Assessing the impact of the Stephen Lawrence Inquiry
| Published date | 01 June 2006 |
| Date | 01 June 2006 |
| DOI | 10.1177/026455050605300209 |
| Subject Matter | Articles |
the area of young people leaving care. The research suggests that mentoring can
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Mentoring Young People Leaving Care: ‘Someone for me’ by Jasmine Clayden
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Sarah Dubberley
Lecturer in Criminal Justice, NEWI
Assessing the impact of the Stephen Lawrence Inquiry
The failure of the police to properly investigate the murder of black teenager
Stephen Lawrence in April 1993 raised very serious issues in relation to trust and
respect between the police and minority ethnic communities. The Stephen
Lawrence Inquiry that followed, led by Sir William Macpherson, was a significant
event in the recent history of the police service in England and Wales. The
Macpherson Report (HMSO, 1999) was comprehensive, extensive and highly
critical. It identified fundamental flaws in the police investigation and blamed
professional incompetence, institutional racism and a lack of leadership. It called
for the police to examine how it could have allowed seriously flawed policies and
practices to exist. The report made seventy separate recommendations.
In 1999 the Home Secretary published an action plan for the implementation
of these recommendations. The Lawrence Support Group, set up in part to support
the implementation of the action plan, took an interest in assessing the impact of
the Macpherson Report on the police force and its relationship with minority ethnic
communities. The Mannheim Centre for Criminology at the London School of
Economic (LSE) was commissioned to carry out a large national survey of police
officers involving approximately 2000 hours of observations collected between
2002 and 2004. The LSE research report ‘Assessing the Impact of the Stephen
Lawrence Inquiry’ highlights the progress that has been made in policing since
the publication of the Macpherson Report, and suggests areas where the Inquiry
has been an important catalyst for change. It also suggests areas where further
work and reform is needed to deal with the more challenging systemic issues. The
lessons from the Macpherson Report and this subsequent research report by the
LSE are relevant and important for all agencies working in the community.
The Macpherson Report appears to have been an important mechanism for
change within the police force. For example, there have been improvements in
police responses to hate crime, and in the recording and monitoring of racist
incidents. Before the Inquiry the climate in the police appeared to have made it
either acceptable and/or possible for some officers to break rules in relation to
stop and search, but since the Inquiry it is now perceived to be more difficult.
Other developments included improvements in the management of murder
investigations. The LSE research also found that considerable emphasis was now
placed by police forces on improving communication with local minority
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