MPA "Unequivocal condemnation of racism in the police"

81/03
22 October 2003

Statement by Toby Harris, Chair of the Metropolitan Police Authority:

"Like the vast majority of hardworking and honest police officers and staff across the country, I am dismayed and sickened by the extreme racist comments and behaviour by a minority of police trainees and probationers as highlighted in last night's BBC programme, The Secret Policeman.

" Their behaviour is inexcusable and the MPA condemns it unequivocally.

" The urgent task of the entire policing community now is to address the issues raised and to root out anyone with inherent racist views or any other prejudices.

" We must work to identify such individuals before they are recruited and before they can damage the hard work of so many to celebrate and embrace diversity as a strength - not a weakness.

" We must also do everything we can to reassure all minority ethnic communities that these racist remarks do not reflect the views of the majority of police officers, many of whom have come out today to express their disgust at the ravings of these individuals. The officers identified by the programme are a disgrace to their colleagues and their profession.

" I would like to add my support for the family of Stephen Lawrence and especially for his parents Doreen and Neville Lawrence, who were so shamefully maligned by one of the officers in particular.

" It is largely through their persistence to expose the truth surrounding their son's tragic death that so much has been achieved in recent years to promote racial harmony and respect for others.

" Their determination to uncover failures surrounding the investigation into Stephen' s murder led directly to the setting up of the Stephen Lawrence Inquiry, which in turn brought about fundamental changes to the way in which police investigate racially motivated crimes and interact with minority ethnic communities."

Commenting specifically on the Metropolitan Police, Toby Harris continued:

"During the programme one of the officers made a serious allegation that all Metropolitan Police officers are racist. I want to state categorically that this is untrue.

"The Metropolitan Police Authority has worked assiduously with the Met to ensure that its culture is one that welcomes and promotes diversity. Of course, we haven't reached perfection and we never will.

"But we must not let that stop us from continuing to build an environment where officers and staff from all backgrounds and cultures work in harmony and in support of one another. Any form of prejudice is not and will not be tolerated, whether it is a flippant remark or a deep-seated racist viewpoint.

"We are also urgently addressing the problem of too many minority ethnic officers leaving the police within the first two years of service. To try and reverse this and look at the underlying causes, there is now a support programme run for minority ethnic recruits from the moment they join and which continues for the next five years of their service.

"Also, any recruit leaving Hendon is given an exit interview, which is attended by independent assessors. Our work in this area will continue until we are completely satisfied that the calibre and integrity of recruits achieves the highest professional and personal standards that we demand, and that no one is victimised after they join for any reason whatsoever."

Notes to editors

1. The MPA has already announced a wide-ranging and independent inquiry> into the handling of internal investigations and grievances within the Metropolitan Police Service, following recent high profile cases. The terms of reference will be wide enough to ensure that the inquiry team w> ill be able to deal with any racist issues it discovers in the course of its investigations. The Authority wants to eradicate any racism within the Metropolitan Police Service and we will encourage the inquiry to deal with any findings in their final report and recommendations.

2. There is already a major review of recruit and probationer training within the Metropolitan Police. The aim is to ensure that probationers are competent to deliver their operational responsibilities in the 21st century, helping to reduce crime and the fear of crime and enhancing public confidence.

3. The new training programme includes a significant emphasis on diversity. The chief aims are to improve the quality of the training and its impact on police performance. It will focus on modernising the course content and delivery methods. Diversity is a theme running through the entire recruit/probationer training programme and consideration of the implications for diversity is built into every part of the course.

4. All trainers have received training in personal awareness, multi-cultural Britain, legislation and policy, all of which is passed on to recruits.

5. The Director of Training and Development is now the 'lead' for all MPS training, not just 'centralised' training. There is a Training Management Board and Training Standards Unit, which direct the quality and type of training to be delivered and which has become established as the focal point for effective training support. There is a huge amount of work on this and our Human Resources Committee receives reports at each meeting on different aspects of training.

6. Current initiatives at the Metropolitan Police training college at Hendon includes independent assessors from the local community who attend initial interviews to check on fairness - this started on Sept 30th 2003 - and will be rolled out nationally under the National Police Recruitment Standards.

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