MPA calls for urgent action to drive out racism in police

85/03
30 October 2003

Speaking at the Metropolitan Police Authority on Thursday 30 October 2003 Reshard Auladin, Chair of the Professional Standards and Complaints Committee, said:

“The BBC programme ‘The Secret Policeman’ screened last week was one of those watershed events which shocked millions in this country. The images, including a policeman in a klu klux klan hood were very disturbing and sickening. Had they not been captured on film, people would have been tempted to dismiss them as fiction.

“What was abundantly clear from the film is that extreme racism and hatred found it easy to flourish at a police training college. It was bad enough watching these offensive recruits but to see trainers giving succour to them was obscene.

“The film was a good reminder, that despite all the efforts of the last few years, we have a long way to go before we eradicate racism and prejudice from our police forces. This Authority and the Met should, today, send the strongest message possible to all concerned that we will leave no stone unturned in our endeavour to rid the service of this cancer. Let us not forget that it is the same kind of hatred which has fuelled atrocities around the world for years and we ignore it at our peril.

“We should all today renew our commitment to fight this evil whenever we encounter it. Whilst we acknowledge that the majority of police officers are very hard working and decent people, there is a minority who are, as one newspaper described them, “wicked thugs in police uniform”. They cause misery to lives and we have a duty to protect society from them.

“I welcome the pronouncements already made by the Commissioner on this issue. I would urge him to redouble his efforts to tackle this problem by adopting whatever approach necessary. It was interesting that initial reactions from a number of Chief Constables and others to the programme was to condemn the BBC. I, personally, think we should congratulate them. We work in partnership with countless number of organisations to tackle crime. Perhaps we should take television programme makers as partners in dealing with this particular crime. Allow them access to the service. That will be the ultimate in transparency and integrity testing. Whatever we decide to do, we must do it as a matter of urgency.”

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