Police in England and Wales say that a new national anti-racism plan that will involve mandatory training in black history, will address levels of mistrust among black people in England and Wales. But some are cautious about the consequences of the officially adopted ideology that they say will compel police officers to morally check themselves.
The Police Race Action Plan, which sets out changes needed to become an “anti-racist police service,” has been rolled out in England and Wales.
One education expert said the new plan was “dangerous” and “Maoist” in its technique, and a former police officer called it “political bandwagon-jumping” and “virtue signalling,” which will undermine police work.
‘We Are Ashamed of Those Truths’
In the new 50-page report, police said that the death of George Floyd in the United States “provided a catalyst for the expression of deep concerns about the social injustice experienced by black people.”It also said that the case of Stephen Lawrence, a young black man who was stabbed to death in a racially motivated attack in London by a gang of white youths in London in 1993, was a “watershed moment” in facing up to racism in policing.
Police chiefs also made a formal official apology for “racism, discrimination, and bias.”
“We accept that policing still contains racism, discrimination, and bias. We are ashamed of those truths, we apologise for them, and we are determined to change them,” wrote Chief Constable Sir David Thompson and Chief Constable Andy Marsh in a joint foreword.
Some of the measures include introducing mandatory training for all police officers and staff about racism, anti-racism, black history, and its connection to policing.
Police will also adopt a new “explain or reform” approach to race disparities and will develop a new approach to tackle the use of police powers such as stop and search.
“Clearly policing is not unique in this, racism and conscious or unconscious bias is a society-wide problem, but given our powers and essential role in society the standard for policing must be higher,” said Thompson, the senior responsible officer for the Police Race Action Plan.
“There is a moral and operational imperative to undertake this work. Racism or discrimination of any kind is deplorable, completely unacceptable and should have no place in society and no place in policing,” said Marsh, CEO of the College of Policing, the official professional body for the police in England and Wales.
Cynicism and Mistrust
Alka Sehgal Cuthbert, head of education strategy for Don’t Divide Us, an organisation set up to take a stand against the UK’s “divisive obsession with people’s racial identity,” told The Epoch Times that she believes the new anti-racist approach from the police was “dangerous” and “Maoist” in its technique.“I think all it can do will lead to cynicism and mistrust and ultimately leave us all divided,” she said.
“While they seem to be holding the line against saying they are institutionally racist, by saying they are institutionally anti-racist, it’s kind of saying the same thing really. It’s saying that unless they take these measures and the Maoist idea of reduction, racism will run rife across the workforce,” she said.
By Maoist, Cuthbert meant in its method and in its technique, rather than ideologically.
“This is meant by cutting people off from their past, i.e. this idea of year zero and starting again, or zero tolerance, and rewriting our social script by which we understand who we are,” she said.
“I totally see that it’s very dangerous,” said Cuthbert, noting that she believes the anti-racism plan will force and coerce people to check themselves morally all the time.
‘Get the Police to Obey the Law’
Harry Miller, a former police officer who is now part of the organisation Fair Cop, said, “It’s an empty confession.”Fair Cop was set up in response to what it calls the “Big Brother” overreach of various police forces and other authorities in England.
Miller called the new plan “political bandwagon-jumping and virtue signalling,” adding that it is “undermining confidence” and encourages police officers to “grass,” or snitch, on other officers for the most minor breaches.
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“One eyebrow raised at the prospect of an intersectionality conference; they will send you on a reflective course about how to think,” he said.
Reflecting on the landmark finding of the 1999 Macpherson report, which found that racism was an important factor in the failure of the Metropolitan Police investigation into Stephen Lawrence’s murder, Miller said that “all those years on we still haven’t put it right.”
“If they cared they would apply Macpherson to their own officers,” he said, noting that the Met had only recorded one “non-crime hate incident” against its officers between 2014–2022.
“They are a waste of time, they randomly applied them to the public and gave their own officers a pass. The interesting thing about Macpherson was primarily that it wasn’t addressing public attitudes, it was about addressing police attitudes,” he said.
He added that police not caring or refusing to see “black on black crime” is not anti-racist, “it’s just stupid.”
“For me, the way to do it, is to get the police to obey the law and the Equality Act, it’s as simple as that. It’s been around since 2010, it’s not new. Just obey the ... law and be done,” he said.
The College of Policing did not comment on specific questions from The Epoch Times and instead referred to its Police Action Plan report.
