institutional racism
‘Critically analyse the concept of institutional racism in policing and evaluate policy responses to it’ ‘By its very nature, much of policing is controversial and conflictual.’(Newburn 2005:525) This can be seen in the major debate of race and racism that has continued throughout contemporary British policing from the 80’s to the present, featuring increasingly in popular media and political debates. (Newburn 2005) The growing interest in the position of ethnic minority groups in relation to the criminal justice system was the acknowledgment that they do not receive equivalent treatment as their white counterparts. This was shown in a number of high profile cases (Britton 2000), leading to public concern over whether racism operated at the individual level or whether was it embedded in policies and practices of the police. (Easton & Piper 2005) In this period, two inquiries were carried out: The Scarmen report and the Macpherson report, investigating and probing police procedures to see if or where racism was present in the system. Both became of significant value to society, bringing, ‘to the surface fundamental issues concerning police powers, competence, accountability, personnel and training.’(Bowling 1998:xiv) Allowing fresh debates to surface on how to build a successful multi-cultural society in Britain.
These are the areas I will focus on to be able to critically analyse the concept of institutional racism in policing and evaluate policy responses to it. To be able to present my answer effectively, I will first concentrate on the relations between the police and minorities understood in the context of history, through the Brixton riots, which triggered the Scarmen inquiry and the Macpherson inquiry on the death of Stephen Lawrence. Analyse of the concept of institutional racism will follow this. Thirdly, I will look at the Stephen Lawrence case and the recommendations Macpherson presented to create change in policies. Finally, I will look at the
These are the areas I will focus on to be able to critically analyse the concept of institutional racism in policing and evaluate policy responses to it. To be able to present my answer effectively, I will first concentrate on the relations between the police and minorities understood in the context of history, through the Brixton riots, which triggered the Scarmen inquiry and the Macpherson inquiry on the death of Stephen Lawrence. Analyse of the concept of institutional racism will follow this. Thirdly, I will look at the Stephen Lawrence case and the recommendations Macpherson presented to create change in policies. Finally, I will look at the
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