In 2023, the independent Casey review determined that the Metropolitan Police is institutionally racist, sexist, and homophobic. The situation has since deteriorated.

Recent employment tribunal data revealed a substantial rise in claims of racism from current or former London Met police officers.

Ethnic minority officers frequently report encountering blatant racism, stereotypes, and hostility from their colleagues.

The National Black Police Association has now withdrawn its support for the chief constables’ race action plan, which was launched in 2020.

The chair of the oversight board for the plan states that progress has been insufficient, with some forces showing no interest in anti-racism efforts.

The Met Police are actively recruiting new officers in an attempt to change the culture, but without meaningful support and engagement with diversity, this goal seems unattainable.

While some chief constables in England and Wales are making progress in transforming their forces’ culture, a mandatory, cohesive national strategy is essential.

The new Labour government faces a significant challenge in restoring public trust in the police. Confidence remains low due to persistently poor crime investigation rates and numerous high-profile misconduct and criminal cases.

Much of this misconduct is linked to the discrimination highlighted in the Casey report, which has been a long-standing issue.

Policing Culture

The issue within the Met and many other police services lies in the institutional embedding of racism, sexism, homophobia, and other biases.

Police culture encompasses the norms that define the tone, expectations, and behaviours for officers.

Police institutions typically exhibit multiple cultures, including those for street officers, middle management, and senior leaders.

However, due to the nature of policing, street police culture exerts the most significant influence on police behaviour.

Extensive research indicates that street police culture is particularly characterised by racism, aggression, escalation, intolerance, hierarchy, misogyny, homophobia, and alienation from marginalised communities.

It is unsurprising that officers from minority ethnic backgrounds, as well as female and LGBTQ+ officers, experience racism, misogyny, and homophobia in their roles.

Officers of colour and women continue to leave policing at higher rates than their white male counterparts. As noted in the Casey report, this turnover negatively impacts the legitimacy of police within the communities they serve.

Lord Macpherson first identified the Met as institutionally racist in 1999, following the murder of Stephen Lawrence.

Macpherson recommended significantly increasing police diversity to alter the culture.

Twenty-two years later, a parliamentary report, for which evidence was provided, found that little progress had been made in building legitimacy with communities of colour or in recruiting and supporting officers of colour in overcoming the challenges they face on the job.

Recruiting Diverse Forces

Ethnic minorities are significantly underrepresented in police services, comprising only 8.4% of officers in England and Wales, despite making up 19% of the population.

In both the US and the UK, officers from underrepresented backgrounds – such as people of colour, women, LGBTQ+ individuals, and others – face greater challenges on the job than their straight, white, male colleagues.

Seen as outsiders, these officers often have to work harder to prove their worth.

This situation forces minority police officers into a difficult position.

They can adopt aggressive policing tactics to demonstrate their toughness, even towards their own communities, or they can resist problematic police culture norms.

Those who choose to police differently – working with communities, using discretion wisely, and building trust and good relationships – may face severe professional consequences.

Research in the UK indicates that pushing back against discrimination can result in higher levels of harassment, internal discipline, and lack of promotion.

Most concerning, they may not receive backup from other officers during dangerous service calls.

Rebuilding Trust

Racism, sexism, and homophobia within police institutions damage relations with the communities they serve.

For years, studies have shown that minority communities in England and Wales have lower levels of trust and confidence in the police compared to other groups.

Much of this distrust stems from discrepancies such as higher rates of stops and searches in minority communities.

Research from various jurisdictions indicates that more diverse police forces are perceived as fairer and enjoy greater credibility and respect in the communities they serve.

For many ethnic minorities, interactions with officers of similar backgrounds can improve police legitimacy.

Building a more diverse police force quickly is essential to reducing racism within police institutions and establishing new cultural norms. Many, including police leaders and MPs, have advocated for positive discrimination in police recruitment.

A temporary, 10-year positive discrimination plan in England and Wales could mirror the successful 50:50 hiring model of the Northern Ireland Police Service.

This approach alternates filling vacant officer positions from qualified candidates in different pools, based on merit.

While Northern Ireland’s model was based on religion (Catholic and non-Catholic), it could be adapted to race (people of colour and white applicants) in England and Wales. The plan could set a national target to achieve 25% ethnic minority representation by 2034, aligning with UK population projections.

Additionally, police institutions require more scrutiny, accountability, and consequences for misconduct, overseen by entities entirely independent of policing.

The UK’s existing police conduct watchdog is under-resourced for its increasing caseload of misconduct complaints and is not equipped to address systemic problems.

In the US, the government sues police departments engaged in racist, misogynistic, and classist practices.

These lawsuits often settle with consent decrees – court orders mandating reforms in various aspects of the police force, from recruitment to handling misconduct.

These court-monitored agreements can last for years or even decades and have shown positive results in cities like New Orleans and Ferguson, Missouri.

The UK needs to adopt similar bold accountability measures to address structural police bias. The new government is well-positioned to implement meaningful change.