Source · Select Committees · Home Affairs Committee
Third Report - The Macpherson Report: Twenty-two years on
Home Affairs Committee
HC 139
Published 30 July 2021
Recommendations
40
Para 226
Mandate Home Office to investigate Met Commissioner's proposed Equality Act changes for recruitment.
Recommendation
We believe that most forces should be able to make rapid progress with clear targets and using the positive action provisions in the Equality Act 2010 we have identified. We heard concerns raised by the Metropolitan Police that some of …
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Home Office
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53
Acknowledged
Para 420
Persistent racial disparities in stop and search undermine BME community confidence.
Recommendation
In the twenty-two years since the Macpherson report there have been different attempts to reform the way stop and search has worked, but there has been little progress in addressing the unexplained and unjustified racial disparities or building confidence among …
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Government Response Summary
The government supports the use of stop and search, acknowledges the need for improved accountability, and commits to continuing to work with NPCC, APCC, and HMICFRS to explore how policing bodies can take forward recommendations and deliver a whole-sector approach. As part of "Inclusive Britain", they will consider a range of metrics for stop and search rates.
Home Office
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81
Para 558
Require the EHRC to determine a framework for assessing institutional racism in police forces.
Recommendation
We believe that it would therefore be helpful to build consensus around a framework for measuring and assessing institutional racism within individual organisations, using the approach Wendy Williams applied in her consideration of the operations of the Home Office as …
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Home Office
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82
Acknowledged
Para 559
Police forces must strengthen race inequality approach by adopting 'explain or change' model.
Recommendation
Fourthly, police forces must strengthen their approach to tackling the systemic problems of race inequality that we have identified. Forces should adopt the approach set out in the David Lammy review of the Criminal Justice System: explain or change. That …
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Government Response Summary
The government agrees on the need to monitor trust and confidence, stating they already collect extensive ethnicity data and will continue to explore improvements in data recording. They note that the National Policing Board includes public trust as a strategic priority.
Home Office
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Conclusions (25)
1
Conclusion
Acknowledged
Para 24
The Stephen Lawrence Inquiry, led by the late Sir William Macpherson, was truly ground-breaking when its report was published twenty-two years ago. It led to major changes in the law, in policing, in the response to institutional racism and the treatment of racist crimes. Ultimately it led to the conviction …
Government Response Summary
The government acknowledges the importance of public trust and confidence in policing, noting that the Home Office and policing partners already monitor various data broken down by ethnicity and that the National Policing Board prioritises being trusted by the public.
3
Conclusion
Acknowledged
Our inquiry does not attempt to replicate the work of the forensic judge-led Stephen Lawrence Inquiry twenty-two years on, nor to replicate the many other wider reports about racism and race equality since then. But we have assessed progress against some of the most important Macpherson report recommendations: on community …
Government Response Summary
The Ministry of Justice has developed guidance for commissioners to support ethnic minority victims, focusing on improving service effectiveness and engagement, while the Home Office is exploring ways to understand the experiences of victims from ethnic minority backgrounds.
12
Conclusion
Acknowledged
Para 105
The Macpherson report brought about a transformation in the way police recognise racist incidents and deal with racist crimes, and we found a strong commitment from senior police officers to maintain the progress that had been made. This seismic change is one of the most important legacies of the Stephen …
Government Response Summary
The government acknowledges the importance of police officer training for legitimate power use and welcomed improvements in police interactions. It then raises its own concern that neither the NPCC nor Home Office have published further analysis of racial disparity in COVID-19 Fixed Penalty Notices and states they should continue to monitor this data.
16
Conclusion
Acknowledged
Para 109
The drop in racist incidents and crimes in the crime survey, and the increase in crimes that are reported to the police, is welcome and suggests that there is both an increased awareness of hate crime and increased confidence in reporting such crimes. However, statistics indicating that more than 75,000 …
Government Response Summary
The government acknowledges the ongoing need to tackle racism in policing and describes existing strong governance structures, including the National Policing Board and PCCs, designed to ensure transparency and accountability. It rejects the necessity of a new Commissioner, asserting that current oversight mechanisms are sufficient to improve community confidence and address disparities.
