery and evaluation of police learning and development.

Another key element of the PRDLDP is the placing of Race and Diversity into the operational context of an individual, and the development of an understanding of the notion of a ‘Key Encounter’. DCC4 has developed a model to identify the ingredients of a ‘Key Encounter.’

This work is further enhanced through the use of community contribution from a range of minority group perspectives, who have involvement at various points throughout the 18-week recruit training programme, e.g. in role play scenarios.

The high point of any involvement is one complete day of training, where different groups take part in a series of facilitated discussions with recruits. There is exploration of experiences with a debrief focusing on how these events make up those important ‘Key Encounters’ for the MPS. This enables the identification of factors that contribute to positive and negative experiences/outcomes for the both the MPS and the people it serves.

A similar day of community involvement is provided as part of the Designated Detention Officer training, involving people who have practical experience of being detained.
The notions of identifying an individual’s ‘context’ and of a ‘Key Encounter’ are at the core of the MPS response to the MPA Stop and Search Training Report, recommendation 31:

“The MPS review and identify the ingredients of a ‘good’ stop, develop modules for ‘critical encounter training’ and incorporate them into existing training curricula.”

DCC4 are piloting the “context/Key Encounter” approach in response to this recommendation, in conjunction with the PRDLDP work.

See also: Recommendations 41 and 42 Commission for Racial Equality Final Investigation Report March 2005.

51. That consideration be given by Police Services to promoting joint training with members of other organisations or professions otherwise than on police premises.

All ‘Phase 1’ CRR training delivered to front line staff was delivered away from police premises and typically took place in town halls, community centres and Further Education establishments. Much more can be done around working with other Criminal Justice Service agencies in the field of training and development.

It should be acknowledged that the ethos of community based learning is one that is to be an integral part of the MPS response to demands of the PRDLDP but which will need to be fully implemented before this recommendation is fully met.

See also: Recommendation 41 Commission for Racial Equality Final Investigation Report March 2005.

52. That the Home Office together with Police Services should publish recognised standards of training aims and objectives in the field of racism awareness and valuing cultural diversity.

As a result of work arising from the national, Home Office based, PRDLDP Board, a National Learning Requirement for Race and Diversity learning and development has now been prepared for the police service. It is intended this will include learning outcomes and learning descriptors for the police service across the areas of race, gender, sexual orientation, disability, religion and faith and age. As is captured in 48, above, assessment of competence in these areas will be against National Occupational Standards.

See also: Recommendation 51 Commission for Racial Equality Final Investigation Report March 2005.

53. That there should be independent and regular monitoring of training within all Police Services to test both implementation and achievement of such training.

The PRDLDP programme involves assessment of individuals against National Occupational Standards. In addition, the CRE have recommended that HMIC re-inspect against their ‘Diversity Matters’ report, which originally included activity within the MPS.
To take the issue of monitoring training forward, the MPS will be reliant to some extent on the introduction of an IT based learning management system, which will assist the monitoring of training delivery. This is being progressed nationally through Centrex.

See also: Recommendations 51 and 52 Commission for Racial Equality Final Investigation Report March 2005.

54. That consideration be given to a review of the provision of training in racism awareness and valuing cultural diversity in local Government and other agencies including other sections of the Criminal Justice system.

Currently, all agencies within the Criminal Justice system deliver training within their own sphere. Through the London Criminal Justice Board Executive Secretariat, the MPS’ Operation Emerald has urged other agencies within the Criminal justice system to review their training. In addition, all agencies have been asked to identify possible overlaps in training provision.

In reality, this is a matter that should be taken up at the national level and accords with recommendations contained in HMIC’s ‘Diversity Matters’. The Learning and Development branch of DCC4 delivers the MPS’ diversity training and awareness in this field.

Employment, discipline and complaints

55. That the changes to Police Disciplinary and Complaints procedures proposed by the Home Secretary should be fully implemented and closely and publicly monitored as to their effectiveness.

The Government has carried out initial work in this area and is working towards a new police discipline code to be implemented in 2006.

Also see Recommendations 31- 40 in AC Ghaffur’s Thematic Review Action Plan.

56. That in order to eliminate the present provision which prevents disciplinary action after retirement, disciplinary action should be available for at least five years after an officer's retirement.

This issue is included in the work mentioned above in 55, but is apparently causing some difficulties because of the complexity of pension rights and other discipline regulations.

57. That the Police Services should through the implementation of a Code of Conduct or otherwise ensure that racist words or acts proved to have been spoken or done by police officers should lead to disciplinary proceedings, and that it should be understood that such conduct should usually merit dismissal.

