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| Why are there so few top black British police officers? | Why are there so few top black British police officers? |
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| Many potential explanations come together to explain the diversity crisis at the top of British policing. Superintendent Leroy Logan provides one example. "I had applied for promotion and out of the blue I got a phone call from a senior officer. He was not even my line manager. He had just heard that I had applied and he called. Don't go for that promotion, he said. You aren't ready. Then he offered me an administrative post." Logan ignored the call and applied. He was promoted and his career flourished. He spent the 2012 Olympics as one of the senior officers lauded for organising the security operation. "If I had listened to him," he says now, "I'd still be in that admin job. They hold you back. That sort of thing happens all the time." | Many potential explanations come together to explain the diversity crisis at the top of British policing. Superintendent Leroy Logan provides one example. "I had applied for promotion and out of the blue I got a phone call from a senior officer. He was not even my line manager. He had just heard that I had applied and he called. Don't go for that promotion, he said. You aren't ready. Then he offered me an administrative post." Logan ignored the call and applied. He was promoted and his career flourished. He spent the 2012 Olympics as one of the senior officers lauded for organising the security operation. "If I had listened to him," he says now, "I'd still be in that admin job. They hold you back. That sort of thing happens all the time." |
| When the history of British policing is discussed, few tend to dwell on the inaugural speech of the last commissioner of the Metropolitan police, Sir Paul Stephenson. But it is discussed in one significant regard, and not much to his credit. In 2009, many longed for the commissioner to show that the Met would lead the way in terms of diversity in British policing. But they found his imperatives different. His predecessor Sir Ian, now Lord, Blair was dogged in office and finally hounded from it by sections of the media and the political establishment who branded him the PC commissioner: less interested in coppering than liberal politics. As Sir Paul set out his stall, he seemed determined to define himself against the supposed deficiencies of his predecessor. I am, he said, moving away from the approach of "identifying diversity as an end in its own right". | When the history of British policing is discussed, few tend to dwell on the inaugural speech of the last commissioner of the Metropolitan police, Sir Paul Stephenson. But it is discussed in one significant regard, and not much to his credit. In 2009, many longed for the commissioner to show that the Met would lead the way in terms of diversity in British policing. But they found his imperatives different. His predecessor Sir Ian, now Lord, Blair was dogged in office and finally hounded from it by sections of the media and the political establishment who branded him the PC commissioner: less interested in coppering than liberal politics. As Sir Paul set out his stall, he seemed determined to define himself against the supposed deficiencies of his predecessor. I am, he said, moving away from the approach of "identifying diversity as an end in its own right". |
| We're doing well. One in five recruits to the Met is from black and ethnic minority communities. The institutional racism label is no longer "appropriate or useful", he said. Reacting to his recalibration, a perturbed Doreen Lawrence warned of complacency. Black officers were also disheartened, seeing their uphill drive for parity stalled by Sir Paul's very public application of the handbrake. No good will come of it, the critics said. That seems prescient this week. | We're doing well. One in five recruits to the Met is from black and ethnic minority communities. The institutional racism label is no longer "appropriate or useful", he said. Reacting to his recalibration, a perturbed Doreen Lawrence warned of complacency. Black officers were also disheartened, seeing their uphill drive for parity stalled by Sir Paul's very public application of the handbrake. No good will come of it, the critics said. That seems prescient this week. |
| For Sir Paul has gone and a new century is under way but the position for black and minority ethnic (BME) officers four years later seems dire. The bombshell is that not one is currently on the strategic command course – the conveyor belt for middle-ranking officers being groomed for senior-officer rank. The most recent Home Office figures indicate 6,679 ethnic minority police officers but they also reveal how minorities struggle to make it up the chain of command. | For Sir Paul has gone and a new century is under way but the position for black and minority ethnic (BME) officers four years later seems dire. The bombshell is that not one is currently on the strategic command course – the conveyor belt for middle-ranking officers being groomed for senior-officer rank. The most recent Home Office figures indicate 6,679 ethnic minority police officers but they also reveal how minorities struggle to make it up the chain of command. |
