By Staff writer                                                                       27/07/09
A new report by the Home Affairs Select Committee has revealed that racism is within the police force is still a problem, and in certain areas has got worse, a decade after the  publication of the Government's Macpherson Inquiry report, which revealed that the police force is  institutionally racist.

People from black communities in particular are disproportionately represented in stop and search statistics and on the national DNA database; in fact, the gap has increased, this new report states.

This cross-party group of MPs report has again turned the media spotlight on the disturbing figures, which show that black people are now seven times more likely to be stopped by the police than white people. Ten years ago, when the Macpherson report into the murder of black teenager Stephen Lawrence was published, black people were six times more likely to be stopped.

This study marks the 10th anniversary of Sir William Macpherson's report into the 1993 murder of black student Stephen Lawrence.

On 22 April 1993, Lawrence was stabbed to death at a bus stop in Eltham, southeast London in an unprovoked racist attack by a gang of white youths. The police were heavily criticised for their conduct of the investigation. Their incompetence in handling the case sparked a public outcry after serious police errors meant no one has ever been convicted over the killing.

In 1999, a judicial inquiry by Sir William Macpherson into the murder of 18-year-old outlined a catalogue of failures by London's police force, and condemned their ‘professional incompetence', the ‘institutional racism' within the force and ‘failure of leadership by senior officers'. 

Over a decade after the black teenagers death's those responsible have still not been prosecuted and are at large in the community.

Community relations damaged by over represenation of black people in the criminal justice system
This new report, published last week, noted the police had since made ‘tremendous strides' in the service provided to ethnic minorities, in dealing with racism amongst officers, and had implemented 67 of Macpherson's 70 recommendations.

However, a number of concerns remain. Black communities in particular are disproportionately represented in stop and search statistics and on the National DNA Database despite having lower offending rates than their white counterparts. Chairman of the home affairs select committee Keith Vaz, MP said such disproportionate representation of black people in the criminal justice system would continue to damage community relations.

The Committee says the complex factors behind the over-representation of black people in the criminal justice system do not justify this level of disproportionality.

The Committee also expressed its disappointment that the police service will not meet its target to employ 7% of officers from ethnic minority communities nationally by 2009 and that black and minority ethnic officers continue to experience difficulties in achieving promotion, as well as being more likely to be subject to disciplinary procedures.

Responding to the damning findings in this report  a spokesman for the Association of Chief Police Officer's Steve Otter, Chief Constable of Devon & Cornwall said: ‘the police service remains committed to continuing to improve services that are responsive to the needs of different communities and to protect all communities, particularly those that are most vulnerable, from harm'.

The number of high profile deaths of vulnerable black service users in urgent need of mental health care, while in police custody means that for people from African Caribbean communities Chief Police Otter's comments are a far cry from reality.

 'The IPCC has treated the death of animals with  more seriousness than that of any black man who has lost his life  in police custody. Samatha Rigg sister of service users Sean Rigg told Black Mental Health UK.

'A recent case where two police dogs suffocated  in a police car has been taken up straight away with the IPCC, who then referred the case to the RSPCA and then publicly announced that the officers will be face animal cruelty charges. This is in complete contrast to cases where healthy young black men have died  while in custody', Rigg said.

Safety of service users in police custody remains a concern
The sudden death of the composer and musician, Sean Rigg, which occurred just 90 minutes after he was arrested and taken to Brixton police station, London are indications to many in the community that the vulnerable are not afforded the protection that they need by the police  force.

Also the abrupt death of thirty eight year old, father of three, Mickey Powell, after a family member called  the police for assistance to get him to a place of safety as he was in need of mental health care is just one of the high profile cases that reinforce this view.
Powell'slife ended suddenly after he was pursued and knocked over by a police car, beaten with batons, CS gassed, restrained then driven to Thornhill Road police, Birmingham.  By the time an ambulance arrived at the station Powell was dead.

Findings from the lastest Count Me In Census report shows that people from African Caribbean Communities are 50% more likely to be referred to mental health services via the police than their whit counterparts.

Health experts and race equality groups say that cases like these along with other like Roger Sylvester, Christopher Alder make it imperative that discrimination within the police force which led to the tragic loss of these services users lives is address in order to ensure that such tragedies to not occur again.