The Home Office and IPCC are working together to develop guidance on racial discrimination and sanctions for racial misconduct (to include racist language and behaviour). This will be included in the new national code of Professional Standards procedures, to be published in mid 2006. The ethos of this recommendation currently permeates throughout the MPS but each case of wrongdoing is assessed individually in terms of sanctions and punishment. A recent Employment Tribunal involving MPS staff attending a training event has served to focus strategic thoughts around this issue and matters are still being considered.

The following recommendation has been assessed as not being the responsibility of the MPS to take forward.

58. That the Home Secretary, taking into account the strong expression of public perception in this regard, consider what steps can and should be taken to ensure that serious complaints against police officers are independently investigated. Investigation of police officers by their own or another Police Service is widely regarded as unjust, and does not inspire public confidence.

The Independent Police Complaints Commission (IPCC) replaced the Police Complaints Authority on 1 April 2004 and has a wide range of powers over and above those previously exercised by the Police Complaints Authority.

59. That the Home Office review and monitor the system and standards of Police Services applied to the Selection and Promotion of officers of the rank of Inspector and above. Such procedures for selection and promotion to be monitored and assessed regularly.

In the MPS these processes have been reviewed and continue to be improved upon each year. The provision of evidence in the skill of policing diversity is a mandatory requirement within every selection process, at all levels. All police selection now revolves around the National Integrated Competency Framework.

At the rank of Inspector (or equivalent) and above, further evidence of an understanding of the strategic perspective is also required.

The assessment of Sergeants and Inspectors specifically is driven by national considerations (i.e. OSPRE). Currently, this involves pilots around a combination of national examinations and workplace assessment. The key, for the MPS, in terms of the workplace element, will be the quality of assessment and the assessors, especially in the field of diversity.

The assessment of police officers beyond Inspector rank involves MPS specific processes. These arrangements are currently being reviewed and processes for certain ranks have been postponed accordingly. The review takes account of the demands on resources and individuals in these processes. Any new system must be openly fair, yet be robust enough to guarantee only appropriate individuals are selected for promotion, without impacting on the MPS’ operational capacity.

Stop and search

60. That the powers of the police under current legislation are required for the prevention and detection of crime and should remain unchanged.

Since the publication of the Stephen Lawrence Inquiry Report, the legislation providing powers to Stop and Search has largely remained unchanged. However, the code of practice governing the use of these powers is revised on a continuing basis, the last being August 2004.

The MPS published its revised policy and supporting Standard Operating Procedures (SOP) for Stops and Searches on 16 March 2005. The Territorial Policing ‘Stops and Searches’ team have produced this guidance for all MPS officers and staff. This team has evolved from the Recommendation 61 Implementation Team and are charged with the coordination of the Stop and Search Security Report published in June 2004. The SOPs are currently the only ones available to members of the public through the Freedom of Information Act Publication Scheme.

The SOPs include guidance on the use of s.60 Criminal Justice and Public Order Act 1994 and s.44 Terrorism Act. These documents will, for the first time, offer specific detailed guidance on the use of these two extraordinary powers. They will also be available to the public via the Publication Scheme.

Work is underway to develop the principles of Stop and Account in line with those in place for the use of Stop and Search. Officers will be advised on the appropriate actions in relation to both. The MPS-wide ‘Stop’ database has now been amended to accommodate the implementation of stop and account.

The database will feed into the new MPS stops and searches monitoring mechanism that provides Borough based corporate performance data. The monitoring mechanism is a direct result of work being done to discharge the recommendations of MPA scrutiny.

Other work being undertaken is the development of ‘Key Encounter’ training, mentioned above, which will deliver relevant behavioural training around stops and Searches to all relevant MPS staff, including specific training for supervisors.

The ‘Stops and Searches Team’ corporately, and each BOCU individually, has conducted an Equality Impact Assessment assessing the impact of Stops and Searches across the six diversity strands.

61. That the Home Secretary, in consultation with Police Services, should ensure that a record is made by police officers of all "stops" and "stops and searches" made under any legislative provision (not just the Police and Criminal Evidence Act). Non-statutory or so-called "voluntary" stops must also be recorded. The record to include the reason for the stop, the outcome, and the self-defined ethnic identity of the person stopped. A copy of the record shall be given to the person stopped.

The MPS was one of seven police forces involved in the phased implementation of the recording of all stops. Hackney Borough began recording Stop and Accounts in April 2003, followed by Tower Hamlets, in December of that year.

The MPS began the London wide roll out of Stop and Account recording in October 2004. By April 2005, 17,000 officers and PCSOs had undergone Computer Based Training and over 65,000 records had been created. As of October 2005, the MPS had recorded over 86,000 incidents of Stop and Account. Work is now being done to analyse the data, particularly the comparison between levels of disproportionality in Stop and Account and Stop and Search incidents.

The Home Office ‘Stop and Search Action Team’ have closely monitored the implementation of Stop and Account across all forces. The findings, which include the MPS, have been mixed and are currently being used by the organisation to inform the ‘Key Encounter’ and supervisors training.

