6 2GM Wednesday February 16 2022 | the times
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The Metropolitan Police are resisting
pressure for chief constables to declare
that policing is institutionally racist,
despite warnings that they cannot
repair broken relations with the black
community without the admission.
Police leaders have been in high-level
talks about making the declaration to
show black and minority communities
that they accept that racism and dis-
crimination are ingrained in the ser-
vice, and will take radical steps to fix it.
The Times has been told that the Met
is one of several police forces opposed
to the admission in reforms by the
National Police Chiefs Council
(NPCC). Helen Ball, an assistant com-
missioner and one of Dame Cressida
Dick’s staunchest allies, spoke out
against it at a meeting this month.
The stance has raised eyebrows
among some police chiefs, given the
poor relationship between the Met and
London’s black community, with alle-
gations of heavy handed policing.
Dick resigned as commissioner last
more than 90 per cent of the police in
England and Wales are white. Less than
1 per cent of promotions last year went
to black officers, and they are likely to
face harsher disciplinary procedures.
Black people are seven times more like-
ly to be stopped and searched than
white people.
The NPCC has appointed AbimbolaAlmost 60 per cent of rank and file
police officers are suffering from low
morale and 78 per cent said they did not
feel respected by the public, according
to a survey.
More than one in ten officers claim
they are on the brink of resigning, with
the majority citing the financial impli-
cations of the long-term wage freeze
Almost 80% of police officers don’t feel respected by public
and their treatment during the pan-
demic. More than 90 per cent do not
feel respected by the government.
Policing across the country has been
plunged into crisis with ebbing public
confidence, record numbers of assaults
against officers and low detection rates
for crimes across the board.
While the Metropolitan Police have
been the focus of concern over sexism
and racism, there have been high--profile misconduct cases across the
country.
One policing veteran said that in 26
years they had never been treated with
so much contempt by senior officers,
government, media and the public. A
constable with four years’ service said:
“The public seem to hate us and have no
respect for us most of the time, which
makes dealing with jobs much harder.”
The Police Federation of Englandand Wales, which represents more than
130,000 constables, sergeants and in-
spectors, warned that police were at
“breaking point”.
In its annual pay and morale survey
of nearly 30,000 rank and file officers,
58 per cent reported low morale, up
from 48 per cent last year. Only 14 per
cent said that morale was high. A record
92 per cent said they were not fairly
paid for the job’s stresses and strains.Fiona Hamilton
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A patient who died last week of
lassa fever, a viral disease similar
to ebola, was a newborn baby at
Luton and Dunstable Hospital, it
is understood. The BBC quoted
an email sent to staff by the
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travel in west Africa.Boohoo advert banned
The Advertising Standards
Authority has banned a Boohoo
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Boohoo said its marketing was
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She wrote on the cover: “Lulu
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A veteran of TV adaptations is
eyeing up a new project: a
fictional account of a prime
minister whose career could be
ruined by “damaging personal
indiscretions”. Andrew Davies, 85,
who adapted the Jane Austen
novel Pride and Prejudice for the
BBC in the 90s, will create a show
about Downing Street, the
website Deadline was told.Gender-free teachers
Pupils should replace Mr and Mrs
with “teacher”, followed by the
surname, to help make schools
gender-free, a training session
recommended. In a webinar
organised by the National
Education Union, Elly Barnes of
the Educate & Celebrate charity,
said words like “boys and girls” or
“mothers and fathers” should be
replaced by “pupils” or “parents”.
The NEU said it did not believe
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Cryptic clues every day onlineJUSTIN TALLIS/AFP/GETTY IMAGESWe don’t want to say that we’re
institutionally racist, insists Met
week after the latest scandal of police
officers at Charing Cross, who joked
about killing black children and raping
female colleagues. Last summer she de-
nied that the Met was institutionally
racist, and said it was an unhelpful term.
Sadiq Khan, the mayor of London,
who ousted her by withdrawing his
support, has been vocal about his con-
cerns that black Londoners do not trust
the Met. He warned that the racism and
sexism scandals engulfing the force
were a “more profound” moment than
the inquiry into the 1993 murder of the
black teenager Stephen Lawrence, 19.
In 1999 the Macpherson inquiry said
policing was institutionally racist
because of failings that allowed the
killers to escape justice for so long.
Yesterday Bas Javid, a deputy assist-
ant commissioner and the brother of
Sajid Javid, the health secretary, told
Newsnight on BBC2 that the Met con-
tained “people who have racist views
and are racist”. He added, however, that
“what I won’t do is describe all the orga-
nisation as racist”.
Despite efforts to improve diversity,Johnson, a black barrister, to chair an
independent board scrutinising its
action plan on race. She has said that
any plan should acknowledge there is
institutional racism.
Some chiefs and campaigners say
meaningful change will occur only by
declaring there to be institutional
racism because it allows the problem to
be clearly identified and acknowledges
a collective failure to effect change.
However, the issue is extremely divi-
sive and other chiefs, including Stephen
Watson, of Greater Manchester police,
are understood to agree with the Met.
Senior officers opposed to the move
argued at the meeting this month that
the term did not acknowledge that
there were biases in society, outside the
control of policing, that contributed to
disproportionality. It also ignored im-
provements made in recent years.
Andy George, head of the National
Black Police Association, said a “whole-
sale admission” of institutional racism-
was necessary. “I don’t think anything
other than [that] will instil confidence
that this time will be different,” he said.Fiona Hamilton Crime Editor Racism defined
Institutional racism as defined by
Sir William Macpherson, chairman
of the Stephen Lawrence inquiry:
“The collective failure of an
organisation to provide an
appropriate and professional service
to people because of their colour,
culture or ethnic origin. It can be
seen or detected in processes,
attitudes and behaviour which
amount to discrimination through
unwitting prejudice, ignorance,
thoughtlessness and racial
stereotyping.”