Institutional racism

'Institutional racism in the police' has been a familiar, and probably justified, cry. The Stephen Lawrence Inquiry revealed a lot, although there would appear to be two sides to that story, one that has never been properly revealed about the antecedents of that unfortunate young man. Despite the publicity and a plethora of missives and training courses the police service will remain aloof. Whatever its management may try to say they have little influence on the minds and actions of the young officers working the streets. Those young officers still do not have enough contact with the populace at large, and in common with an increasing proportion of young people these officers have poor social skills.

Racial prejudice probably cannot be removed, and there is some evidence to support that point of view. If that is the case then the only feasible alternative is to remove the institutions and groups that continue to harbour such ill-will. For too many years we have pussy-footed in our handling of immigrant groups who come to the country and then consistently abuse both us, as people, and our social and political systems. Within that far larger case is the present structure of the police service. It is no longer serving the needs of society, and recent plans to amalgamate, to save money, will not help.

Racial discrimination has always stirred up emotions. It is more likely that the discrimination was not as a result of colour but of intrusion of too many new people from the same ethnic backgrounds who too often failed to readily accept the norms and values of the indigenous population.

It will always be difficult for a small select band, like the police, to adequately reflect the larger population. That is another reason why the structure of the police service now needs to be changed. The role and function of the Office of Constable should remain, but the post-holders should come from the whole of society. The idea of the police service as a quasi-military uniformed entity has only been with us since 1829. It has served us well, initially dealing with malcontent militiamen returning from wars without pension or support. It has guarded and protected, but the primary objectives laid down by Sir Richard Mayne in 1829 of preservation of life and protection of property have been ignored or set aside over recent years.

Today very few police officers undergo even the basic first aid training every three years that I once undertook as a police constable. Life protection is restricted to the public order supervision of large events, as long as the event organisers have the funds to pay for a police presence. The assurance of knowing there will be a Mr Plod around the next corner has disappeared. Yet there were fewer police officers thirty years ago.

A few years ago on the night that England beat Germany in the European Cup I was at Leicester Square, in the West End of London. Walking around I did not see one uniformed PC. Gangs of dealers, openly selling drugs in the streets, now occupy the ‘fixed points’ places where police officers once stood, and could always be relied upon.

Even our village Bobbies have now been forced to cover huge areas and many rural outposts have been closed. A uniform police officer is now an administrator, and on the rare occasions they do venture on to the streets they are a reactive force, responding to calls, and are usually isolated in a tin box of a car. They attend incidents, usually as the result of a phone call to the central police control, record a few details, make sympathetic remarks and return to their primary objective - administration.

Our society cannot operate efficiently without public order under control, and the populace feeling safe from violence, robbery or burglary. The clear-up rate for major crimes in some cities, such as Nottingham, is now no more than 16%. It is a disgrace, and has been brought about because the thin blue line of authority and control has been steadily eroded. We all need to know the parameters within which we can operate. For some young people there are now no real guidelines to acceptable behaviour, at least not any that the wider society find acceptable. If you can get away with crime, then many will do so. Until we appreciate the need for order, we will become increasingly like the faded remnants of Empire that we really are.