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| So many complaints, so little action. Do the police take racism seriously? | |
| (34 minutes later) | |
| Growing up in east London 20 years ago, I was a young black man with a nice little car – a Renault Clio adapted for my needs. I used to get stopped and searched by the police so often that I'd play a game: to see if I could make it to basketball training without being stopped. A lot of the time I lost. Being stopped by the police was a part of my life until I became a well-known Paralympian. | Growing up in east London 20 years ago, I was a young black man with a nice little car – a Renault Clio adapted for my needs. I used to get stopped and searched by the police so often that I'd play a game: to see if I could make it to basketball training without being stopped. A lot of the time I lost. Being stopped by the police was a part of my life until I became a well-known Paralympian. |
| It's a well established fact that you're more likely to be stopped and searched by the police if you're black. But what happens if you make a complaint, alleging that the police have been racist in their treatment of you? While working on a Dispatches investigation for Channel 4, I've been meeting people who have personal experience of this frustrating process. Stuart Lawrence is a teacher in his mid-30s living in London. He's been repeatedly stopped by the police and suspects that sometimes it happens because he's black. When he was stopped near his home in November 2012, one of the officers said it was because he was a "naturally suspicious" person. Stuart decided enough was enough and put in an official complaint alleging that he was stopped by police "only because he is black". | It's a well established fact that you're more likely to be stopped and searched by the police if you're black. But what happens if you make a complaint, alleging that the police have been racist in their treatment of you? While working on a Dispatches investigation for Channel 4, I've been meeting people who have personal experience of this frustrating process. Stuart Lawrence is a teacher in his mid-30s living in London. He's been repeatedly stopped by the police and suspects that sometimes it happens because he's black. When he was stopped near his home in November 2012, one of the officers said it was because he was a "naturally suspicious" person. Stuart decided enough was enough and put in an official complaint alleging that he was stopped by police "only because he is black". |
| An internal Met investigation found that the officer had done nothing wrong. So Lawrence appealed that finding to the Independent Police Complaints Commission, which overturned the original ruling and found that the officer did have a case to answer for racial discrimination. | An internal Met investigation found that the officer had done nothing wrong. So Lawrence appealed that finding to the Independent Police Complaints Commission, which overturned the original ruling and found that the officer did have a case to answer for racial discrimination. |
| But when that finding was sent back to the Metropolitan police for a disciplinary hearing, they once again found that there was no case to answer. "The IPCC, as much as they want to make recommendations, as much as they want to see change, they're only a voice," Stuart told me. "If the Met don't want to listen to that voice, they don't need to." | But when that finding was sent back to the Metropolitan police for a disciplinary hearing, they once again found that there was no case to answer. "The IPCC, as much as they want to make recommendations, as much as they want to see change, they're only a voice," Stuart told me. "If the Met don't want to listen to that voice, they don't need to." |
| Stuart is the younger brother of Stephen Lawrence, who was murdered in 1993. The way the police handled the investigation into the teenager's death, and the Macpherson report six years later, established that there was a problem with "institutional racism" in policing. Britain has come a long way since that time, and the police have worked hard to be more representative of the communities they police, and change the way they deal with racism when it's an element of a crime. But when it comes to the police complaints system, Stuart told me that from his personal experience he feels there's still a long way to go. | Stuart is the younger brother of Stephen Lawrence, who was murdered in 1993. The way the police handled the investigation into the teenager's death, and the Macpherson report six years later, established that there was a problem with "institutional racism" in policing. Britain has come a long way since that time, and the police have worked hard to be more representative of the communities they police, and change the way they deal with racism when it's an element of a crime. But when it comes to the police complaints system, Stuart told me that from his personal experience he feels there's still a long way to go. |