Each BOCU has been tasked with setting up local monitoring arrangements and the MPA are currently coordinating these across London. Centrally, Stop and Account has been included into the ongoing work to deliver against the MPA scrutiny. It is a specific agenda item on the Stop and Search Working Group, the Stop and Search Steering Group and the Stops and Searches Board, a sub-group of the Equal Opportunities and Diversity Board (EODB).

See also: Recommendation 1 in Assistant Commissioner Ghaffur’s Thematic Review Action Plan.

62. That these records should be monitored and analysed by Police Services and Police Authorities, and reviewed by HMIC on Inspections. The information and analysis should be published.

The MPS now publishes detailed analysis of Stop and Search and Stop and Account data from across London on a monthly basis. The production of this work involves dialogue with the MPA, for example, the development of the MPA (Stops & Searches) Community Monitoring Network. This is gathering of community members involved in stops and searches activities to work with the MPS to address key issues such as disproportionality; developing qualitative performance indicators around key encounters; and exchanging good practice.

The data on Stop and Account is new, but suggests that there is a level of inconsistency in how it is being operated across different Boroughs. The causes for this, as well as any appropriate interventions, will need to be addressed corporately within the performance management framework proposed under the new Race and Diversity Strategy.

63. That Police Authorities be given the duty to undertake publicity campaigns to ensure that the public is aware of "stop and search" provisions and the right to receive a record in all circumstances.

The MPA have conducted a number of initiatives to take forward information about these issues including a ‘Stop and Account’ trailer travelling across London and also in providing information and leaflets. Little evaluation has been conducted on the effectiveness of these approaches and their true impact is therefore not yet known. Without effective implementation and communication of the aims and objectives of Stop and Search, potential exists for confrontation and distrust by some communities in the MPS. This is evidenced by some of the reaction captured in response to the use of S.44 Terrorism Act activity, immediately after July’s bombings.

Recruitment and retention

64. That the Home Secretary and Police Authorities' policing plans should include targets for recruitment, progression and retention of minority ethnic staff. Police Authorities to report progress to the Home Secretary annually. Such reports to be published.

The MPA/MPS policing and Performance Plan sets out that the MPS aims to be an employer of choice and in support of this is working towards achieving a target of 29.5% of the proportion of police recruits being from Black and Minority Ethnic (BME) groups. For the period April 2004 to March 2005 the MPS recruited 2350 police officers, 11.83% of who were from BME communities. During the same period, 21.7% of all police staff and 25.53% of Police Community Support Officers (PCSO) recruited were from BME communities.

Retention

Wastage rates for the calendar year 2004 for non-BME police officers stood at 4.78% while those for BME police officers stood at 5.31%. However, 51.4% of BME officer wastage occurs at Recruit Training School. Probationer Constable retention rates as a whole are; BME officer = 97.57% and non-BME officer = 97.46%. Retention rates for non-BME PCSOs were at 90.55% while BME PCSO retention stood at 95.03%. During the same period, retention rates for non - BME Police Staff stood at 93.29%% with a rate for BME Police Staff at 94.16%.

Constable – Sergeant Promotion Process 2005

The General trend for the number of BME officer applicants for promotion from Constable to Sergeant is rising. The actual number of BME applicants means that small variations in the number of successful applicants can have a large effect on the percentage total. However, the variation between the pass rate for white officers and BME officers is generally low with a higher pass rate for BME officers occurring in the most recent TOWBAR (Trial of Workplace Based Assessment Regime) workplace assessment exercise.

Sergeant – Inspector Promotion Process

Figures for the Sergeant to Inspector promotion process show a variation in the number of BME applicants for each year. Generally, BME applicants had a higher pass rate than their white colleagues, except for the 2004 process.

Inspector – Chief Inspector Promotion Process

The general trend for promotion processes for Inspector to Chief Inspector, involving BME applicants, is rising. The pass rate for BME applicants also rose from 2001 to 2003, although there was a fall in 2004. Relative success rates are mixed with BME people more successful in 2002 and 2003 than in 2004.

Chief Inspector – Superintendent Promotion Process

The trend for the number of BME applicants for the promotion to Superintendent process is rising although the actual numbers applying are relatively low. Where BME officer applications have been made, the pass rate is higher than for their white colleagues. A key issue for the 2005 process was the fact that of the 40 successful applicants, only 1 was female.

Overall, the trend for the number of BME officers applying for promotion over the period 2001 to 2005 is rising and relative pass rates for BME officers versus white officers are similar. It is anticipated that the introduction of the TOWBAR systems of promotion assessment will support continued improved levels of applications from BME officers and should maintain the similar performance in terms of pass rates between BME and white officers.

