Police Race Action Plan - Progress Report

Policing’s commitment to become anti-racist remains as resolute and important as it was when we published the Police Race Action Plan (PRAP) in May 2022.

While formed against the backdrop of George Floyd’s horrific murder by police officers in the US and the Black Lives Matter movement, the plan comes after decades of division and mistrust between our service and Black communities across our country, from the New Cross Fire and the Brixton Riots through to the Sus laws and the murder of Stephen Lawrence.

This plan represents the most significant collective commitment by policing in England and Wales to rid our service of racism, discrimination and bias.

This is a national plan led by the National Police Chiefs’ Council (NPCC) and the College of Policing. Every Chief Constable remains committed to deliver this plan.

Having been at the helm of the programme since September 2023, I know how much commitment, energy and talent has gone into the progress achieved to date.

This report outlines the considerable amount of work across our four key workstreams and I am incredibly grateful for the efforts of the dozens of officers and staff who have worked in our central programme team, as well as the countless more who have worked to progress the plan in local forces around the country.

I am similarly grateful for the wisdom, expertise and rigour of our Independent Scrutiny and Oversight Board and the National Black Police Association, both of whom have played an invaluable part in guiding and shaping the plan.

Our research found that nearly three quarters of Black and Black heritage officers have experienced racial microaggressions, discrimination and harassment.

A Black person is twice as likely to be arrested, three times as likely to be subject to police use of force and four times as likely to be stop and searched than if you are White.

Racism cannot be defined simply through statistics. Behind these figures is the visceral, emotive response of Black communities and how they feel about the police.

Some victims of domestic abuse perpetrated by Black men have said they would not report this to the police, given their fear of what might happen to the suspect in police custody.

Abused and exploited Black children said they would not report to the police, even though they were desperate to stop the violence, because they lacked trust in officers.

Too many Black parents will know the feeling of having that conversation with their children about what to do and how they should behave if they are stopped and searched by officers.

Black communities are frustrated, fatigued and fed up with us promising and failing to change.

This is the sad reality of how so many people in the Black community view our service, which has been formed over generations of poor treatment by the police, as well as a failure to adequately respond to the various reviews, reports and challenges that have highlighted this unacceptable situation.

Policing must take responsibility for this generational trauma and mistrust, and I reiterate the apology of my predecessors who led this plan for these failures, both in the past but also for the present situation where racism, discrimination and bias continue to blight our service.

This is why the Police Race Action Plan must be a watershed moment that everyone in policing can play their part in delivering.

Whether it is getting more Black officers and staff into our service, addressing disproportionality in our powers and processes, driving meaningful engagement with Black communities or ensuring they feel fully protected by the police.

These are all ambitions everyone in our service can help us achieve.

Change is happening, but this is the start of a long journey and commitment to improve policing for Black communities and our workforce.

The innovation and ideas you will see in this report are a source of great pride to me as the programme director. While there are undoubtedly some positive signs of improvement, there is much more to be done.

Since the plan launched there have been further reports and incidents which have undermined the trust of Black communities in the police.

his progress report maps out where we are on that journey. It outlines the work that has been delivered to date across the country.

It plots out the next steps we will take to embed the PRAP into the DNA of policing, integrating this into law enforcement practice and policies as well as outlining how we will track our progress.

It also puts what we have heard from our communities at the forefront, including our hard working officers and staff from Black and Black heritage backgrounds.

We have spoken to huge numbers of people about the PRAP as part of this process, with this report outlining what people have told us and how we are taking those views into account.

We know we have a long way to go, but with the help of everyone in our service and the knowledge of our communities, I believe we will create the anti-racist police service that Black communities deserve. This will improve policing for Black people, with benefits for all the communities we serve.

T/Deputy Assistant Commissioner Dr Alison Heydari
Police Race Action Plan programme director

Sixty per cent of people from Black backgrounds have confidence in the police, compared to 68 per cent of the general population. For those from Black Caribbean backgrounds this is 49 per cent.

Seventeen per cent of Black people are worried about violent crime, compared to eight per cent across the general population.

Nearly three quarters of officers and staff from Black backgrounds have experienced discriminatory behaviour.

Black people are 2.2 times as likely to be arrested as White people.

The rate of stop and search for those from the Black community is over four times higher than it is for White people.

Black people are three times as likely to have police use force against them than White people.

Only 1.3 per cent of all police officers are from Black backgrounds, even though Black people make up around 4 per cent of the general population.

Black police officers are underrepresented at every level. Just 1.4 per cent of chief officers, 1 per cent of Superintendents and 0.7 per cent of Chief/Inspectors are from Black backgrounds.

