Skip to content
Search

Latest Stories

Top officer says police must admit to 'institutional racism'

“I've [publicly accepted institutional racism.] I did it when I was chief in Surrey as well,� Stephens said.

Top officer says police must admit to 'institutional racism'

ONE OF the leading police officials in the United Kingdom (UK) has said that police forces should admit to being "institutionally racist."

Gavin Stephens, the chair of the National Police Chiefs' Council (NPCC), said the police needs to facing these issues openly to rebuild trust within local communities.


Stephens, who took the helm of the NPCC in April after serving as the chief constable in Surrey, said that denial of institutional racism can hinder collaboration with certain community groups, reported The Telegraph.

"What I’ve found, over the last 11 months, is that some groups simply won’t work with us or take us seriously if we don’t accept the diagnosis of institutional racism and say it out loud," he said.

“I’ve [publicly accepted institutional racism.] I did it when I was chief in Surrey as well,” Stephens added. His approach also calls for a broader recognition of discrimination, drawing from the findings of Dame Elish Angiolini's report on Met police officer Wayne Couzens, suggesting a commitment to combating all forms of discrimination.

“You may have seen one of the Angiolini recommendations is about having a commitment to being anti-sexist, misogynistic and so on. I think we extend that. We need to be anti-discriminatory in all of its forms,” Stephens said during a police leadership conference at Staffordshire University.

His stance contrasts with that of Met Commissioner Sir Mark Rowley, who has expressed reservations about the term "institutional," used by Dame Louise Casey in her review to describe the Met's issues with racism, misogyny, and homophobia. Rowley described the term as "ambiguous" and a "political term," which could be misconstrued as labeling most Met personnel as racist.

The former Home Secretary, Suella Braverman, supported Rowley's view, criticising the notion that the police are institutionally racist as harmful to both police morale and community relations. Braverman argued that police chiefs should concentrate on reducing crime and maintaining public safety rather than engaging in what she termed "virtue-signalling."

Despite these controversies, some police chiefs, including those in Scotland and Avon and Somerset, have acknowledged institutional racism within their ranks, which has stirred dissent among frontline officers, The Telegraph reported.

Stephens recognised the divisiveness of this issue but suggested that misunderstandings about the term's meaning are widespread.

“In amongst all that debate, I completely accept that – even today – there isn’t a settled position across all chiefs on institutional racism. There are differences of views about the use of the term and the language,” he said.

“Some, in my view, quite wrongly imply that it means widespread racism across the workforce. I think that it’s a leadership responsibility to explain that’s not what it means. That’s not what Sir William Macpherson meant by it. It’s not what Louise Casey meant by it either,” Stephens said, referencing the definition by Sir William Macpherson: “The collective failure of an organisation to provide an appropriate and professional service to people because of their color, culture, or ethnic origin. It can be seen or detected in processes, attitudes and behavior which amount to discrimination through unwitting prejudice, ignorance, thoughtlessness and racist stereotyping which disadvantage minority ethnic people.”

More For You

british-muslims-iStock

The study noted that this identification was not due to any doctrinal obligation but was influenced by the perception that many Muslims do not feel fully accepted as British. (Representational image: iStock)

iStock

Majority of British Muslims identify by faith first, study finds

A STUDY by the Institute for the Impact of Faith in Life (IIFL) has found that most British Muslims identify primarily with their religion rather than their nationality.

The research, based on a survey of 815 British Muslim adults by Whitestone Insight, revealed that 71 per cent of respondents identified as Muslim first, while 27 per cent identified as British, English, or Scottish first.

Keep ReadingShow less
Car Tax Changes: EV Owners Now Required to Pay for the First Time

Owners of electric vehicles registered on or after 1 April 2025 will pay £10 for the first year, followed by the standard VED rate of £195 from the second year. (Representational image: iStock)

iStock

Car tax changes take effect: EV owners to pay for first time

FROM today, 1 April 2025, electric cars, vans, and motorcycles in the UK will be subject to Vehicle Excise Duty (VED) for the first time.

The change, introduced in the 2022 Autumn Statement by former Conservative Chancellor Jeremy Hunt, aims to make motoring taxation fairer.

Keep ReadingShow less
scotland-minimum-wages-iStock

Full-time workers on the National Living Wage will receive an annual pay increase of £1,400 in real terms. (Representational image: iStock)

iStock

Wage increase takes effect for thousands of workers in Scotland

HUNDREDS of thousands of workers in Scotland will see a pay increase as new National Living Wage and National Minimum Wage rates take effect from Tuesday.

The changes will benefit approximately 220,000 people, according to STV News.

Keep ReadingShow less
uk-energy-bill-iStock

Water bills, energy prices, and council tax are rising, while the minimum wage has also increased (Representational image: iStock)

iStock

April bill increases put financial strain on single parents

A RANGE of essential household bills are increasing from April, with Citizens Advice warning that single parents will be among the hardest hit.

Water bills, energy prices, and council tax are rising, while the minimum wage has also increased, BBC reported.

Keep ReadingShow less
Netflix drama Adolescence to be screened in UK schools
Stephen Graham and Owen Cooper in 'Adolescence'
Netflix

Netflix drama Adolescence to be screened in UK schools

THE NETFLIX drama Adolescence will be shown in UK secondary schools as part of efforts to address harmful online influences on young boys, officials announced on Monday.

The show has sparked debate over the impact of toxic and misogynistic content on the internet. Prime minister Keir Starmer met the show's creators, charities, and young people at Downing Street, calling the initiative an important step in starting discussions about the content teenagers are exposed to online.

Keep ReadingShow less