British Police and Respect for Diversity 18th August 2018

Unfairness and Discrimination manifest themselves in our UK criminal justice system and some argue, in policing in particular and so it is essential to study the concepts that explain these social and psychological processes that bring out unfairness and discrimination. These concepts display prejudice, discrimination, stereotyping, and labelling. When the black teenager Stephen Lawrence was stabbed to death at a bus stop in London, his parents fought for fairness and there eventually was published in 1999, the Stephen Lawrence Inquiry Report which clearly stated that there was police institutional racism. Since that time police have been working hard against institutional racism. After the 1999 Stephen Lawrence Inquiry Report came the Race Relations (Amendment) Act 2000. By the 2000 Act, police have a general DUTY to promote good race relations. The 2000 Act addresses individual prejudices and individual institutional discrimination through learning about diverse cultures. However, it may come as a surprise to many people today that in the year 2018, our police force includes some of the most educated and trained police in the world -to respect society's Diversity. Today, UK police are aware of the growing impact of many religious influences and the mostly show respect to all. It is not a question of being "politically correct", but of showing respect for each other and every fellow citizen, neighbours, workmates and also people on the social media websites which the police are responsible for. HM Inspectorate of Constabulary , Robin Field Smith, MBE, MA, FCIPD, CCMI, put it well when he stated: "The Police are responsible for ensuring the safety of all those living in and passing through our country. In going about their business, Police Officers and staff do not have the opportunity to exclude, ignore, or give lesser service to any individual or group. They have to respect and manage the diversity both within the workforce of Police Officers and organisations and in the community to be policed.......No-one should be in any doubt of the scale of the challenge facing the Police and the critical importance of knowing what to do right and getting the right outcomes through intelligent application of skills and attributes...".