Police chiefs failed to tackle racism due to lack of leadership, watchdog finds

Vikram Dodd, The Guardian

Review finds no ‘meaningful impact’ five years after race action plan launched, amid calls for government to step in

Promises by police chiefs to tackle racial bias failed owing to “a lack of clear national leadership”, an independent police report has found.

The promises were made five years ago in the wake of the Black Lives Matter movement and led police bosses in England and Wales to launch a race action plan promising to tackle the “stigmatising and humiliating” experiences of Black people at the hands of officers.

The Independent Scrutiny and Oversight Board (ISOB) monitors progress on the action plan. Its report, published on Wednesday, found there had been no “meaningful impact”.

The National Black Police Association said it had been a £10m failure, while the chair of the National Police Chiefs Council, Gavin Stephens, told the Guardian progress had been less than he expected, with sources saying resistance from heads in the force had been substantial.

The board is being wound up, with its findings coming after decades of promises from policing to change on race and after a series of damning reports, dating back to the end of the last century.

Abimbola Johnson, the chair of the ISOB, said: “Five years ago, policing committed to improving outcomes for Black communities. That commitment has not been met. Progress has been slow, uneven and too dependent on individual effort rather than institutional change.”

Read about how the government must step in to tackle racism, according to the board.

Black American citizens and police have faced their own struggles within and outside the force.

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