Sources – Crime Survey for England and Wales, Government ethnicity facts and figures, Police Our Black Workforce survey, Police workforce statistics. All latest figures as of 15 July 2024.

We made five commitments in the original Police Race Action Plan. These are the steps we have taken to address them.

Zero tolerance of racism in policing

• Introduced new higher vetting standards, as well as checking more than 307,000 serving officers and staff against the Police National Database.
• Work underway to improve systems and support for Black officers and staff subject to racial hate crimes and discrimination.
• 54 police officers, staff and volunteers dismissed for discriminatory behaviour in 2022/23 – up from 26 in 2020/21.
• New code of ethics developed and launched to reinforce the high standards of conduct expected in policing.

Policing will adopt an ‘explain or reform’ approach to address the negative impact and outcomes experienced by Black people

• Better recording of ethnicity data has been introduced across policing, from workforce statistics and road traffic stops to missing people incidents, to help us better analyse and understand racial disparity.
• Between 2020/21 and 2022/23, the rate and disproportionality of stop and searches for people from Black backgrounds has fallen each year nationally.
• The rate of police use of force on those from Black backgrounds has fallen every year since 2020.

Policing will ensure that officers and staff understand the history of policing Black people and the ongoing impact and trauma of disproportionality

• Wide range of educational products produced to help officers and staff understand the history of interactions between the police and Black communities, including changes to the national police curriculum.
• Police forces working with external experts and community leaders to deliver anti-racism and cultural awareness training to their workforce, with local evaluation of courses suggesting positive results.

The development of a representative workforce

• Most Black police officers since records began – 1,884 officers identified as Black or Black British as of March 2023, up from 1,586 in 2020 and 1,446 in 2010.
• Past two years has seen the highest proportion of police officer promotions go to officers from diverse ethnic backgrounds since 2010 – 9.5 per cent in 2021/22 and 7.6 per cent in 2022/23, compared to an average of 4.7 per cent over the previous decade.
• Innovative practice developed and shared across forces to help with recruitment, positive action and mentoring.

Policing will increase the involvement of Black communities in its work and improve support to Black victims of crime

• Experts recruited from Black communities to new independent panels across local and national policing to provide advice, scrutiny and oversight.
• Working with national leads in areas such as hate crime, mental health and violence against women and girls to improve the response to Black victims of crime.
• National and local programmes are in place to facilitate conversations between Black communities and senior officers.

Black people and communities are properly represented within policing, with an internal culture that promotes inclusivity and supports their development and progression.

What we have done

Educational products on Black history and its connection to policing produced, including four digital digests and the ‘About Time Timeline’ provided to every police force.

Black Heritage Advisory Group established within the College of Policing to advise on its policies and practices.

Our Black Workforce survey collected views from more than 1,600 Black officers and police staff, with forces creating action plans to address the concerns raised.

Guidance produced on calculation and publication of ethnicity pay gap. Forces asked to develop and publish action plans to address gaps.

Cross-force mentoring pilot programme launched to provide bespoke mentoring for Black officers and police staff across urban and rural forces. The College of Policing also published wider mentoring guidance.

Guidance for chief officers prepared to help ensure officers and staff can access local Black Police Association and Race Equality Network branches.

Internal stakeholder engagement group established to provide feedback to NPCC programmes, enabling staff network groups to have an active voice in national policy decisions.

College of Policing implementing national standards around recruitment and promotion, as well as talent management.

What we will do next

The College of Policing will conduct the next phase of the Our Black Workforce survey later this year.

The College of Policing will develop and pilot behavioural science-based interventions to help supervisors address racism, sexism, and misogyny in forces. We will evaluate the pilot's implementation and impact to gather insights.

The NPCC will develop actions to address disproportionality and provide better scrutiny in police misconduct, complaints, and professional standards processes.

The NPCC and College of Policing will develop actions to reduce attrition among Black officers and police staff, and to enhance the retention and progression of Black women in policing.

A police service that is fair, respectful and equitable in its actions towards Black people.

What we have done

National guidance developed around the use of body worn video, including the vast majority of forces now recording audio as well as video in their cameras’ pre-record function.

Published independent research on racial disparities in the police use of Taser. The wider project included consultation with young people.

A review of good practice in forces for stop and search is underway, as well as developing new training products.

Vast majority of forces are now recording the ethnicity of those subject to traffic stops for the first time. This was a recommendation in the Stephen Lawrence Inquiry.

What we will do next

The NPCC will continue to lead the implementation of reforms on police stops, including stop and search. These reforms will focus on racial disparities, supervision, de-escalation and procedural justice, trauma-informed policing, adultification and safeguarding, and the use of handcuffs.

