Policing Not Institutionally Racist, Says South Yorkshire Police Federation

THE Chair of South Yorkshire Police Federation has said he doesn’t think policing as a whole is institutionally racist, following the publication of Baroness Casey’s review into the Metropolitan Police Service.

This comes after the national Chair of the Police Federation of England and Wales (PFEW), Steve Hartshorn, said in an interview with The Guardian that he accepted the Met was institutionally racist, misogynistic and homophobic, stressing that was his “personal view”.

South Yorkshire Police Federation Chair Steve Kent disagreed with the national Chair, saying: “I will not accept the generic term that the police is institutionally racist because, quite frankly, I don’t think we are.

“‘Institutional racism’ is a really complex term. We have the firm opinion that there may be inequality in society, but we as a police service, and certainly South Yorkshire Police, do not accept that we are an outlier in this.

“All this does is create an issue with public trust, and it goes against some really good work that the force is doing in terms of positive action, recruiting from different backgrounds, and community relations.

“I actually think policing, when you look at some aspects of what we do, is ahead of some other organisations. Society needs to improve – and I don’t think anybody doubts that, in terms of making sure equality is at the forefront. But we as a police service are trying to drive this within our own environment, more than most.”

Steve Kent added that some people might misunderstand the term and take “institutional racism” to mean that every police officer is racist. He said: “That is simply not acceptable, and not fair to our officers on the ground – it really hinders the support they get from the public.”