Suffolk Police commit to doing more to tackle racism
The force is among those taking part in a national Race Action Plan
Last updated 26th May 2022
Suffolk Police is getting involved with the national police Race Action plan to ensure more is being done to create a more inclusive environment in the police force.
Police chiefs have insisted that a new plan to tackle racism among officers is not about political correctness or being "woke".
The National Police Chiefs Council (NPCC) launched a Police Race Action Plan on Tuesday, aimed at tackling discrimination, addressing unfairness in the way black people are treated, and boosting the number of black officers and staff.
Black people are nine times more likely to be stopped and searched than white people, and five times more likely to have force used upon them.
The head of professional body the College of Policing Chief Constable Andy Marsh and senior responsible officer for the plan Chief Constable Sir Dave Thompson, said
They are "ashamed" of racism among officers and they "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.
"We have much to do to secure the confidence of black people, including our own staff, and improve their experience of policing - and we will."
The plan, launched on Tuesday, and will face public scrutiny before it is updated in December.
Sir Dave is aware this plan will face challenges from the very beginning.
"Some people will feel our words and actions do not go far enough, this has been too slow.
"Others will criticise this as being woke or politically correct policing."
However, he wants to encourage people not to disregard the plan before it has been put into action.
"If you come to the plan with pre-set beliefs, then you'll find something to criticise about it, I am sure ... This plan is about good policing."
The plan has also come under pressure as being an attempt for the police to be 'woke'
"Temporary deputy chief constable Tyron Joyce, the UK's highest ranking black officer and director of the NPCC programme, said.
"How can it be woke to be more legitimate and more effective in how we stop and search people?
"And how can it be woke if all of that results in people feeling safer?"
The plan aims to create an actively anti-racist police service with zero tolerance for racism.
The plan will also have a "explain or reform" approach where black people are treated differently from their white counterparts.
"Andy George, president of the National Black Police Association, said the plan "must be more than a document which ticks boxes".
"We want and we demand real, lasting change," he added.
"Mr Marsh said the low levels of trust among black people are not sustainable.
"There is a moral and operational imperative to undertake this work,"
"The British principle of policing by consent is built on trust and confidence of the public in the police.
"With that trust comes co-operation, dialogue and crucial sharing of information that is essential for us to tackle crime.
"That trust is far too low among black people, and we are less effective because of it. That is no longer sustainable."
"The plan says there is still "overt racist behaviour in policing", and aims to create an actively "anti-racist" police service, with zero tolerance of discrimination.
"However, both officers and Mr Joyce refused to say whether policing is institutionally racist during a briefing with journalists when the plan was launched.
"Mr George and barrister Abimbola Johnson, head of a board that will scrutinise the plan, both agreed that it is.
"Black people are under-represented in the police, and officers and staff are more likely to face disciplinary proceedings and less likely to get promoted.
"The plan aims to boost both recruitment and retention of black police officers and staff, and bring in an "explain or reform" policy in relation to disparities between the ways black and white people are treated.
"There will also be mandatory training on the history of the policing of black people and the ongoing impact of disproportionality.
And increased involvement of black community groups in the oversight of policing, as well as plans to improve the service to black victims of crime.
We spoke to Deputy Chief Constable of Suffolk of Suffolk Police, Rachel Kearton, who told us about the Race Action Plan and how Suffolk is taking part.
"It's looking to improve the training.
"To support our own black staff who work within the police service and to ensure that they have the same opportunities to progress through the organization, as anyone else.
"And also to make sure that externally the communities are supported.
"That things like, policing of stop search is carried out in a fair and just way to all members of the community, including our black members of the local public.
"So they are very carefully regulated already in Suffolk.
"We use the body worn video to record all stops searches, and that body worn video is then used to present information to an independent scrutiny panel.
"But there is probably opportunity for a greater use of independent scrutiny.
"So they're members of our local communities who will look at the way that police officers have behaved.
"They'll examine the body worn video footage and various other pieces of information, documentation supporting what's actually happened to ensure that the officers have had good reason to stop those interviews.
"And that they've followed good practice throughout the procedure as well."
We asked what is considered good practice
"There there's a very strong legal basis that has to be proven before an officer can stop somebody, and then can carry out that process of search if necessary.
"There has to be reasonable grounds to believe that an offense has been coming.
"And there are other areas that need to be taken, names and details need to be recorded.
"All of that type of procedural process needs to be completed.
"And a copy of the record needs to be available for the individuals.
"If any one of those areas is not completed properly, then that stops searches has failed to read the meet the high standard that is expected."
"The processes doesn't discriminate externally, but all it takes is to have a look across the organization, to see where we have representation members of all black community.
"And there's not a very strong representation in our more senior levels in Suffolk police.
"For example, the highest ranking black police officer in Suffolk police is a Sergeant.
"It's one rank away from being the entry level of being a police Constable.
"In my mind, it shows that we've got a lot of work to do to make sure that the rest of the organization potentially believe to be a fair and open process at the moment is indeed accessible to everybody and equitable.
"So it may be that the opportunities to apply appear to be equal for people, but for various underlying reasons, there are certain members of staff that don't feel that they've got a fair shot at that.
"And there are some of the areas that I am looking into in order to make sure that we have better representation throughout every run of my organization.
"This is a serious issue for policing and it's for us to deal with as opposed to a signing any particular language around it.
"There is a lot of activity required in the police and the new race and inclusion plan. And a lot of that is already underway. There's still very much more, but needs to be done.
"We run a very important function within communities and within the public sector, and this is about making sure that we deliver a quality service that is fair, accessible, and that delivers to victims of crime.
"So assigning labels to it, to, to disregard what the intent is behind the. It's not helpful.
"This is a very serious piece of work and that's the way that it will be dealt with in Suffolk police