The key to this aspect of the Stephen Lawrence Inquiry will be when all police personnel have confidence in the respective processes for retention and promotion, and for their to be no disproportionality across any of the diversity strands. The MPS is not yet able to demonstrate that this is the case.

See also: Recommendation 1,2,36 Commission for Racial Equality Final Investigation Report March 2005.

Recommendations 30(C) and (F) and 31 Morris Enquiry

Recommendations 12-17,25-30 in AC Ghaffur’s Thematic Review Action Plan.

65. That the Home Office and Police Services should facilitate the development of initiatives to increase the number of qualified minority ethnic recruits.

The MPS adopted the National Recruiting Standards for police officers, which set a benchmark for recruitment processes for all forces from September 2003.

The implementation of The Police (Amendment) (No. 3) Regulations extended the nationality eligibility criteria for police officers recruitment to include; British Citizens; Citizens from the European Economic Area; Commonwealth Citizens; and other foreign nationals. As a result, the MPS can now actively recruit from a wider pool of BME nationalities.

In order to increase recruitment levels of BME police officers the MPS’ Positive Action Team promotes the organisation as an employer of choice to members of the BME communities through the development of a number of initiatives including:

• attending public events to promote careers in the MPS to BME people and other under-represented groups with 14 events attended between January – April 2005
• organising public reassurance events
• working with the Metropolitan University to identify barriers that prevent people from BME communities wishing to become a police officer in the MPS
• delivering a 12-week Access Course for BME applicants to prepare them for the MPS selection process.

In order to support the retention of BME officers, Recruit Training School has introduced the Students Options and Solutions team (SOS). This provides support and advice to all officers to enable them to successfully complete that stage of their initial training.

The SOS Team is also responsible for establishing and maintaining the 0-5 Support and Development Programme, which is managed by DCC4. This scheme, which is open to all BME officers, aims to provide support and advice in order to retain officers and support their career development. There are currently 500 officers on the programme who are supported by 180 development officers. DCC4 are also working with the SOS Team to develop a strategy to support the retention of BME recruit officers.

DCC4 manages the Active Career Development Programme for BME officers at the Inspector to Superintendent ranks. Each member of the programme is supported by an ACPO level advisor and a mentor and has access to a personal budget to spend on the purchase of development opportunities. The programme aims to support the retention and progression of programme participants. There are currently 53 participants on the programme supported by 33 ACPO level advisors and 41 mentors.

DCC4 has provided financial support to a number of BME officers including the provision of external pre-promotion interview preparation training.

DCC4 manages attendance on the Personal Leadership Programme (PLP). This programme, for which all BME personnel up to and including Inspector and ‘band D’ Police Staff are eligible, aims to increase personal confidence and encourages staff retention and progression. The PLP challenges the beliefs by which we live and the cultures in which we work by demonstrating that every individual can make a difference. Since 2003, 772 BME staff have attended this programme with a further 420 places available through 2005/06.

DCC4 and the HR Directorate jointly developed the Female and Ethnic Minority Detective Training Programme. The Programme supports female and BME officers at Inspector level by providing them with a range of skills and experiences.

Anecdotal evidence indicated that a number of officers, whose first language was not English, were experiencing difficulties completing their initial training and probation period. DCC4 sponsored the MPS initial Consultancy Group (ICG) to investigate the issues affecting such officers to develop recommendations that will support and help retain them. DCC4 are in the process of developing an action plan to implement the ICG recommendations.

DCC4 is working towards the development of an organisational census that will focus on diversity issues. It is intended that this census should be delivered and evaluated by the end of the year.

During 2005/06, DCC4 will work with a number of identified OCUs to identify and provide targeted interventions for concerns arising out of ‘Fairness at Work’ issues that have been generated within their unit.

The HR Directorate and DCC4, jointly, have piloted a new exit survey process, using an external consultant. The purpose of the pilot is to improve the quality of the data captured by the exit survey process to identify the reasons why police officers and police staff from under represented groups leave. In addition, a specific element of the pilot study concentrated on issues affecting Recruit Training School wastage rates. The pilot has now concluded and is currently being evaluated.

The MPS supports a number of staff associations, including the Black Police Association, Sikh Association, Hindu Police Staff Association and Chinese and South East Asian Staff Association, which represent police officers and police staff from under-represented groups. The MPS regularly consults with staff associations through the SAMURAI umbrella group to ensure the views of such staff are considered.

The HR Directorate has been working to improve the level of take up by BME officers of the High Potential Development Scheme (HPDS). This work involves:

• one-to-one support for candidates
• the attendance of the HPDS team at career fairs
• the creation of local liaison officers to identify and encourage applicants
  to join the scheme

In addition, the delivery of the HPDS will be devolved from the Home Office to the MPS. In anticipation of this change, HR Directorate identified 57 Chief Superintendents who are willing to become assessors. This will have the advantage of having assessors in place who are familiar with the requirements of high potential officers. HR are also progressing the Equalities Development Action Plan (EDAP) approach with the intention that each OCU will analyse their own performance across the HR function including areas such as retention and progression. It is intended that this approach will be monitored centrally within the action plan framework that the new Race and Diversity Strategy demands.