The NPCC will coordinate local pilots of reforms to stop and search – such as improved supervision and community scrutiny of body worn video and innovative scenario-based training for new recruits. The College will evaluate the impact of these pilots to identify ‘what works’.

The College and the NPCC are also working together to update the national guidance and curriculum on police stops, which will form the basis of a new ongoing cycle of professional development for frontline officers.

The NPCC will develop recommendations to improve the use and scrutiny of Taser based on the independent research, with the aim of publishing in September.

The NPCC will get all police forces recording the ethnicity of those subject to traffic stops and put specific requirements in place to publish this data.

The College is working with the NPCC to produce new national guidance on body worn video, which will include the recording of police stops and the supervision of the resulting footage to increase accountability and identify learning.

Black people and communities are routinely involved in the governance of policing.

What we have done

National Community Reference Group made up of experts from different fields established to provide feedback to the PRAP and on wider work across policing. The vast majority of those on the group are from Black backgrounds.

Significant amount of research on independent advisory groups and new approaches to community engagement based on community trauma and reconciliation. This has now been published.

What we will do next

The NPCC will support forces to pilot new approaches to community engagement that are based on the principles of restorative justice, respond to community trauma and aim to rebuild the trust and confidence of Black communities. The College will evaluate implementation of these pilots to identify learning.

The NPCC will work with the College to produce new national guidance on police accountability and transparency. The guidance will set out a framework for forces to provide information to, seek independent advice from, and be held to account and scrutinised by the public. It will help ensure forces put the voices of Black people and other groups at the heart of policing while remaining impartial.

The NPCC will oversee the National Community Reference Group.

A police service that protects Black people from crime, and seeks justice for Black victims.

What we have done

Analysis across different crime types of the disproportionate impact these have on Black communities, supporting wider national activity to improve ethnicity recording.

Working with national police leads for violence against women and girls, criminal justice, mental health and hate crime to shape the response to these crime types and address negative outcomes and experiences for Black communities.

Association of Police and Crime Commissioners Equality Framework reflects and incorporates the needs of Black victims to be assessed by all PCCs and Mayors in England and Wales. This was delivered prior to PRAP.

Senior Black executives are now having peer to peer conversations with several Chief Constables as a result of work by the plan.

Major piece of work with force missing people leads and charities to map out recommendations and improvements for the response to Black missing people.

Gathering evidence for a review of adultification bias, to ensure Black children are treated appropriately and not viewed as adults when they come into contact with the criminal justice system. Adultification bias can be understood as a form of racial prejudice in which children of minority groups, particularly Black children, are viewed as being more mature or older than they really are.

What we will do next

The NPCC and the College of Policing will continue to drive improvements around the policing response to Black missing people.

The College of Policing will evaluate the peer networking programme between Black executives and senior officers.

The NPCC will work with forces to develop the national framework for responding to violence against women and girls.

The NPPC will develop understanding of the nuances in the experiences of varied Black heritage groups and encompass intersectionality, including through the College of Policing adultification bias review.

The update of the Police Race Action Plan later this year will put the plan on a long term footing and embed its work in the DNA of policing. The PRAP must and will run for years to come and we are putting our measures of progress in place to reflect this.

We will publish our updated outcomes framework, which represents policing's anti-racism commitment. This long term aim will commit policing in England and Wales to anti-racism and achieving racial equity, as well as outlining a few high level requirements and goals our service must meet to achieve it.

This will be underpinned by the data and performance framework. Considerable work has gone into identifying the primary, secondary and tertiary performance indicators the plan should have to track and measure progress, with work ongoing to establish what data will be published internally and externally.

Linked to these are our benchmarking and maturity matrix. Benchmarking with all forces is nearing conclusion, which has led to an evidence base of initiatives which are working well across forces. It has been clear to see that many forces tailor their approach to suit their own Black communities. Details of these initiatives will be made available to all forces linked to the workstream to which they relate.

This is supporting the development of the maturity matrix for forces to be able to measure their journey towards anti-racism over several years. The maturity matrix will outline the characteristics of a force at different stages of becoming anti-racist, grading the force’s performance on key themes. When in use, the matrix can also be discussed with both external and internal stakeholders to assess how the force can mature into an anti-racist service.

Work is also well underway on transition. The central team is working alongside forces, NPCC coordination committees and the College of Policing to map out the next phase of the plan to ensure its ambitions and actions are embedded across policing, ensuring everyone working in law enforcement takes anti-racism into their daily business and knows how they can effectively play their part in delivering these ambitions.