Police Institutional Racism, Labelling and Mixed Messages.

Analysis of the Commissioner and Deputy Commissioner of the Metropolitan Police John Harris Memorial Lecture 2024.

Abstract

Claims of institutional racism are made against law enforcement agencies in many jurisdictions. In 1999 the MacPherson found the Metropolitan police to be institutionally racist. Nearly a quarter of a century later the Casey Review into the standards of behaviour and internal culture of the Metropolitan Police confirmed the existence of institution racism within the force. The current Commissioner of the Metropolitan Police has accepted the overall findings of the Casey Review and committed to tackling the issues raised but has refused to accede to the label ‘institutional’. This raises the important question of whether the refusal to accept the label has any instrumental impact on how he tackles the substance of institutional racism. Analysis of a recent Lecture given by the Commissioner and Deputy Commissioner suggests that it does. While not doubting the Commissioner’s integrity in relation to his stated commitment to meaningful reform this paper reveals how elements of the Lecture could fuel social division and arguably exhibit institutional racism. In doing so it highlights the dangers of mixed messaging and the importance of consistency in the ‘tone from the top’ as an aspect of embedding institutional change

[i] Casey, l (2023)  Baroness Casey Review Final report: An independent review into the standards of behaviour and internal culture of the metropolitan Police Service Baroness Casey Review Final Report (met.police.uk)