Police chiefs 'hindering training in race issues'
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Police chiefs have been using offensive language at public meetings and deliberately disrupting events intended to improve the policing of ethnic minorities and gays, government inspectors reported yesterday.
Her Majesty's Inspectorate of Constabulary (HMIC) said some police managers were having a "detrimental effect" on the impact of race training introduced after the racist murder of the black teenager Stephen Lawrence.
"Training was often inefficient, ineffective or viewed as an encumbrance," said the HMIC report, Diversity Matters. "Staff often came to the view that race and diversity training was an unnecessary and low-priority distraction."
Even at chief constable level there were examples of officers not giving appropriate weight to equality training, the report said.
"Sadly, there were also occasions when staff cited a real or perceived resistance on the part of chief officers to race and diversity issues," it said. "For example, instances were encountered where chief officers had displayed disruptive behaviour during race and diversity training events, or continually used specific gender or inappropriate language at both internal and public meetings."
The lack of progress was seen as extremely disappointing considering a series of national initiatives introduced after reports on the 1981 Brixton riots and the 1993 murder of Stephen Lawrence.
"Whilst this inspection found some dedicated individuals involved in a range of activities, there was insufficient evidence of a holistic commitment, at the strategic level, to adopting the approach to race and diversity continually recommended by successive reports," HMIC said. The report concluded: "The [Police] Service will continue to make small gains in performance through training but much larger losses unless commitment and leadership is visible and real. Such leadership must now be forthcoming."
The inspectors were particularly critical of senior police commanders of divisions, typically of superintendent rank, undermining the training. The 200-page report said there were "numerous examples of noteworthy practice" in training officers on race relations and in dealing with other minorities such as gays and lesbians. But such training was often viewed as a "mandatory tick-box exercise" lacking in national standards and proper evaluation, it said.
Among constables and police support staff, the report said: "Too many consider race and diversity issues to be on the periphery of their working practices." This was because of managers' failure to "foster positive attitudes and motivate staff", lack of role models, resistance to change, ineffective training and a view among some regional forces that diversity issues were solely a matter for the Metropolitan Police.
The inspectors called for "biting sanctions" against officers and forces that failed to implement agreed national or local action plans. These included fines, extra inspections and direct intervention in the way forces were run.
The Police Superintendents' Association said it was "disappointed" at the lack of progress made in the field of diversity training, but argued that competing government demands meant that forces had to divert resources to other key aspects of police work to meet various targets.