ANALYSIS: With just over a year to go until the end of National Police Chiefs’ Council funding for the Police Race Action Plan, Ian Weinfass looks at what chief constables across England and Wales hope it can achieve, and speaks to the chair of its independent scrutiny board and the head of the National Black Police Association about what else needs to be done.
ANALYSIS: In the fourth in a series of five articles looking at the big debates in police use of facial recognition (FR), extracted from this year’s ‘Facing the future: The rise of facial recognition in policing’ report, Policing Insight’s James Sweetland explores the crucial issue of privacy and intrusion – which goes to the very heart of the FR debate – and looks at the absence of legislation around FR, with much of the early oversight coming from privacy regulators.
FEATURE: Senior police leaders in England and Wales are drafting guidance on governance for the hundreds of staff networks for the first time, but their efforts to establish a consistent framework have already drawn criticism from some groups, and the potential of a legal challenge, as Ian Weinfass reports.
FEATURE: This month’s National Black Police Association Conference heard that Whitehall is engaging with the Police Race Action Plan for the first time, and that HM Inspectorate of Constabulary and Fire & Rescue Services could inspect against its outcomes, but that it does not have the backing of the UK’s main staff association for minority ethnic officers and staff, as Ian Weinfass reports.
INTERVIEW: Former Metropolitan Police Assistant Commissioner and National Police Chief’s Council Lead for Counter-Terrorism Policing Neil Basu QPM is one of the country’s most outspoken former senior cops; in the final part of a series of interviews with Policing Insight’s James Sweetland, he discussed institutional racism – what chief constables really think about this contentious label, the “utterly ineffective and utterly ignored” Police Race Action Plan, and why taking on neo-Nazi group National Action was one of his “proudest moments” in policing.
OPINION: The August Bank Holiday weekend saw huge crowds at the Notting Hill Carnival, and while many were there to celebrate, others were intent on violence, with eight stabbings, two fatalities, more than 50 police officers injured, and 334 arrests; former police officer Oliver Laurence, now Managing Director of the Public Safety Foundation, believe it’s time to take a new approach to making the event safer.
INTERVIEW: After the launch of the first Police Race Action Plan Progress Report, Policing Insight’s Ian Weinfass spoke to Programme Director, Temporary Deputy Assistant Commissioner Dr Alison Heydari, about losing the support of a key staff association, institutional racism, and the future of the race action plan in the face of funding uncertainties.
INTERVIEW: With less than nine months until funding for the national programme to improve outcomes for Black people interacting with and working in policing in England and Wales comes to an end, Policing Insight’s Ian Weinfass spoke to Abimbola Johnson, chair of its Independent Scrutiny & Oversight Board, about its “glacial” progress and future prospects.
INTERVIEW: Kurtis Christoforides, CEO of police recruitment and training charity Police Now, spoke to Policing Insight’s Sarah Gibbons about the importance of attracting the “broadest and best” range of talent through a variety of entry routes, the new recruitment programme for specialist counter-terror detectives, and the need for all officers to be supported to ensure a representative service.
LONG READ: Thirty years after the murder of Stephen Lawrence – and the subsequent Inquiry description of the Met Police as “institutionally racist” – the force, and UK policing more widely, is wrestling with many of the same issues; Policing Insight’s Ian Weinfass spoke to officers involved both then and now to find out what has changed over the past three decades, and what more needs to be done.
OPINION: In a week which marks the anniversary of the publication of the Macpherson Report, West Midlands Assistant Chief Constable Matt Ward shares an insight into personal responses to racism, and argues that unless policing can accept it has treated some communities less favourably than others, those communities will have no reason to co-operate with the service – a vicious cycle that threatens police legitimacy.
INTERVIEW: A week after Paddy Tipping took over as Chair of the Association of Police and Crime Commissioners, the Home Secretary announced a review of the role of PCCs. Undaunted, the former MP has welcomed the news, and believes the APCC has key role to play in promoting good practice, securing funding, and pushing for 'cultural change' on inclusion and diversity.
OPINION: Brian Langston, retired Assistant Chief Constable and former member of the National Black Police Association Executive writes that the current quest for representative 'Identity' diversity in the police service is misguided and unachievable, and it should be replaced with 'Cognitive' diversity.
