"Disgusting" figures show 97% of police accused of racism face no action

Published date01 March 2021
New data shows that thousands of police officers and staff have been investigated in England and Wales over the past five years, but only a fraction faced disciplinary action.

And huge gaps are evident between individual forces -with one upholding nearly half of complaints while 12 others did not uphold a single one.

Campaigners have called for allegations to be re-investigated after the figures were branded "disgusting" and forces were accused of "gaslighting" victims of discrimination.

The families of Sean Rigg and Olaseni Lewis, young black men who died after being detained by police, said the data reveals officers can "act with impunity" with no meaningful oversight.

And Dr Victor Olisa, a former Met Police borough commander who was one of the UK's most senior black officers, said the figures uncovered by The Mirror should raise alarm bells across British policing.

Of 5,169 allegations of racially-motivated misconduct made to 39 police forces just 153 were upheld -less than three per cent.

Have you complained to police about alleged racism by officers Email webnews@mirror.co.uk

The Met Police received the highest number of complaints, but dismissed more than 98 per cent of the 1,368 allegations made against its staff.

By comparison Cheshire Police upheld 46.5 per cent of its 43 complaints, while Northamptonshire's figure was 37.5 per cent and in the West Midlands it was 31.7 per cent.

Among the forces which did not uphold a single complaint about racially-motivated misconduct was Cambridgeshire Constabulary, which received 132 between 2015 and 2020.

Devon and Cornwall, Hampshire, Thames Valley, Lancashire and Sussex also did not uphold a single complaint.

Three forces have not responded, while one, Wiltshire, refused to provide figures.

Campaigners have branded the findings "disgusting", saying they undermine confidence in UK policing.

But the National Police Chiefs Council claims the variation is "expected", and denied institutional racism.

Katrina Ffrench, chief executive of StopWatch, which campaigns to make police more accountable, said the figures highlight a toxic culture within the UK's law enforcement.

Katrina, who said she had been made to undergo a strip search herself by police after being wrongly accused of having a weapon five years ago, said: "There's no accountability.

"This leaves people feeling marginalised -if you can't trust the police, who can you trust The complaints process isn't fit for purpose."

Ms Ffrench said chief constables...

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