See also: Recommendations 7-11, 18-24 in AC Ghaffur’s Thematic Review Action Plan.

Recommendation 18 Commission for Racial Equality Final Investigation Report March 2005. This recommendation has been assessed as not being the responsibility of the MPS to take forward.

66. That HMIC include in any regular inspection or in a thematic inspection a report on the progress made by Police Services in recruitment, progression and retention of minority ethnic staff.

Race Equality is assessed under the new HMIC Baseline Assessment process.

Prevention and the role of education

Recommendations 67 - 69 have been assessed as not being the responsibility of the MPS to take forward

67. That consideration be given to amendment of the National Curriculum aimed at valuing cultural diversity and preventing racism, in order better to reflect the needs of a diverse society.

Matters connected with the national curriculum and citizenship lessons in secondary education are cited by the Home Office within their response to this recommendation.

68. That Local Education Authorities and school Governors have the duty to create and implement strategies in their schools to prevent and address racism. Such strategies to include:

1. that schools record all racist incidents;
2. that all recorded incidents are reported to the pupils' parents/guardians, school Governors and LEAs;
3. that the numbers of racist incidents are published annually, on a school by school basis;
4. and that the numbers and self-defined ethnic identity of "excluded" pupils are published annually on a school-by-school basis.

In relation to this recommendation, the Home Office provides detailed information around what is being done within the education system to take forward these matters.

69. That OFSTED inspections include examination of the implementation of such strategies.

It is understood that from September 2005, OFSTED introduced a new style inspection, which is shorter, more focused and has greater emphasis on rigorous school self-evaluation.

70. That in creating strategies under the provisions of the Crime & Disorder Act or otherwise Police Services, local Government and relevant agencies should specifically consider implementing community and local initiatives aimed at promoting cultural diversity and addressing racism and the need for focused, consistent support for such initiatives.

The Race Relations (Amendment) Act 2000 requirement for positive promotion of good relations between different racial groups as well as s404 of the Greater London Authority Act 1999, which expands these ‘general duties’ to all six areas of diversity, places an onus on the MPS to demonstrate how it will meet these responsibilities.

The Race Equality Scheme Action Plan, republished in May 2005 contains clear achievable activities. The governance of this activity is a critical issue. A strategic review of the new Diversity and Citizen Focus Directorate recognised the need for robust and effective co-ordination of this work, as well as, other key pieces of activity which fall under the diversity agenda. It is proposed that a remodelled Diversity Board, with a programme management focus, will provide strategic oversight for delivery of these key pieces of work. In addition, it should be noted that the new draft Race and Diversity Strategy will also be delivered and monitored through an action planning process, and its oversight included within these new governance arrangements.

The government’s drive for ‘citizen focused’ policing, which encompasses many of the issues raised in the Stephen Lawrence Inquiry report, places on the MPS, a responsibility to demonstrate that it will meet the accompanying statutory requirements. That this is captured explicitly within the new Corporate Strategy, adds weight to how critical the delivery of citizen focused policing is to the MPS.

Appendix 2

MPS aspects arising from Home Office Research Study 294 - Assessing the Impact of the Stephen Lawrence Inquiry.

It should be noted from the outset that whilst the research findings contain much of relevance it does not purport to be nor is centred upon the MPS.

The ‘foreword’ can be condensed as –

The Inquiry into the failed police investigation of Stephen Lawrence’s murder and
broader issues of minority ethnic communities’ trust in policing, led by Sir William
MacPherson, was one of the defining moments in the recent history of the police service in England and Wales. The Inquiry Report pointed to fundamental flaws in the investigation that were attributed to professional incompetence, institutional racism and a failure of leadership.

The Home Secretary published an action plan for implementing the recommendations of the Inquiry in 1999. The Lawrence Steering Group (LSG), consisting of independent members, the police and other agencies was also set up to support the delivery of the action plan and to oversee its implementation. The need to look at the outcomes arising from the implementation of the recommendations was also underlined by the Home Secretary in a recent meeting of the LSG.

The research report highlights the progress that has been made in policing since the Inquiry’s publication and points to a number of areas where the Inquiry has been an important lever for change. It also suggests the areas where further work is required to deal with the more challenging, systemic issues. Many of the issues identified in this study point to the need for a greater appreciation of the needs of different communities by the police service.

The proposals put forward in the recent Government White Paper Building Communities, Beating Crime (2004) can be seen as an attempt to address this. The White Paper sets out ways to strengthen the processes for the recruitment, retention, progression and support of minority ethnic and female staff in the police service.