21
Conclusion
Acknowledged
Para 114
We agree with Neil Basu that the links between hateful content online, radicalisation and extremism as well as the devastating impact online hate crimes can have on individuals mean that it needs to be taken extremely seriously. There is a responsibility on the Government, the police service, social media companies …
Government Response Summary
The government affirmed its commitment to tackling hate crime and hateful extremism online, reiterating existing measures such as the Hate Crime Action Plan, awareness campaigns, the True Vision portal, and Operation Modify training for police.
22
Conclusion
Acknowledged
The increased support for all victims of crime and the work of Family Liaison Officers as a result of the Macpherson report are important wider legacies of the Stephen Lawrence Inquiry. However, we are extremely concerned that, twenty- two years on from the publication of the Macpherson report, some Black …
Government Response Summary
The government highlights existing Ministry of Justice guidance for commissioners on supporting ethnic minority victims and states the Home Office is exploring ways to better understand victims' experiences and will continue to engage with the Victims Commissioner.
42
Conclusion
Acknowledged
Without clear action we fear that in ten years’ time successors to our Committee will hear the very same arguments and evidence about recruitment and retention that have been rehearsed for over twenty years, and the effectiveness and legitimacy of the police service will be further undermined amongst those communities …
Government Response Summary
The government acknowledges the 'once-in-a-generation opportunity' presented by the Police Uplift Programme to improve representation and describes the comprehensive programme of work, including various attraction and recruitment strategies, already being delivered across all forces.
47
Conclusion
Acknowledged
Para 366
Twenty-two years on from the publication of the Macpherson report there remains a serious problem with racial disproportionality in stop and search. Black people are over nine and a half times more likely to be stopped and searched than White people. Despite the Macpherson report and the concerns raised and …
Government Response Summary
The government defends the use of stop and search, acknowledging the importance of fair use and proper monitoring. It commits to improving accountability and transparency for perceived disproportionality through s.163 data collection pilots and considering new metrics for stop and search rates.
48
Conclusion
Acknowledged
Stop and search is an important police power and the Macpherson report’s conclusion that it has a useful role to play in the prevention and detection of crime still applies. However the nature of the unexplained and unjustified racial disparities, and the way we have seen stop and search used, …
Government Response Summary
The government supports stop and search, highlighting its effectiveness, but acknowledges the need for better accountability and transparency. They are considering a range of metrics and deferring a decision on s.163 data collection pending pilot findings and consultation.
49
Conclusion
Acknowledged
Para 368
No evidence to this inquiry has adequately explained or justified the nature and scale of the disproportionality in the use of stop and search powers. This is especially the case for searches for the possession of drugs where evidence shows that Black people are less likely than White people to …
Government Response Summary
The government defends the use of stop and search, acknowledges the importance of fair use and monitoring for perceived disproportionality, and commits to piloting s.163 Road Traffic Act data collection and considering a range of metrics for stop and search rates.
61
Conclusion
Acknowledged
Para 467
More recently, the serious concerns raised about disproportionality in the use of Fixed Penalty Notices as part of police enforcement of the covid-19 regulations provide cautionary evidence about the need for care and oversight in the way new policing powers are introduced. In the first lockdown Black people were 1.8 …
Government Response Summary
The government recognises the concerns about disproportionality in COVID-19 Fixed Penalty Notices and highlights that the NPCC routinely publishes data, has commissioned an independent analysis to be published, and is committed to an action plan for improving diversity and focusing on power use.
67
Conclusion
Acknowledged
Para 500
The murder of George Floyd and its global impact shone a spotlight on the race inequality and injustice that are still features of our society. It is an important step forward that political and policing leaders have come together in recognition of the fact that racial injustice persists in our …
Government Response Summary
The government welcomes the report and acknowledges that more work is needed to improve trust and confidence in policing among black and ethnic minority groups.
68
Conclusion
Acknowledged
Para 501
This report recognises the many significant changes that have been made on issues raised in the Macpherson report twenty-two years ago, including the major improvements in the way the police deal with racist crimes, and the public commitments by forces and senior officers to diversity and race equality. We also …
Government Response Summary
The government welcomes the report, acknowledging improvements but also recognising the need for further work to build trust and confidence in policing among black and ethnic minority groups.
72
Conclusion
Acknowledged
Para 519
It is essential also for leaders to set an example by undertaking this anti-racism training, shaping the organisational culture of their forces, confronting unfair behaviour among officers and addressing structures that disadvantage and discriminate.
