Never before has such a senior police officer taken such a stance in the UK. In an interview with guardian Published on Friday, January 5, Gavin Stephens, chairman of the British National Council of Police Commissioners, accused the institution of being racist “at the institutional level“.”This does not mean that all police officers are racist.“He immediately softened, emphasizing that it was a personal point of view. Therefore, he considered that the efforts and reforms currently undertaken at the highest level of the State were insufficient to combat racial discrimination.

“The way our policies, procedures and training have been designed and carried out for many years has not adequately considered Black voices.», estimates Gavin Stephens, who believes that the latter should no longer be subject to disproportionate use of force. “The problems we need to solve are at the institutional level and therefore require institutional changes.“, he insisted.

“That stereotype that black men are more dangerous is a myth”

In a report published by British police leaders in 2022, it was written that “Black people are seven times more likely to be stopped and searched than white people and five times more likely to be subjected to the use of force.“.”10% of recorded searches, 27% of use of force incidents and 35% of Taser incidents involved someone from this ethnic group.», which only represents 3.5% of the population, the report further states. “This stereotype that black men are more dangerous is a myth», dragged Gavin Stephens to the guardian. “Yes, young black men are involved in crime, but so are white men.“, he insisted.

In 2021, Louise Casey, a member of the House of Lords and former independent adviser on social policy to several British prime ministers, had already issued a report concluding that the British police were institutionally racist. Since then, Police Scotland, the second largest force in the United Kingdom; Avon Police, Sommerset; and the transport police have officially accepted this term. But England’s three largest police forces, those in London, Manchester and Birmingham, have rejected this qualification.