Have a question?
033 3772 0409

Crime Solicitors

Does the Underrepresentation of Black and Ethnic Minorities in Britain’s Police Force Matter? (5 July 2016)

Date: 05/07/2016
Duncan Lewis, Crime Solicitors, Does the Underrepresentation of Black and Ethnic Minorities in Britain’s Police Force Matter?

The Slavery Abolition Act received Royal Assent on 28 August 1833 and was intended to act as a catalyst towards ensuring that over time, Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic (‘BAME’) individuals were never again to be deprived of their life or liberty as a result of their race.

Almost two centuries later, on 31 January 2016, the Prime Minister of the UK stated the following in the Sunday Times:

“If you’re a young black man, you’re more likely to be in a prison cell than studying at a top university.”

It cannot be said that the treatment of BAME individuals in the UK has not improved at all over the last two centuries. However, it is plain that institutional racism continues to persist, particularly when one considers the disproportionate treatment of BAME individuals by the police when compared to their white counterparts. The complexity of the arguments at hand is not to be understated. Many would argue that BAME individuals are more likely to get stopped and searched or arrested as a result of the lack of diversity within the police force, which has historically received widespread criticism for possessing a distinct lack of BAME officers. The statistics provide overwhelming support to the argument that BAME individuals are drastically underrepresented within the UK’s police force. The potential nexus between that underrepresentation and the impact it has upon the UK’s BAME population is also a cause for concern.

According to the Home Office’s most recent statistics, the police forces of Cheshire, Durham, North Yorkshire and Dyfed-Powys do not have a single black police officer within their ranks. The highest level of BAME representation within any of the UK’s police forces is 11.7% in the Metropolitan Police Service, patrolling a city within which BAME individuals amount to 40.2% of the population. Not a single one of the police forces in England and Wales even comes close to accurately reflecting the ethnic composition of the localities that they purportedly represent.

The police force needs to have a greater understanding of the intricacies and nuances within the communities that it serves – it simply cannot do so if it is not an accurate reflection of those communities. BAME individuals, many of whom come from areas within which police brutality, racial stereotyping and poverty are primary concerns, will never feel as though the police force (as it is currently composed) is capable of understanding their concerns. The distinct underrepresentation of BAME individuals within the police force has undoubtedly played a part in reinforcing the “them and us” mentality that currently exists within many of the UK’s BAME communities.

That being said, there is some doubt as to whether a representative police force would by itself go to diminishing the extant feeling of despondency towards the police amongst BAME communities in the UK. Tensions between BAME communities and the police force are deep rooted and have evolved over a period of decades. These tensions have manifested themselves in a variety of ways, the most significant of which was arguably the ‘England Riots’ of 1981 in Brixton, Handsworth, Chapeltown and Toxteth. Perhaps it is overly simplistic to suggest that these tensions would be ameliorated if BAME individuals were adequately represented within the police force. The argument that certain individuals from BAME communities may feel a heightened sense of resentment if they noticed “one of their own” working for the police force does hold some weight. BAME police officers are often branded as traitors by sections of their own communities for taking employment with the police and are deemed to have short-memories, forgetting the manner in which their parents and grandparents were abhorrently abused by that very same police force upon entry into the United Kingdom. That is not to say that all BAME individuals were subjected to historic racial abuse at the hands of the police force, but the underlying sentiment undoubtedly remains within segments of the UK’s BAME population today. The repugnant acts of racial abuse and discrimination that were commonplace within the UK’s police force some decades ago still resonate with many BAME communities in 2016, and the deleterious impact of those memories will continue to thrive if the police force does not take steps to address the underrepresentation of BAME police officers as a bare minimum.

The lack of diversity within the police force would not be considered to be a cause for concern if was not perceived to have a direct impact upon the rates of arrest of BAME individuals. A recent publication by the Institute of Race Relations entitled ‘The Statistics on the UK’s Criminal Justice System’ highlights these concerns and the numbers paint a perturbing picture. In summary, the report concluded that people from BAME groups are more likely to be stopped-and-searched than white British people. Analysis of all stop and searches in 2014-2015 by StopWatch, indicated that people from all BAME groups are twice as likely as white people to be stopped and searched. Black people specifically are 4.2 times as likely as white people to be stopped and searched by the police.

Regional forces such as the Metropolitan Police recorded higher arrests of the UK’s BAME population when compared to their white counterparts. As stated above, BAME officers make up 11.7% of the Metropolitan Police Service, patrolling a city within which BAME individuals amount to 40.2% of the population – many would advance the view that the arrests of BAME individuals in London would reduce if the composition of the police force was made to be more reflective of the communities that it polices. There are of course opposing standpoints. The most pertinent in this instance is perhaps the ‘Chicago School’ theory, essentially arguing that the greater the social bonds between a youth and society, the lower the odds of involvement in delinquency. This would perhaps attribute a higher rate of crime to the UK’s BAME population as a result of a disconnect between particular BAME communities and the rest of British society.

The UK can no longer turn a blind eye to the composition of the police force. Statistics such as those listed above are published year upon year, and condemned just as frequently. They are shared on Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn with a hashtag designed to show some form of empathy. The level of gratification amongst not only our police force, but also within our society as a whole, has ensured that there has been no improvement to date despite the fact that these issues have been readily identified and criticised for decades. BAME communities need the composition and appearance of the UK’s police force to change, but that alone will not solve the problem. It is hoped that with this change, there will be a shift in attitude concerning the manner in which BAME communities are policed. The police force is meant to be the primary protector of the general population. In 2016, we regrettably find ourselves in a situation where a large proportion of that population still feels as though it needs to be protected from the police.

About the Author

Sheroy Zaq is a Trainee Solicitor within the Prison Law department at Duncan Lewis. He is committed to ensuring that all prisoners are provided with access to justice and the opportunity to progress through the prison system, placing a clear emphasis on assisting vulnerable prisoners in need of a heightened degree of care.


For all Crime related matter contact us now.Contact Us

Call us now on 033 3772 0409 or click here to send online enquiry.
Duncan Lewis is the trading name of Duncan Lewis (Solicitors) Limited. Registered Office is 143-149 Fenchurch St, London, EC3M 6BL. Company Reg. No. 3718422. VAT Reg. No. 718729013. A list of the company's Directors is displayed at the registered offices address. Authorised and Regulated by the Solicitors Regulation Authority . Offices all across London and in major cities in the UK. ©Duncan Lewis >>Legal Disclaimer, Copyright & Privacy Policy. Duncan Lewis do not accept service by email.