| Black, asian and minority ethnic (BAME) officers account for just 2.8% of officers at Association of Chief Police Officers (ACPO) rank. There are just 48 BAME superintendents and chief superintendents across the country. And what we learn this week from the police establishment itself, from Sir Peter Fahy of the ACPO, is that the situation will get worse before it gets better. Forces have to make savings of £2.4bn. The prospect is to excise 5,800 frontline jobs between now and 2015. Middle management will take a hit, says Fahy, and with it the prospects of middle-ranking minority officers who might have climbed higher. | Black, asian and minority ethnic (BAME) officers account for just 2.8% of officers at Association of Chief Police Officers (ACPO) rank. There are just 48 BAME superintendents and chief superintendents across the country. And what we learn this week from the police establishment itself, from Sir Peter Fahy of the ACPO, is that the situation will get worse before it gets better. Forces have to make savings of £2.4bn. The prospect is to excise 5,800 frontline jobs between now and 2015. Middle management will take a hit, says Fahy, and with it the prospects of middle-ranking minority officers who might have climbed higher. |
| The only way to get the momentum going again, he said, may be new laws and a measure of positive discrimination. Contrast the present position, campaigners say, and that baleful prospect with the hope that grew in the years after the Stephen Lawrence Inquiry, when politicians made the pursuit of greater diversity a priority. A slew of officers advanced quickly at the Met. In 1999, Tarique Ghaffur transferred to the Met as a deputy assistant commissioner. In 2001, he was promoted to assistant commissioner. In 1998, Mike Fuller helped create the Racial and Violent Crime Task Force, a response to deficiencies thrown up by the Lawrence case. In 2002 he was promoted to deputy assistant commissioner. In 2004 he became chief constable of Kent; the first black chief constable in Britain – a post he held until 2010, when he left to become chief inspector for the Crown Prosecution Service." Suddenly the conveyor belt began to move, carrying black and Asian officers towards the higher ranks. Now it has juddered to a halt. What happened? | The only way to get the momentum going again, he said, may be new laws and a measure of positive discrimination. Contrast the present position, campaigners say, and that baleful prospect with the hope that grew in the years after the Stephen Lawrence Inquiry, when politicians made the pursuit of greater diversity a priority. A slew of officers advanced quickly at the Met. In 1999, Tarique Ghaffur transferred to the Met as a deputy assistant commissioner. In 2001, he was promoted to assistant commissioner. In 1998, Mike Fuller helped create the Racial and Violent Crime Task Force, a response to deficiencies thrown up by the Lawrence case. In 2002 he was promoted to deputy assistant commissioner. In 2004 he became chief constable of Kent; the first black chief constable in Britain – a post he held until 2010, when he left to become chief inspector for the Crown Prosecution Service." Suddenly the conveyor belt began to move, carrying black and Asian officers towards the higher ranks. Now it has juddered to a halt. What happened? |
| Superintendent Logan – who retires this year, declining to seek further advancement – sees the Stephenson address at Westminister Central Hall as pivotal, because the signal it sent was so very public. But Logan, chair of the Black Police Association Charitable Trust, says Stephenson's speech did not exist in isolation. It was merely the public manifestation of a shift that began further up the chain. "There was a lot of pressure being placed on chief constables to perform in this area by a Home Office committee that had been formed, the Stephen Lawrence steering group. But over time, home secretaries seemed to cool on it. I was chair of the Metropolitan Black Police Association then and we told them that if they got rid of the steering group and left this to chief constables, they wouldn't get change. And here we are all these years later. There is a default position. Left to their own devices, they revert to the default position. They choose people who look like them." | Superintendent Logan – who retires this year, declining to seek further advancement – sees the Stephenson address at Westminister Central Hall as pivotal, because the signal it sent was so very public. But Logan, chair of the Black Police Association Charitable Trust, says Stephenson's speech did not exist in isolation. It was merely the public manifestation of a shift that began further up the chain. "There was a lot of pressure being placed on chief constables to perform in this area by a Home Office committee that had been formed, the Stephen Lawrence steering group. But over time, home secretaries seemed to cool on it. I was chair of the Metropolitan Black Police Association then and we told them that if they got rid of the steering group and left this to chief constables, they wouldn't get change. And here we are all these years later. There is a default position. Left to their own devices, they revert to the default position. They choose people who look like them." |
