Majority of BAME Police Staff Say They Were Racially Abused
24 Jun 2020As Black Lives Matter protests continue to highlight issues of systemic racial discrimination and unequal treatment, police officers of Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic (BAME) backgrounds are starting to come out with stories of their own experiences of racial discrimination.
An exclusive survey conducted by ITV News found that a significant majority of BAME police officers have been racially abused by members of the public.
Incidents of racism aren’t limited to the public. A Pakistani Muslim police officer who requested to not be named says that she was forced to resign from her position after facing a hostile and “racist” work environment.
Nearly 70% of BAME police staff say they’ve been racially abused
The survey conducted by ITV News targeted 238 serving BAME police officers. It is believed to be the first survey of this type that analyses racism experienced by police officers. Its findings paint a distressing image about the state of racial relations in the UK. Nearly 70% of the officers said that they have suffered racist abuse from the members of the public while carrying out their duty. 45% also said that they had received racial abuse from other BAME members of the public.
Despite these, most officers said that some progress has been made since 199 when the Macpherson report labelled the police as “institutionally racist”. Around 65% said that they believed progress has been made in contrast to the 35% who said that no progress was made. 41% also said that the racism problem has worsened in contrast to the 59% who said it had not.
Michael Fuller, the UK’s most senior BAME police officer when he was chief constable of Kent Police, said that the figures are “shocking” and expressed that he hoped the UK would have grown out of overt racism. He also said that a lot of reports were published with recommendations, but few of them were actually implemented.
“Hostile and racist” work environment is forcing BAME officers out
The results of the ITV report come as BAME police officers are expressing concerns about the internal work environment of the police itself. A Pakistani Muslim police officer who spoke to the Guardian under but requested to not be named said that she was forced to resign from her position as inspector superintendent in January 2020.
The officer, who was the most senior BAME and Muslim police officer in the London Metropolitan Police at the time, said that she was subjected to unfavourable discriminatory treatment, including being blocked from promotion; undermined; not supported; harassed and bullied, describing the work environment as “toxic”. The officer says that she was even harassed during the filing of the complaint itself.
The officer was among those who had filed a report about a swastika that was scrawled in the officers-only sections of the Metropolitan Police station in Edmonton last year. An officer who was also arrested on suspicion of links to a banned far-right organisation in March 2020 is the likely suspect.
“Her case is emblematic of racist work environments,” said her lawyer.
The Metropolitan Police has declined to comment on the case.
Latest Articles
Gaming and Islam
20 Sep 2023
Are Muslims Safe in the UK? (Opinion Piece)
02 Sep 2023
British Muslims Have Been Severely Impacted by COVID-19
Findings by the Office of National Statistics have highlighted that British Muslim communities have suffered the highest levels of COVID-19 mortality.
Muslims in Slovakia Remain Marginalised by Discriminatory Laws
The tiny Muslim minority of Slovakia, has struggled for recognition for decades. Now, discrimination is increasingly being entrenched into the legal system.
Rotherham Council Criticised for “Racism” After Rejecting Late Night Tea License Over CSE Fears
Rotherham Council was criticised for rejecting the late-night license for a Pakistani-owned tea shop on fears that it would fuel child sexual exploitation.
NHS Urged for More Coronavirus Support to Pregnant BAME Patients
In light of growing reports about BAME people being more vulnerable to the coronavirus, NHS England has issued new guidance to protect pregnant women.
BAME women are four-to-eight times likelier to be hospitalised due to COVID-19 compared to white women.
Four California Police Officers Under Probe for Islamophobic Posts
Four police officers from San Jose, California have been put on leave and are under investigation after racist and Islamophobic Facebook posts they made went public.
Among other things, the officers called Black Lives Matter “domestic enemies.”
Racist, Threatening Letters Sent to Asian-Owned Businesses in Burnley
A number of Asian-owned shops in #Burnley and other parts of #Lancashire were sent letters framed with swastikas.
“Return or go back to your land” the letter warned, threatening shop owners with graphic violence otherwise.
Many BAME Doctors Say They Did Not Have COVID-19 Risk Assessment
A new survey of 7,500 doctors found that over a third of BAME doctors did not have coronavirus risk assessments done two months after the NHS recommended them.
Many also said they were pressured to work with insufficient PPE.
Labour Peer Calls Government to Publish Steps to Protect BAME People from Coronavirus
Baroness Doreen Lawrence and The Labour Party Shadow Women and Equalities Secretary called on UK government to publish the steps it took to protect BAME people from the coronavirus outbreak.
“People’s lives were at risk over delays” they said in a joint letter.
Majority of BAME Police Staff Say They Were Racially Abused
Majority of police officers of BAME backgrounds say that they have been racially abused.
The abuse came from members of the public, but some have alleged internal discrimination against officers of BAME backgrounds as well.
Florida Police Criticised for Forcing Muslim Woman to Remove Hijab Following Arrest
Miami police has been criticised after one of the seven protesters arrested during this weekend’s Black Lives Matter protests claimed that her hijab was forcibly taken off during her mugshot and images of her uncovered head distributed across news outlets.