Police Race Action Plan requires ‘robust’ restructure to achieve anti-racist aims, says ISOB

Published in 2022, the plan was jointly developed by the National Police Chiefs’ Council (NPCC) and the College of Policing and sets out the ambition of police chiefs in England and Wales to build an anti-racist police service and address race disparities affecting black people working within or interacting with policing.

However, the report argues that, without a change in structure, the Police Race Action Plan will not aid in improving relations between black communities and the police.

The ‘Police Race Action Plan: Independent Scrutiny and Oversight Board Annual Report’ highlights how the structure of the Race Action Programme too closely follows the structure of policing, meaning that documented discrimination issues in the institution is likely to impact the programme.

It outlines seven key areas for improving the plan, including introducing tangible success metrics, better admin support and resources for coordinators, and a clear communications strategy.

The annual report is published following Baroness Casey’s landmark review, which found widespread misogyny, racism, and homophobia in the Metropolitan Police Service, and ahead of publication of reiteration of the Race Action Plan in upcoming months.

Abimbola Johnson, chair of the ISOB, said: “Policing is at an important inflection point where nothing less than a genuine commitment to anti-racism is acceptable to black communities and wider society.

“Pockets of enthusiasm and action do exist within policing, but this now requires elevation across the police service and properly embedded into the fabric of the institution.

“A far more robust Race Action Plan and Programme can achieve this and deliver on the commitments made by the police three years ago.”

Ahead of reiteration of the plan, the report recommends: the reconfiguration of the Race Action Programme to better reflect an anti-racism programme; provision of adequate resourcing to the plan; an increase in engagement with external stakeholders; the development and delivery of a clear communications strategy; tangible and measurable performance metrics; identification of clear areas of focus; and improvements to the flow of information to the ISOB.

Chief Constable Rachel Swann, NPCC vice-chair, said: “Much has been done by policing to address racism. Policing is more inclusive, more diverse, and more reflective of our communities than it has ever been. Equally, we acknowledge that racism still exists and there is more still to be done.

“We are proud that the plan is ambitious, however, it is not enough to just say we are not racist. Policing needs to evidence the changes achieved through the plan to become an anti-racist organisation.

“We know reform is needed for policing to gain the trust and confidence of black people and all other members of the public who feel marginalised. The commitment by all chief constables and senior leaders to provide an anti-racist police service remains unwavering.”

She added: “The appointment of the ISOB to the Police Race Action Plan is a first for a national UK policing programme. The value the board members bring to the plan in providing specialist expertise, independent insight and scrutiny from professional black voices in order to improve our transparency and effectiveness, is intrinsic to its legitimacy.

“I would like to thank the Independent Scrutiny and Oversight Board members for their insight presented in the annual report, and their continued hard work and dedication to scrutinising the activity undertaken by the central team and forces. We welcome the recommendations made and will now consider in detail alongside the appointment of our new programme director who will be announced later this month.

“We cannot underestimate the scale of the challenge ahead but we continue to work collaboratively and in new ways to achieve the action of the plan. Gaining the trust and confidence of all our communities is in the best interest of policing, the best interest of the communities we serve, and those who give service as officers staff and volunteers.”

Andy George, president of the National Black Police Association, said: “The NPCC made a bold commitment over three years ago to deal with the ongoing issues of racism within policing.

“Since then, we have continued to see reports detailing abhorrent behaviour in service whilst seeing limited progress from the Police Race Action Plan to deliver a more fair and equitable service for our members and the communities we come from.”

“The Police Race Action Plan is our last chance to prove to the black community that we are genuine in our desire to be a service we can all be proud of.

“There must be an urgent reset of the plan, and we welcome the annual report from the ISOB detailing where improvements can be made.”

The Association of Police and Crime Commissioners joint equality, diversity and human rights leads, Alison Lowe OBE and John Campion, said: “The report published today highlights fundamental areas of improvement which must be addressed as a matter of urgency if we are to effectively tackle race disparity in policing.

“As the public’s voice in policing, Police and crime commissioners recognise the critical importance of improving confidence and trust in policing amongst all of our communities – and in particular black communities, where we know confidence is low.

“That is why we implemented our very own cross-party action plan to drive progress in tackling race disparity in policing and criminal justice both locally and nationally, and help to tackle the lower levels of confidence that some black communities have in policing and criminal justice.

“Much has been done to address racism and ensure policing is more inclusive and diverse, but we have only just touched the surface. To gain the trust and confidence of black people and other marginalised members of the public we must fully reform.

“We will continue to work with our national partners, scrutinising and monitoring this plan and ensure the recommendations are addressed.”