Institutional racism in the Metropolitan Police

A history of institutional racism, dating back to at least the 1970s, has been acknowledged by the London Metropolitan Police. Statistics on stop and search show a disproportionate number of such searches targeting those from ethnic minorities. Critcism is also levelled at the use of stop and search on children, particularly children from black and ethnic minority backgrounds.

In response, the Metropolitan Police has made efforts to increase diversity in recruitment and address racial bias.

History

Institutional racism has been acknowledged in the London Metropolitan Police since at least the 1970s and has recently^[when?] received significant coverage.

In 1970, a group of British black activists known as the Mangrove Nine were tried for violent clashes during a protest against the police targeting of The Mangrove restaurant in Notting Hill. The nine men were all acquitted of the most serious charges and the trial became the first judicial acknowledgement of racial hatred within the Metropolitan Police.^[1]

Following the murder of Stephen Lawrence in 1993, Judge William Macpherson headed a public inquiry (1998) into the handling of the original Metropolitan Police Service investigation of the murder. The inquiry concluded that the investigation was incompetent and that the force was institutionally racist.^[2]

In 2005, police shot dead Jean Charles de Menezes, a Brazilian man who had wrongly been identified as a perpetrator of the attempted terrorist bombings the day before.

During the 2020 COVID-19 pandemic, the Metropolitan police were found to be 2.17 times as likely to issue fines to black people for lockdown breaches, relative to the general population.^[3][4]

The Met said: "In total, more white people received FPNs [fixed penalty notices] or were arrested than other individual ethnic groups. However, when compared with the composition of the resident population, higher proportions of those in black and minority ethnic (BAME) groups were issued with FPNs or arrested across London as a whole. The reasons for this are likely to be complex and reflect a range of factors. This includes interactions between the areas subject to significant proactive policing activity targeting crime hotspots and both the variation in the age profile and geographical distribution of ethnic groups in London."^[3]

In March 2022 it was revealed that a 15-year old black girl, referred to as Child Q, was strip-searched by police in school without an adult present after wrongly being suspected of being in possession of Cannabis.^[5] An independent safeguarding report concluded the incident was unjustified and racism was likely a factor. Child Q is now suing the Metropolitan Police and pursuing civil action against her school.^[6] The two police officers who carried out the strip search have been removed from front line duties.^[7] In September 2023, the IOPC announced that four officers would face misconduct charges over the Child Q case.^[8]

Two years before the Child Q incident there were complaints that many strip searches of children were unjustified. In 2019 it was found that strip searches were disproportionately done to black and ethnic minority suspects. Inspectors found the number, "higher than we normally see", and involved, "many children and a significantly higher proportion of black and minority ethnic detainees".^[9] Metropolitan Police have strip searched 5,279 children during the three years up to 2022 and 75% (3,939) were from ethnically diverse backgrounds according to the LBC. Sixteen children strip searched were between ten and twelve years old. Statistics only cover children strip searched following arrest and the actual figures are likely to be higher.^[10] On 24 June 2022, Metropolitan police referred itself to the IOPC for investigation of 8 strip-searches of youngsters under 18. Reforms will be introduced including that an inspector will have to approve a strip-search of a child, an appropriate adult will have to be present and there will have to be a report. The Met stated "We have reviewed the policy for 'further searches' for those aged under 18 and made changes. This is to assure ourselves the policy is appropriate {...} and that it recognises the fact a child in these circumstances may well be a vulnerable victim of exploitation by others involved in gangs, county lines and drug dealing."^[11] Between 2018 and 2020 there were 650 strip-searches of children, 23% were without an appropriate adult. 58% of boys searched were black. Rachel de Souza said "I am not reassured that what happened to Child Q was an isolated issue, but instead believe it may be a particularly concerning example of a more systemic problem around child protection within the Metropolitan Police. I remain unconvinced that the Metropolitan Police is consistently considering children's welfare and wellbeing."^[12] The majority of children strip-searched were innocent. De Souza said "This low level of successful searches arguably indicates that this intrusive practice may well not be justified or necessary in all cases." (95%) of youngsters strip-searched were boys, and a quarter were under 16. De Souza said "I am also extremely concerned by the ethnic disproportionality shown in these figures, particularly given that ethnicity was determined to be such a key factor in the Child Q case. I am not reassured that what happened to Child Q was an isolated issue, but instead believe it may be a particularly concerning example of a more systemic problem around child protection within the Metropolitan police. I remain unconvinced that the Metropolitan police is consistently considering children's welfare and wellbeing."^[13] In September 2023, Det Supt James Conway said that the Met had been overusing the power of strip search, and that the Met had made changes in the procedure.^[8]

Response

In June 2022 the Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan, said that there was evidence of "systemic sexism, racism, homophobia, discrimination, misogyny" in the Met; he accepted that there are "dedicated, decent, brave officers" as well. Khan said he felt that the new Police Commissioner would need to restore confidence in London police. Khan accepted that London crime figures are going down.^[14] The Met has been put into special measures by H M Inspectorate of Constabulary. The Home Secretary, Priti Patel, said the Met was not getting "the basics right. (...) The process to recruit a new commissioner is well under way and I have made clear that the successful candidate must demonstrate sustained improvements in the Met Police in order to regain public trust both in London and across the country. The new commissioner will need to deliver on the public's priorities for the police – making our streets safer, bearing down on crime and bringing more criminals to justice, while continuing to recruit thousands of new officers to protect local communities."^[15] The Inspectorate has "systemic concerns" over the Met, including its inadequate response to emergency calls, "barely adequate" recording of crime and child abuse referrals developing a backlog. A letter from the watchdog to the Met said failures worsened due to the young and inexperienced recruits brought in as an element of the national move to replace thousands of experienced officers cut as part of austerity measures. Matt Parr of the Inspectorate wrote to Sir Stephen House that the inspectors had had "substantial and persistent concerns" about the Met "for a considerable time". The concerns included the Met's approach to tackling corruption which the letter said was "fundamentally flawed" and "not fit for purpose".^[16]

In August 2022, the Met started legal proceedings against Parm Sandhu, a former senior officer who has published a book including allegations of 'racial and gender discrimination' against her by the Met. The Met's claim is that Sandhu has breached a non-disclosure agreement which was part of a settlement agreement between Sandhu and the Met.^[17]

In September 2022, there were protests over the death of Chris Kaba, who was shot and killed by a Metropolitan Police officer in south London.^[18] The police officer involved was shortly afterwards suspended pending the outcome of the investigation by the IOPC. Two police cars had chased and stopped his vehicle late at night on 5 September, following a suspected armed incident the previous day involving the vehicle Kaba was driving.^[19] The family also privately met with Scotland Yard's new Commissioner, Sir Mark Rowley, for 25 minutes after viewing the footage.^[20] On 30 March 2023, the IOPC announced that they had referred the case to the Crown Prosecution Service, ^[21] with the latter announcing on 20 September that year that an officer had been charged with murder in relation to it.^[22]

References