A strategy aimed at using learning and development to improve police performance on race and diversity to be published to encompass the next five years, reinforces the Government’s workplace proposals. In promoting citizen focused policing, it seeks to engender a more responsive and customer-focused culture in the service and underlines how important front-line staff are in maintaining the reputation of the police and the broader criminal justice system. Communities need to be at the centre of policing, through neighbourhood policing teams, public engagement and new accountability structures. Moreover, greater emphasis will be placed on public satisfaction and community confidence through their incorporation into the police performance framework.

The working brief was the overall impact of the Stephen Lawrence Inquiry on the Police in England and Wales. Principally, to evaluate relationships between police policy, operational practice and the confidence of minority ethnic communities in the police, both at a national and at individual force level. The MPS is rarely cited individually. Instead it is assumed (given sample numbers and the examples given) that many points have the Met in mind.

Of the 950 interviews allocated proportionately to each force based on its size, 250 were conducted within the Met which were further divided between eight boroughs, the Territorial Support Group and the murder teams of the Specialist Crime Directorate.

The greatest continuing difficulty is understanding the nature of, and designing responses to, the problem of ‘institutional racism’ within policing. As a result despite the intentions of police forces and their staff, certain groups still receive an inappropriate or inadequate service because of their culture or ethnic origin.

Sub headings

Attention in the commissioning brief is best directed under sub headings utilized within Research Study 294 –

• The changing climate of policing
• Relationships with minority communities
• Local service delivery
• Murder investigation
• Responding to hate crime

1. The changing climate of policing

The Lawrence Inquiry appeared to be an important catalyst in the elimination of racist language among police officers and staff. The qualitative research undertaken showed that explicit racist language has been almost entirely excised from the police service and is no longer tolerated. This is an important and marked change to the climate that existed as little as ten years ago.

The change in language appeared to relate strongly to a climate of increased scrutiny, as well as a heightened awareness of potential disciplinary responses.

However, some BME staff felt the absence of racist language was largely cosmetic and did not represent a genuine change of culture. BME officers were also more likely than their white counterparts to believe that minority officers faced discrimination in their work. Critically, the report highlights the overt sexism and homophobia encountered during the project.

2. Relationships with minority communities

There have been significant improvements in the structures for consulting with local communities and in understanding the need to consider community impact more broadly. Local citizens felt the police had made such advances in the way they consulted with communities that they were now equal or better than other agencies.

The introduction of independent advice has been an important development: over
four-fifths of forces had established force-wide Independent Advisory Groups (IAGs), seven in ten at a divisional (BCU) level and two-thirds for specific campaigns or operations.

Senior staff recognised the need for liaising with communities in response to events that had the potential for ‘critical’ impact on local communities. Understanding of what constituted a ‘critical’ incident varied between various research sites.

However, while the principle of consultation between the police and local citizens
appeared to be well-established its precise purpose was often unclear and oriented to police-led agendas rather than community needs and concerns. Forces varied in the extent to which they actively involved communities in strategy and practise and in the extent to which they attempted to address difficult problems of representation in consultation forums.

The development of posts dedicated to liaison with local minority communities has been a consistent and important development. These staff were responsible for much of the progressive work in developing relationships with minority and other communities and were valued by community workers in all research sites.

In all sites there were other officers without a specific community portfolio who made considerable efforts to develop relationships with local minority communities. In particular, officers who had more contact with local communities, such as beat officers had a better understanding of local needs and concerns and were able to foster better relationships.

However, the roles of liaison and beat officers were generally not integrated into mainstream policing. As a result, officers in these roles often felt marginalised and were subject to other pressures (such as frequent abstraction) which undermined their ability to sustain community contacts.

3. Local service delivery

In the officer survey, the majority of staff found Community Race Relations (CRR) training worthwhile and described the impact primarily in terms of an increased awareness of some differences in cultural protocols.

Difficulties with language were a relatively common problem in interactions with some BME groups. Officers were often unsure how to access interpreters, or when it was appropriate to do so. Moreover, it was not often feasible for interpreters to be available for help at the point of immediate need.

There are continuing problems connected with routine working practise and service delivery which had negative consequences for relationships with some local communities. These largely stemmed from a failure to recognise differences in the ways policing was perceived in different communities. This issue is of crucial importance to the police service and goes to the heart of the central notion of institutional racism identified in the Lawrence Inquiry.

In all sites, BME research participants described mistrust of the police and an expectation of discrimination. This widespread expectation of discrimination within BME communities was a key lens through which the actions of individual police officers were understood. Within such a context, inappropriate or simply poor service by individual officers was often perceived as racist.

Police tactics that focused activity on BME communities, particularly minority youth, were frequently experienced as provocative and discriminatory. Appreciation within police forces that routine policing might be experienced in such a manner varied considerably. The absence of such appreciation was, without doubt, a barrier to increasing trust in local communities.

