Racism complaints against British police officers have more than doubled in the past decade, despite efforts to improve relations with ethnic minorities in the wake of the Stephen Lawrence scandal.
Police forces have received hundreds of allegations of racist behaviour, from violence and false arrest to rudeness and unfair treatment, records obtained by The Independent on Sunday reveal.
But the vast majority of the complaints submitted by alleged victims of racial abuse have been rejected, because the police themselves have ruled either that they are untrue, or that they cannot be substantiated. Only a handful of officers have faced reprimands, including official warnings, for their behaviour – and fewer still have been dismissed.
Critics last night claimed the figures prove that recent high-profile allegations of racist behaviour were “the tip of an iceberg”, and that police were “in denial” about the extent of racism within their ranks. However, police officials countered that the majority of complaints were baseless, and reflected the hostility ordinary officers had to face on the streets every day.
The Metropolitan Police was plunged into a fresh race storm last month, when the police watchdog launched an investigation into allegations that racist comments were made by a group of its officers between January and March. Critics accused the police of learning nothing during the 13 years since the Macpherson report into the botched investigation of the murder of the London teenager Stephen Lawrence branded the force “institutionally racist”. About 120 Met officers were found guilty of racist behaviour between 1999, when the report was published, and 2011.
But an IoS investigation has established that complaints of racism against police across the country have soared at a time when all forces have been under pressure to build bridges with ethnic minority communities. An analysis of complaints received by 20 forces, including Kent, Bedfordshire, Derbyshire and Central Scotland, has revealed that more than 1,500 officers and civilian staff have been accused of racist behaviour. The annual total has risen from 74 in 2001-02, to 167 in 2010-11, the last year for which figures are available.
However, the vast majority of complaints were recorded as “unsubstantiated”, and fewer than one in every 40 accused employees faced official punishment as a result of their alleged actions....read more
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Police forces have received hundreds of allegations of racist behaviour, from violence and false arrest to rudeness and unfair treatment, records obtained by The Independent on Sunday reveal.
But the vast majority of the complaints submitted by alleged victims of racial abuse have been rejected, because the police themselves have ruled either that they are untrue, or that they cannot be substantiated. Only a handful of officers have faced reprimands, including official warnings, for their behaviour – and fewer still have been dismissed.
Critics last night claimed the figures prove that recent high-profile allegations of racist behaviour were “the tip of an iceberg”, and that police were “in denial” about the extent of racism within their ranks. However, police officials countered that the majority of complaints were baseless, and reflected the hostility ordinary officers had to face on the streets every day.
The Metropolitan Police was plunged into a fresh race storm last month, when the police watchdog launched an investigation into allegations that racist comments were made by a group of its officers between January and March. Critics accused the police of learning nothing during the 13 years since the Macpherson report into the botched investigation of the murder of the London teenager Stephen Lawrence branded the force “institutionally racist”. About 120 Met officers were found guilty of racist behaviour between 1999, when the report was published, and 2011.
But an IoS investigation has established that complaints of racism against police across the country have soared at a time when all forces have been under pressure to build bridges with ethnic minority communities. An analysis of complaints received by 20 forces, including Kent, Bedfordshire, Derbyshire and Central Scotland, has revealed that more than 1,500 officers and civilian staff have been accused of racist behaviour. The annual total has risen from 74 in 2001-02, to 167 in 2010-11, the last year for which figures are available.
However, the vast majority of complaints were recorded as “unsubstantiated”, and fewer than one in every 40 accused employees faced official punishment as a result of their alleged actions....read more
http://blog.old-and-bold.info/?p=10833#comments
