Introduction
Racism within the police force is not a new concept and has been around for many years. Recent events such as the BBC TV documentary 'The Secret Policeman' highlight how now more than ever, there is a growing trend in racist officers entering the service. The programme consequently led to the suspension of seven police officers, from three different forces.
Throughout this essay I aim to identify the main challenges to the police service as a result of the Macpherson report. I plan to look at the contribution of public sector partnerships in the post Macpherson era.
Macpherson report
The Macpherson Report was an inquiry into the failure of the Metropolitan Police to successfully apprehend the killers of Stephen Lawrence. Stephen was an 18 year old black man murdered by a gang of white racists in South London in 1993. He was fatally stabbed in an unprovoked attack as he waited for a bus in Eltham, south London, in April 1993.
Mounted officer of the Metropolitan Police at Buck...
English: A photo of a traditional "blue lamp" as l...
English: Police boats moored up at Wapping marine ...The Macpherson report concluded a damning assessment of institutional racism within the Metropolitan police and policing in general.
It made 70 recommendations the main ones being:
÷ The Government will establish performance indicators to monitor the handling of racist incidents, levels of satisfaction with the police service among ethnic minorities.
÷ Stop-and-search procedures must be made fully accountable.
÷ Police forces should reflect the cultural and ethnic mix of the communities they serve.
÷ Race relations legislation should apply to all police officers.
÷ The public will be encouraged to report racist incidents by making it possible to report them 24 hours a day, and not only at police stations.
÷ Priority to be given to increasing trust and confidence in policing.
Many of the recommendations aimed at improving police attitudes towards racism, and stressed the importance of...