4. Murder investigation

Part 1 of the Lawrence Inquiry focused on a detailed analysis of the police investigation into Stephen Lawrence’s murder. The Inquiry team concluded that “fundamental errors” occurred in the investigation and that these resulted from “professional incompetence, institutional racism and a failure of leadership by senior officers”

The MPS introduced a number of changes to murder investigation as a result of the Lawrence case, and the Inquiry’s findings, including new standards and procedures for the management of murder scenes, a requirement to record investigative decisions and their rationale, trained and dedicated family liaison officers and additional resourcing (given considerable impetus by the highly critical HMIC (2000) inspection of murder investigation in the MPS prompted by one of the recommendations in the Lawrence Inquiry Report). These have resulted in significant improvements both to the overall quality of murder investigation and the treatment of victim’s families.

Other changes to murder investigation also occurred between Stephen Lawrence’s death and the Lawrence Inquiry Report that were linked (though not exclusively) with the Lawrence case. Additionally the following were introduced to concentrate skills and improve the quality of investigations: dedicated Murder Investigation Teams; a Homicide Assessment Team who attend and advise at life-threatening assault, unexplained death and murder scenes; more oversight and formal reviews of Senior Investigating Officers and their investigations; and critical incident training. These changes led to an improved initial response at murder scenes and increased scrutiny of investigations.

However, these developments were oriented around pragmatic and tangible measures that favoured procedural changes in investigative practise. This left the broader issues raised by the Lawrence Inquiry and its findings, particularly in relation to institutional racism relatively unaddressed within murder investigation.

5. Responding to hate crime

The MPS has made significant strides in dealing with and responding to hate crimes and the Lawrence Inquiry seems to have been an important catalyst in this regard. Services generally, and the recording and monitoring of racist incidents in particular, had improved. Officers understood the definition and nature of ‘racist incidents’ as defined by the Lawrence Inquiry.

The response to hate crime was structured differently in the London sites where racist incidents were dealt with by dedicated Community Safety Units (CSUs), which were expanded to incorporate race hate crime in all MPS boroughs after the Lawrence Inquiry. In all three London sites, the bulk of the units’ work involved domestic violence (85-90%); ‘racially motivated crime’ comprised most of the rest. The number of reported homophobic incidents in the sites was relatively small, but in Site 5 efforts were made to demonstrate it was given the same priority. As a DI explained: “It is underreported. If we can show we’re putting effort into it, it makes it seem to the LGBT community we are interested, and I hope it encourages them to report it further.”

The greatest continuing concern arises from the low status of such work. Even within the MPS it was commonly felt such work was not perceived to be ‘real police work’. As in other areas of activity considered earlier there appears to be an entrenched cultural resistance in some parts of the service to some of the changes that have resulted directly or indirectly, from the Lawrence Inquiry.

Levers for change

There were some notable differences among forces in the extent to which changes occurred. The context in which forces operated appeared to be an important factor in the extent to which the Lawrence Inquiry and its recommendations were seen to be relevant to the force area and consequently in the immediacy with which they were tackled.

These included the demographic profile of the force (the size of BME population); the perceived levels of racist incidents; the perceived relevance of the Lawrence Inquiry to the force; local issues, such as episodes of racist disorder.

Postscript

The authors observe:

"The Lawrence Inquiry sought to draw attention to embedded organisational practices and policies that result in a failure to provide an appropriate service to minority ethnic communities. However, the definition used by the Inquiry included terms such as ‘unwitting prejudice’ and ‘racist stereotyping’ more suggestive of individual, not institutional racism. Further, the Lawrence Inquiry shifted its attention between the actions of individuals and organisations. The Inquiry was understandably concerned both with investigating and understanding the actions of particular police officers at the scene of the murder and during the subsequent investigation, as well as examining the broader practices and policies of the MPS. However, in doing so it drew attention to not one but three processes: unwitting (individual) discriminatory behaviour; conscious racism; and, collective or systemic discrimination. The difficulty is that the three processes were not clearly separated within the Inquiry’s definition of institutional racism, leading to the potential for confusion among those receiving and reading the Report.”

Murder investigation in London

At the time of the research there were approximately 200 murders annually in London investigated by 1,200 staff divided into 27 dedicated MITs, four Trident teams who dealt with ‘Black on Black’ shootings, and a proactive Homicide Task Force. Although having more than doubled since 1995, staffing levels still fell below ACPO-endorsed national minimum standards for murder investigations (MIRSAP). The MIT teams (divided into three areas) took a new case on average every eight weeks and teams on the area observed had between 13 and 28 active cases. An ACPO officer openly admitted that the MPS operated “a system that creaks along” and many detectives acknowledged that “the volume of what needs to be done directly affects the quality of how we do it”. There seemed to be a fatalistic acceptance at all levels that little could be done to rectify this situation.