| Logan seized an opportunity to put at least some of the blame where he felt it belonged. "After the conviction of the murderers of Stephen Lawrence last year, Jacqui Smith interviewed me on LBC radio. I said a lot of the agenda had gone backwards. She asked who was to blame for that. I said: 'Basically, you, and the other home secretaries!'" | Logan seized an opportunity to put at least some of the blame where he felt it belonged. "After the conviction of the murderers of Stephen Lawrence last year, Jacqui Smith interviewed me on LBC radio. I said a lot of the agenda had gone backwards. She asked who was to blame for that. I said: 'Basically, you, and the other home secretaries!'" |
| Gurpal Virdi, the Sikh officer who retired last year after 30 years, having risen to detective sergeant, and having been forced to fight for his job after being made the target of unfounded criminal accusations, says that throughout his time, he saw hopes raised and promises dashed. "Hands are thrown up, reports are written, pledges made and then, after a while, the issue is shelved. The way I see it, the police at the top don't want any change. They want to keep the golden circle. All sorts of obstacles are put in your way. | Gurpal Virdi, the Sikh officer who retired last year after 30 years, having risen to detective sergeant, and having been forced to fight for his job after being made the target of unfounded criminal accusations, says that throughout his time, he saw hopes raised and promises dashed. "Hands are thrown up, reports are written, pledges made and then, after a while, the issue is shelved. The way I see it, the police at the top don't want any change. They want to keep the golden circle. All sorts of obstacles are put in your way. |
| "As a PC or sergeant, you say: 'I want to go for promotion' or: 'I want to go for a specialist unit' and then suddenly you start getting bad reports saying that you are not good enough and they pretty much mean you go no further. When youngsters ask me: 'Shall I join the police service?' I say: 'Do you really want to in your heart of hearts?' If they yes, I say: 'Go for it.' If they say they have got a degree already, I tell them 'Don't waste it.' If they go into private industry, they will be recognised. If they go into the police service, they will be treated as someone who doesn't have any qualifications at all." | "As a PC or sergeant, you say: 'I want to go for promotion' or: 'I want to go for a specialist unit' and then suddenly you start getting bad reports saying that you are not good enough and they pretty much mean you go no further. When youngsters ask me: 'Shall I join the police service?' I say: 'Do you really want to in your heart of hearts?' If they yes, I say: 'Go for it.' If they say they have got a degree already, I tell them 'Don't waste it.' If they go into private industry, they will be recognised. If they go into the police service, they will be treated as someone who doesn't have any qualifications at all." |
| Paul Wilson served 27 years as an officer in the Met, rising to the rank of superintendent. He was in charge of safer neighbourhood teams and counter terrorism in Lambeth. He left in 2010, the same year he reached a non-liablilty out-of-court settlement with Scotland Yard, having alleged that his career was held back. He alleged he was made a target after writing reports outlining accusations of racial bias in the Met. One such, a paper presented by Wilson to a 2004 inquiry by Bill, now Lord, Morris bears further examination in light of this week's observations by Sir Peter Fahy. | Paul Wilson served 27 years as an officer in the Met, rising to the rank of superintendent. He was in charge of safer neighbourhood teams and counter terrorism in Lambeth. He left in 2010, the same year he reached a non-liablilty out-of-court settlement with Scotland Yard, having alleged that his career was held back. He alleged he was made a target after writing reports outlining accusations of racial bias in the Met. One such, a paper presented by Wilson to a 2004 inquiry by Bill, now Lord, Morris bears further examination in light of this week's observations by Sir Peter Fahy. |
