Staff involved with the development of the Police Race Action Plan, developed jointly by the National Police Chiefs Council (NPCC) and the College of Policing, made concerning allegations of experiencing racism yesterday, including reports of feeling ignored and being deemed ‘difficult’ when sharing their experiences.
The BBC reports to have “seen documentation that outlines other complaints from people from ethnic minorities involved with the programme, with some questioning the credibility of the plan and its true intentions…
A black former member of the team said the entire process left them “completely disillusioned”.
The news of these allegations is incredibly concerning.
The Police Race Action Plan will be integral to helping police forces across the country challenge the institutional racism that has existed within policing culture for far too long. Black, Asian, and Mixed heritage communities must have confidence in the Race Action Plan for it to succeed, but these allegations risk this confidence and may undermine the credibility of the programme.
The NPCC and the College of Policing’s Black, Asian, and Mixed heritage staff and external contributors must be listened to with the highest priority when designing solutions to tackle racism in policing, and we would encourage the NPCC and the College of Policing to commit to investigating these allegations further.
