Top cops in anti-racism pledge and action plan

POLICE chiefs said they are “ashamed” of racism within their ranks, as they set out a plan to “secure the confidence of black people”.

Vowing that the police service will become an “institutionally anti-racist organisation”, leaders said the need for change is evident as it lags behind almost every part of the public service as an employer of choice for black people.

They branded the fact that only two black officers in the history of the police had reached the rank of chief constable or assistant commissioner a “failure”.

In a foreword to the Police Race Action Plan, Chief Constables Andy Marsh and Sir Dave Thompson said the murder of George Floyd in America provided a “catalyst for the expression of deep concerns about the social injustice experienced by black people”, and policing has a “difficult history in its relationships with black communities”.

They said: “We 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. We will be held to account and we welcome scrutiny.

“We hope that, in the future, we will be seen as the institutionally anti-racist organisation we want to be.”

The 57-page plan intends to make the police service “antiracist”, one which condemns “overt racist behaviour” and wants officers to be “trusted by black people”.