| "The operational case for a diverse police force, winning the confidence of all communities, thereby increasing the flow of intelligence to assist in preventing, detecting and solving crime, is well made and a fundamental tenet at the core of policing modern societies," it said. It flagged up affirmative action schemes, calling for legislative change "consistent with that introduced in Northern Ireland, thereby ensuring that BME [and 'white'] police candidates are recruited into the Metropolitan police service at a (50:50) rate." | "The operational case for a diverse police force, winning the confidence of all communities, thereby increasing the flow of intelligence to assist in preventing, detecting and solving crime, is well made and a fundamental tenet at the core of policing modern societies," it said. It flagged up affirmative action schemes, calling for legislative change "consistent with that introduced in Northern Ireland, thereby ensuring that BME [and 'white'] police candidates are recruited into the Metropolitan police service at a (50:50) rate." |
| It highlighted the need, even then, for bold dramatic action, warning that a half-hearted effort to boost minority recruitment was "doomed to failure". A trickle of recruits would merely be "submerged into the majority culture where it is accepted that they will fail to impact on the organisational culture and inevitably assimilate into the majority culture. Therefore, the presumption and expectation that BME officers will reflect the values, ideology and experiences of the communities from whence they came, thereby ensuring improved relations with and enhanced engagement of minority ethnic communities, will inevitably be undermined when assimilation into the majority organisational culture takes place." | It highlighted the need, even then, for bold dramatic action, warning that a half-hearted effort to boost minority recruitment was "doomed to failure". A trickle of recruits would merely be "submerged into the majority culture where it is accepted that they will fail to impact on the organisational culture and inevitably assimilate into the majority culture. Therefore, the presumption and expectation that BME officers will reflect the values, ideology and experiences of the communities from whence they came, thereby ensuring improved relations with and enhanced engagement of minority ethnic communities, will inevitably be undermined when assimilation into the majority organisational culture takes place." |
| The message, way back in 2004, was that senior officers and their political masters needed the courage to think big and recruit sufficient minorities to create a critical mass. It didn't happen then, and the situation has got worse since. "No one has had the balls to grasp the nettle," Wilson says. "The last person to make a serious attempt was Sir Denis O'Connor, the chief inspector of constabulary until last year. He had a plan for the mentoring of BAME officers of inspector rank and above. I was one of them. It lasted two or three years and then fell by the wayside." | The message, way back in 2004, was that senior officers and their political masters needed the courage to think big and recruit sufficient minorities to create a critical mass. It didn't happen then, and the situation has got worse since. "No one has had the balls to grasp the nettle," Wilson says. "The last person to make a serious attempt was Sir Denis O'Connor, the chief inspector of constabulary until last year. He had a plan for the mentoring of BAME officers of inspector rank and above. I was one of them. It lasted two or three years and then fell by the wayside." |
| Young minority officers find it tough to retain their enthusiasm in a difficult environment, Wilson says. "They may witness questionable language being directed at BAME suspects and young black and Asian men being stopped inappropriately, and all this adds to a negative experience. That is not helpful. These are the very people we want to come through the ranks." | Young minority officers find it tough to retain their enthusiasm in a difficult environment, Wilson says. "They may witness questionable language being directed at BAME suspects and young black and Asian men being stopped inappropriately, and all this adds to a negative experience. That is not helpful. These are the very people we want to come through the ranks." |
| Perhaps the solution lies in chief constables taking a tighter grip on the issue, as police minister Damian Green is reported to believe. Maybe, as Fahy suggests, it needs Green to force the matter by dictating a path using new legislation and perhaps the appointment of chosen candidates through direct entry recruitment into senior positions. | Perhaps the solution lies in chief constables taking a tighter grip on the issue, as police minister Damian Green is reported to believe. Maybe, as Fahy suggests, it needs Green to force the matter by dictating a path using new legislation and perhaps the appointment of chosen candidates through direct entry recruitment into senior positions. |