| I met another man who was CS gassed after approaching police officers to ask why they were stopping and searching his sons. He told us that an officer said to him: "Right, you black bastard, you're gonna get it," before unloading the entire can into his face. As he told me about this incident he sobbed. I asked him if he thought the same thing would have happened to him if he and his family were white. He said: "That's a difficult one … I think I would have been treated differently. I'd like to think it was just the officer and he's just a bad apple. I have to keep thinking that, because if I don't think that, I won't get on in life." | I met another man who was CS gassed after approaching police officers to ask why they were stopping and searching his sons. He told us that an officer said to him: "Right, you black bastard, you're gonna get it," before unloading the entire can into his face. As he told me about this incident he sobbed. I asked him if he thought the same thing would have happened to him if he and his family were white. He said: "That's a difficult one … I think I would have been treated differently. I'd like to think it was just the officer and he's just a bad apple. I have to keep thinking that, because if I don't think that, I won't get on in life." |
| Even though his complaint was not upheld, the Met paid him and his sons £44,000 after he brought a civil action. | Even though his complaint was not upheld, the Met paid him and his sons £44,000 after he brought a civil action. |
| We've discovered that even when complaints are substantiated, very little happens. Of 77 upheld allegations of racism that we identified – from a total of 7,963 over an eight-year period – only three resulted in dismissal. Five resulted in serious sanctions, such as a written warning. But the overwhelming majority were handled with "management advice" or "management action" or, in some cases, no further action at all. | We've discovered that even when complaints are substantiated, very little happens. Of 77 upheld allegations of racism that we identified – from a total of 7,963 over an eight-year period – only three resulted in dismissal. Five resulted in serious sanctions, such as a written warning. But the overwhelming majority were handled with "management advice" or "management action" or, in some cases, no further action at all. |
| In one extreme case, we've discovered that an officer involved in a racist attack on a black man in 1995 is still serving in the Metropolitan police. | In one extreme case, we've discovered that an officer involved in a racist attack on a black man in 1995 is still serving in the Metropolitan police. |
| Sylbert Farquharson was 50 when he was manhandled into a van and driven to Brixton police station. His shoe fell off in the process. When he got out of the van, a constable told his colleagues: "He's a fucking coon, let's give him a fucking tail." The shoe was tied to the back of Sylbert's trousers. | Sylbert Farquharson was 50 when he was manhandled into a van and driven to Brixton police station. His shoe fell off in the process. When he got out of the van, a constable told his colleagues: "He's a fucking coon, let's give him a fucking tail." The shoe was tied to the back of Sylbert's trousers. |
| Sylbert won almost £250,000 in damages after he sued the Met. The judge described the officer's actions as "disgraceful misconduct". But when Greater Manchester police were brought in to look into his case, they concluded there was no case to answer. And when the IPCC ordered the Met to hold disciplinary proceedings for abuse of authority, those proceedings also concluded that there was no evidence that the officer had committed any wrongdoing. | Sylbert won almost £250,000 in damages after he sued the Met. The judge described the officer's actions as "disgraceful misconduct". But when Greater Manchester police were brought in to look into his case, they concluded there was no case to answer. And when the IPCC ordered the Met to hold disciplinary proceedings for abuse of authority, those proceedings also concluded that there was no evidence that the officer had committed any wrongdoing. |
| That officer is still serving at Brixton police station. We asked the Met why, and they told us: "The matter has been thoroughly investigated and the allegation of racism was not substantiated against the officer … The officer has since been returned to full duties." | That officer is still serving at Brixton police station. We asked the Met why, and they told us: "The matter has been thoroughly investigated and the allegation of racism was not substantiated against the officer … The officer has since been returned to full duties." |
| All the forces we spoke to said that they took allegations of racism extremely seriously, and it's clear that those in charge want people to have confidence in the complaints system. But part of that process is ensuring that a complaint has a fair chance of getting to the truth of a matter. There is clearly a long way to go. | All the forces we spoke to said that they took allegations of racism extremely seriously, and it's clear that those in charge want people to have confidence in the complaints system. But part of that process is ensuring that a complaint has a fair chance of getting to the truth of a matter. There is clearly a long way to go. |