Racism in police ‘not just few people’ ex-senior police officer

We spoke to the former Metropolitan Police Assistant Commissioner Neil Basu.

Krishnan Guru-Murthy: Obviously, you don’t know the details of these cases, but in your long experience in the police, are the sorts of things that were reported that as being said by white police officers, very unusual?

Neil Basu: Well, I was going to say, I was hoping to sit here as a 56-year-old mixed race man with 30 years policing experience and not tell you I was shocked and surprised by your film. I actually was. One of the most shocking things was not the language used. It was the fact that officers would openly declare it to a senior black Asian female officer. I mean, that’s extraordinary. It seems as though there were no guardrails for what they’re prepared to say. I was genuinely shocked by that.

Krishnan Guru-Murthy: Are you shocked by the response that she had within her senior ranks, according to her account?

Neil Basu: Well, according to that account, I’m not shocked. I talked a lot about institutional racism in policing after the George Floyd protests in 2020. I went to the Chiefs Council, the 52 chiefs who pretty much control policy and direction for the profession. And I asked them to consider acknowledging apologising for institutional racism before they launched the National Race Action Plan. That was December 2021. In January 2022, they voted not to do that. And very few chief constables have come out and said institutional racism is a problem. The ones who have faced a backlash, most of them, like me, are retired. So I’m not shocked that senior officers seem to have a rather defensive denial and an optimism bias, thinking this is only a few people, rather than a cultural issue. It’s not just a few people. It’s far less than the media would sometimes have the public believe. I worked with thousands of amazing police officers in my career. But it’s far more than a lot of senior leaders are prepared to acknowledge.

Krishnan Guru-Murthy: And what about the bodies within policing? I mean, the police federation, which represents the rank and file. Where are they in this kind of issue in question?

Neil Basu: This is what’s quite disappointing for me. I mean, the decision by the Chiefs Council not to support this point made it a very easy decision for me to retire in 2022. But I’ve spoken to the Superintendents Association, I’ve spoken clearly to the Chiefs Council, I’ve never been asked to speak at the Federation Conference. But I do know the chair. Neil Basu: I know the chair personally. And he came out and said that he personally believes policing is still institutionally racist. The chair of National Police Chiefs Council has said he personally believes that, at a Staffordshire University conference last year, it seems odd that they are unable to represent our ranks because the ranks clearly don’t believe it. But I think they’re worried about a backlash and I think that’s an abrogation of leadership. I think we need to explain what we mean to the front line if we’re going to take their concerns that they might be worried that they’re all being called racist.

Krishnan Guru-Murthy: I mean, a lot of people say, what difference would that really make? I mean, we’ve been banging on about this question for nearly 30 years. You know, why is it important that people like the Metropolitan Police commissioner who still won’t say it and other senior officers say, ‘yes, there is institutional racism?’

Neil Basu: I think we have to examine why they are not saying it. It is important. So you only have to listen to some very senior black and Asian voices in the community, some of whom sit on the London Policing Board, holding the commissioner to account, who disagree with the decision not to acknowledge institutional racism. He said systemic – it’s a semantic issue. He agrees that it’s not just about individual racists. He knows there’s something wrong with the culture. I know he will try and do something about that, but not acknowledging it, when the black community took great faith in William MacPherson’s report in 1999, they trusted William MacPherson. They trust that definition. To say it doesn’t exist now is a mistake. And to say it’s because it’s political, ambiguous or unhelpful fails to acknowledge the real feeling in the community. These are the people we serve.

Krishnan Guru-Murthy: And what actually needs to be done, what could be done? I mean, you have West Midlands Police saying we’ve improved, which is an acknowledgement that they had a problem. So, I mean, who’s doing this right?

Neil Basu: There’s been massive improvements in policing. I joined in 1992 – 100% of black, brown or female officers would have given you a horror story about how they were treated. Even in the Baroness Casey report, those percentages were much lower. Disappointingly, they’re much higher than I think in the wider society. We’ve got to be careful who we recruit, how they are trained, how they are led and how they are promoted.

Krishnan Guru-Murthy: I mean, just to hammer that home, you’re saying there is more racism in the police than there is in mainstream society?

Neil Basu: I think society has moved on. Some of those comments in your report that police officers are making to a senior Asian officer are things that are not reflected in, for instance, the British attitude survey. I’m mixed race. Somebody saying that about…they wouldn’t want to marry. I mean, that’s personally very offensive, given that my mother is white and my father was Indian. I’m amazed. That isn’t reflected in the British Attitude survey. And what I would like to call out is the Chief Constable of Police Scotland. I was with her last week. Her team, who have admitted there’s an institutional racism problem, are bringing in policies and procedures to try and change the culture of their force. It’s called Act Don’t React. It’s based on behavioural science. It’s trying to give police officers a skill about how to interact with people who they claim they don’t understand or – the word is cultural incompetence. ‘I don’t understand your culture. I think you’re going to be antagonistic to me, so I immediately react in the wrong way.’ They’re bringing in something that I witnessed last week that I think will be game-changing for the profession.