Unlike many county forces, where the number of homicides is small and the majority involve cases where the offender is known (Innes, 2003), the situation in London is the reverse, with the majority of homicides involving cases where the offender is unknown and where almost one in ten cases are very high profile, resource intensive and likely to cause significant public anxiety (Metropolitan Police Homicide Briefing Paper). This pattern was reflected in the work of the observed team.

Although “homicide is highly diverse in its characteristics” (Brookman and Maguire, 2003: iii), there are marked patterns by ethnicity, gender, age and socio-economic status (Cotton, 2003; Rock, 1998).

In London, the majority of victims are from minority ethnic groups (in 2002, for example, 58 per cent came from BME groups including 38 per cent African- Caribbean and 10 per cent Asian [Homicide Statistics, 2003 unpublished]). As described later, this profile, and its implications for the nature and conduct of murder investigations in the capital, featured little in murder officers’ perceptions or understanding of their work.

Initial response

Anybody who listened to the evidence of the officers involved in the initial police action after the murder would… be astonished at the lack of command and the lack of organisation… It is difficult to reconstruct with any accuracy or confidence what exactly was done and when it was done. This is because there was almost a total lack of documentation and record in connection with the whole of the first night’s operation. (MacPherson, 1999: paras 11.1-11.2) Although considerable ambivalence existed among detectives on the team about some aspects of the Lawrence Inquiry Report, murder staff felt its impact on the procedures for the Assessing the impact of the Stephen Lawrence Inquiry management of murder scenes and other elements of murder investigation was marked: “[It] changed everything about the way murders are run and scenes are managed,” an MIT member explained, “[and] a lot of that is a good thing.” SIOs, their DS, and the indexers who collated the information coming into an inquiry were the only permanent staff involved in murder investigation at the time of Stephen Lawrence’s death.

The later introduction of dedicated murder teams (that predated the Lawrence Inquiry Report) with roles allocated in advance using knowledge about the strengths and weaknesses of individual officers put an end to the ad hoc practices of seconding officers to an investigation in its first and vital hours, while the introduction of scene, and decision, logs were important elements in attempts to record actions taken at the scene and throughout an investigation.

The impact of these changes was evident in fieldwork observations of the initial response to life threatening, unexplained death and murder scenes where the line of command, and responsibilities of officers at the scene, was clear, and a prescribed methodology covering scene management, record keeping, house-to-house inquiries, witness handling, and forensics was followed. Despite the procedural changes in murder investigation, the initial response still rested with boroughs and the often inexperienced and generalist officers first to arrive at the scene. The contrasts between these officers and those on the MIT was marked and fieldwork observations with the night duty on-call Homicide Assessment Team, discussions with murder investigators and an analysis of murder reviews all revealed concerns about the quality of initial borough responses including poor scene preservation (with inappropriate placing of cordons, or problems with forensic capture), failure to inform families, poor awareness of the appropriate responses to critical incidents and a lack of awareness about murder investigation and its sensitivities – some of the same issues raised in the initial response to Stephen Lawrence’s murder. In one case, for example, a uniform inspector dealing with a potentially suspicious death had decided to wait until after the post mortem to inform the next of kin (so the cause of death was clear), a decision that was immediately re versed following advice from the attending MIT detective.

Some problems on borough were directly linked to inexperience, but analysis of murder review cases for this study demonstrated that experienced officers also made fundamental errors at murder scenes. In one case, for example, it was the relatively inexperienced young officers who urged their more experienced colleague to be mindful of forensics and not to disturb the scene.

Murder investigation

Despite the problems outlined above the general perception among the murder team was that the management of scenes had improved. “We want perfect and we don’t get it,” an MIT officer said, “but what we get is a lot better than we would have had ten years ago.” Murder detectives at all ranks were reluctant to criticise their borough colleagues. “There is a great feeling of vulnerability on borough,” a senior detective explained, “because of MacPherson.” Another said: “We can stand back and say… ‘uniform should have done this, should have done that’. It’s a bloody easy thing to say… [but] first on scene at a murder… it’s just pure madness for a while… and they are very, very difficult things to deal with” (DS). Given that many of the criticisms contained in the Lawrence Inquiry Report directly related to the failures in murder investigation, it is interesting that the sensitivity detectives identified in the borough context did not appear to be reflected in the murder teams’ perceptions of their own working environment. However, their reluctance to criticise colleagues may also have arisen from the knowledge that even the MITs, despite concentrating expertise and skills, were stronger in some areas, for example exhibits handling and family liaison, than in interviewing and statement taking. Most officers expressed concerns on the team about the calibre and experience of some MIT staff. Indeed experienced detectives highlighted that increased staffing did not necessarily translate into enhanced investigative practice.

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