| But in this very to-ing and fro-ing lies the potential for more vacillation, according to Charles Crichlow, 22 years a PC in Greater Manchester and chair of the National Black Police Association. "Even if the government were minded towards legislation, it would not happen in this parliament. So that means 2018 or 2019 in the next parliament. Basically, it means kicking the can down the road. My question to Mr Fahy is what can you do that is possible now?" | But in this very to-ing and fro-ing lies the potential for more vacillation, according to Charles Crichlow, 22 years a PC in Greater Manchester and chair of the National Black Police Association. "Even if the government were minded towards legislation, it would not happen in this parliament. So that means 2018 or 2019 in the next parliament. Basically, it means kicking the can down the road. My question to Mr Fahy is what can you do that is possible now?" |
| Work should begin close to home, he says. "Greater Manchester, of all the large forces has one of the worst records for promoting minority officers. I spend my time encouraging young people to reach for the highest levels but it is a very big ask. Going up the ranks can be a very hazardous pursuit." Hard to climb the ladder, he says; even harder to stay there in a culture rigidly prescribed by the majority. | Work should begin close to home, he says. "Greater Manchester, of all the large forces has one of the worst records for promoting minority officers. I spend my time encouraging young people to reach for the highest levels but it is a very big ask. Going up the ranks can be a very hazardous pursuit." Hard to climb the ladder, he says; even harder to stay there in a culture rigidly prescribed by the majority. |
| "The biggest complaint I hear is there is no flexibility for people to bring their own flavour to policing," says Crichlow. "They say they feel they are being cloned. They are operating in an environment that is hostile to different views. Take stop and search. The ACPO view is that it is an important tool and we must keep it. Even for a chief officer, that discourse is not open to challenge." | "The biggest complaint I hear is there is no flexibility for people to bring their own flavour to policing," says Crichlow. "They say they feel they are being cloned. They are operating in an environment that is hostile to different views. Take stop and search. The ACPO view is that it is an important tool and we must keep it. Even for a chief officer, that discourse is not open to challenge." |
| Some stay, some thrive. The Met boasts Pat Gallan, a deputy assistant commissioner, Britain's highest ranking black policewoman. But Logan, one of its most prominent black officers of recent times, is retiring, as is Chief Superintendent Dal Babu, one of Britain's most senior Muslim officers. His rise was never smooth. In 2003, Babu won a tribunal case against the Met, claiming he failed to win promotion and faced discrimination because of his faith. | Some stay, some thrive. The Met boasts Pat Gallan, a deputy assistant commissioner, Britain's highest ranking black policewoman. But Logan, one of its most prominent black officers of recent times, is retiring, as is Chief Superintendent Dal Babu, one of Britain's most senior Muslim officers. His rise was never smooth. In 2003, Babu won a tribunal case against the Met, claiming he failed to win promotion and faced discrimination because of his faith. |
| In South Yorkshire there is Max Sahota, the assistant chief constable. There are beacons of progress. But there is no critical mass, and since the last commissioner signalled that pivotal change of course, there has seemed less chance of transformation on that scale being achieved. Ben Bowling, professor of criminology at King's College London, says that 46 years after Norwell Roberts joined the Met, becoming Britain's first black police officer, it may be necessary to look at the whole matter afresh. "There needs to be a strategic view. What are the blockages? What has been successful? Why was the foot taken off the gas?" | In South Yorkshire there is Max Sahota, the assistant chief constable. There are beacons of progress. But there is no critical mass, and since the last commissioner signalled that pivotal change of course, there has seemed less chance of transformation on that scale being achieved. Ben Bowling, professor of criminology at King's College London, says that 46 years after Norwell Roberts joined the Met, becoming Britain's first black police officer, it may be necessary to look at the whole matter afresh. "There needs to be a strategic view. What are the blockages? What has been successful? Why was the foot taken off the gas?" |
| • This article was amended on 1 February 2013. The original referred to a culture rigidly proscribed, rather than prescribed, by the majority. This has been corrected. | • This article was amended on 1 February 2013. The original referred to a culture rigidly proscribed, rather than prescribed, by the majority. This has been corrected. |
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