>Black police officers should not be expected to solve racism in forces and must be allowed to “get on with their job”, the head of the body scrutinising a plan for England and Wales to combat racism has said.
>
>Compulsory anti-racism training will be given to all police officers alongside the targeted recruitment of black staff as part of a strategy released by the National Police Chiefs’ Council (NPCC) and the College of Policing to tackle prejudice among forces.
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>All officers and staff will be taught the history of the policing of black people and the impact of disproportionate interactions with law enforcement, the NPCC said.
>
>The police race action plan, launched on Tuesday, also includes an apology for the “racism, discrimination and bias” still found in forces.
>
>Barrister Abimbola Johnson, chair of an independent scrutiny and oversight board for the plan, said that relying on recruiting more black officers would not be enough.
>
>“I think that retention, recruitment and promotion are always positive aims when you’re looking at diversifying workforces, but in my opinion, that’s not sufficient,” she told BBC Radio 5 Live. “What’s more important is looking at the actual culture of an organisation.”
>
>She said it was unfair to expect those already recruited to solve racism in forces. “You’re ultimately saying that it’s also the duty of black people themselves to solve racism and to solve racial disparities that they see in the workplace. Black people need to be able to enter a workplace and get on with their job.”
>National Police Chiefs’ Council: [Police action plan released to address race disparities affecting Black people, changing a legacy of distrust](https://news.npcc.police.uk/releases/police-action-plan-launched-aiming-to-address-race-disparities-affecting-black-people-and-change-a-legacy-of-distrust)
>
> The Police Race Action Plan released by National Police Chiefs’ Council (NPCC) and the College of Policing sets out the commitment of Chief Constables in England and Wales to become an anti-racist police service and to explain or reform race disparities.
>
>The plan will now be subject to further independent scrutiny with the public, police officers and staff and experts invited to share their views before it is finalised in December 2022.
Nice to see this being done. We don’t talk about race enough in this country.
2 comments
>Black police officers should not be expected to solve racism in forces and must be allowed to “get on with their job”, the head of the body scrutinising a plan for England and Wales to combat racism has said.
>
>Compulsory anti-racism training will be given to all police officers alongside the targeted recruitment of black staff as part of a strategy released by the National Police Chiefs’ Council (NPCC) and the College of Policing to tackle prejudice among forces.
>
>All officers and staff will be taught the history of the policing of black people and the impact of disproportionate interactions with law enforcement, the NPCC said.
>
>The police race action plan, launched on Tuesday, also includes an apology for the “racism, discrimination and bias” still found in forces.
>
>Barrister Abimbola Johnson, chair of an independent scrutiny and oversight board for the plan, said that relying on recruiting more black officers would not be enough.
>
>“I think that retention, recruitment and promotion are always positive aims when you’re looking at diversifying workforces, but in my opinion, that’s not sufficient,” she told BBC Radio 5 Live. “What’s more important is looking at the actual culture of an organisation.”
>
>She said it was unfair to expect those already recruited to solve racism in forces. “You’re ultimately saying that it’s also the duty of black people themselves to solve racism and to solve racial disparities that they see in the workplace. Black people need to be able to enter a workplace and get on with their job.”
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More:
24 May 2022:
>College of Policing: [Police Race Action Plan published](https://www.college.police.uk/article/police-race-action-plan-published)
>
>We’ve developed a new [Police Race Action Plan](https://www.college.police.uk/support-forces/diversity-and-inclusion/action-plan) with the National Police Chiefs’ Council (NPCC), to address the significantly lower levels of trust and confidence among some Black people and the race disparities affecting Black people that policing cannot currently fully explain
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>National Police Chiefs’ Council: [Police action plan released to address race disparities affecting Black people, changing a legacy of distrust](https://news.npcc.police.uk/releases/police-action-plan-launched-aiming-to-address-race-disparities-affecting-black-people-and-change-a-legacy-of-distrust)
>
> The Police Race Action Plan released by National Police Chiefs’ Council (NPCC) and the College of Policing sets out the commitment of Chief Constables in England and Wales to become an anti-racist police service and to explain or reform race disparities.
>
>The plan will now be subject to further independent scrutiny with the public, police officers and staff and experts invited to share their views before it is finalised in December 2022.
Nice to see this being done. We don’t talk about race enough in this country.