Government Response Summary
The government references general training improvements for police officers, including a review of de-escalation skills training by autumn 2024, and the new 'Race Action Plan', but does not explicitly detail how leaders will specifically undertake anti-racism training or implement the other suggested actions.
73
Conclusion
Para 550
The Public Sector Equality Duty and the Equality Act 2010 are a part of the legacy of the Macpherson Report’s important work on institutional racism, as they build on the race equality duty that was introduced in response to the report’s findings. Under the Act the police, as public bodies, …
74
Conclusion
Para 551
Since the Macpherson report was published there have been important and welcome improvements in policing, and we have found that policing today is very different from twenty-two years ago. Our inquiry has seen evidence of significant improvements in the policing of racist crimes and hate crimes: in the commitment of …
75
Conclusion
Para 552
But our inquiry has also found that despite many years of commitments being made to race equality by the police service and the Home Office, there are still persistent, deep rooted and unjustified racial disparities in key areas. The failure to make sufficient progress on BME recruitment, retention and progression, …
76
Conclusion
Acknowledged
Para 553
Our objective has been to consider progress, twenty-two years on, against the key Macpherson themes and recommendations which we set out in chapter one. We have not sought to carry out the kind of in-depth exercise in respect of individual policing institutions that either Macpherson conducted into the Metropolitan Police …
Government Response Summary
The government acknowledges the committee's work and highlights past progress in policing reforms, data collection, and recruitment, referring to the "Inclusive Britain" response for future measures to improve accountability and tackle disparities.
77
Conclusion
Acknowledged
Para 554
Firstly, we take extremely seriously the views of Black and minority ethnic police organisations who repeatedly told us that they continue to experience and bear witness to institutional racism in our police forces today, and believe that this testimony alone should be grounds enough for policing leaders, the Home Office …
Government Response Summary
The government acknowledges the committee's work and points to significant progress in policing since Macpherson, including reforms, data improvements, and recruitment. It states that the "Inclusive Britain" response will deliver measures to improve accountability and tackle negative disparities.
83
Conclusion
Acknowledged
The Macpherson report led to major changes in attitudes towards racism and to progress on race equality both in policing and across society. However that early momentum was not sustained and persistent problems were not addressed. Now that there is a new focus on challenging racism and on the very …
Government Response Summary
The government acknowledges the committee's report and emphasizes the significant progress made in policing since Macpherson, including reforms, improved data collection, and diverse recruitment. It refers to the "Inclusive Britain" response for future measures to enhance accountability and address disparities.
88
Conclusion
Acknowledged
Para 589
The NPCC has a leadership function in policing, co-ordinating police forces at a national level. It is welcome that the NPCC has announced its intention to develop and implement a race equality action plan but it is deeply disappointing that this has since been delayed and that it is taking …
Government Response Summary
The government notes that the NPCC and College of Policing have co-developed a new 'Race Action Plan' which outlines measures to improve policing and secure the confidence of Black people, including updated officer guidance and training.
90
Conclusion
Para 597
Evidence given to this inquiry indicates that the IOPC (and the IPCC before it) has been too complacent on matters of race, and specifically has not worked to collate data consistently (see chapter five). We welcome the IOPC’s announcement, in summer 2020, that it will commit to a dedicated focus …
92
Conclusion
Para 605
However, it has been far too long since the inspectorate conducted a thematic review on race. There is an urgent need for HMICFRS to address race directly in its inspections. HMICFRS should always include specific questions about race and the workforce (including recruitment and disciplinary procedures, and officer and staff …
101
Conclusion
Acknowledged
Para 622
Across the country police forces work hard each day to tackle crime and keep all our communities safe. Police officers and staff work immensely hard to deliver fairness in policing, to support Black and minority ethnic victims of crime, to tackle racist hate crimes and support community cohesion. But it …
Government Response Summary
The government agrees on the importance of monitoring trust and confidence in policing and highlights existing data collection efforts across various metrics. It commits to continuing to work with policing partners to support forces in collating and publishing confidence data to inform accountability.
102
Conclusion
Acknowledged
The commitments made over the last year by the NPCC, by individual forces and by senior police officers to a step change in addressing race equality in policing are important and welcome. But commitments have been made in the past that were then not delivered. This time needs to be …
Government Response Summary
The government acknowledges the importance of public confidence and describes ongoing efforts to monitor trust and collect data, committing to continue working with policing partners to consider how best to support forces in collating and publishing confidence data.