Racism exists in constabulary, chief constable says in interview
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CHIEF constable of Gloucestershire Constabulary Rod Hansen has revealed that racism “does exist within” the force.
The chief constable said it was “fact” that racism was part of society and that the police were a sub-section of society.
Speaking on BBC Radio Gloucestershire, Mr Hansen said: “I don’t doubt that as a sub-section of society, and there is racism in society that’s a fact, and we are part of that society. We must be acutely aware that it may exist and on occasion does exist within the constabulary.
“In terms of stop and search, for example, there has been a steep decline in the use of that tactic since 2010 across the country. Gloucestershire is one of the lowest three forces for using stop and search tactics. We stop about five people a day, maybe, and we need to make sure there is a high outcome rate for the complaints are reducing.
“I must say that, in terms of stop and search, that finding nothing can be a good result – it can exonerate an individual, stop them being arrested, and stop an unnecessary arrest.”
Figures from the Home Office revealed that black people are eight times more likely to get stopped by police than white people.
Mr Hansen added: “There is disproportionality in our statistics from the Home Office statistics, eight times more likely to stop black people than white people. This is no justification at all but it varies hugely across the country, and one small force neighbouring Gloucestershire it is 25 times more likely.
“That said, we have to improve our understanding of why this is happening. That is what the transparency panel is about and I would urge members of the representative community to come and join that panel. We are looking to create a full BAME advisory panel to look at all those things. If you are interested, please do make contact with us.”