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Committees

The Macpherson Report: Twenty Years On inquiry

Inquiry

The Committee will be examining progress in the twenty years since the Macpherson report was published, and in particular how the Government and police service has performed against the following recommendations:

"That the Home Secretary and Police Authorities should seek to ensure that the membership of police authorities reflects so far as possible the cultural and ethnic mix of the communities which those authorities serve" [this would now apply more appropriately to PCCs and their offices];
"That all possible steps should be taken by Police Services at local level in consultation with local Government and other agencies and local communities to encourage the reporting of racist incidents and crimes";
"That Police Services and Victim Support Services ensure that their systems provide for the pro-active use of local contacts within minority ethnic communities to assist with family liaison where appropriate";
"That police training and practical experience in the field of racism awareness and valuing cultural diversity should regularly be conducted at local level"; and "that it should be recognised that local minority ethnic communities should be involved in such training and experience"; and
"That the Home Office and Police Services should facilitate the development of initiatives to increase the number of qualified minority ethnic recruits".

Terms of Reference

The Committee would welcome written evidence on the following topics:

Progress made to date against any of the 70 recommendations made by Sir William Macpherson in 1999 within the report of the Stephen Lawrence inquiry;
The extent to which the 43 police forces in England and Wales have made sufficient progress in the last twenty years towards ensuring that the ethnic diversity of their officers, PCSOs and staff reflects the diversity of the communities that they serve;
Progress in ensuring that black, Asian and other minority ethnic (‘BAME’) officers and staff are properly represented at all ranks of policing, and that the senior leadership of policing (chief officers and police and crime commissioners) includes a representative number of BAME officers and officials;
The extent to which the police service has become a diverse and inclusive culture, free from the institutional racism identified by Sir William Macpherson, including the impact of training courses and other initiatives;
The quality of the service provided by police forces to BAME individuals and communities;
The current state of police relations with BAME individuals and communities, including the impact of police tactics used disproportionately on BAME people, such as stop and search; and
The quality and effectiveness of the support and leadership provided by the Home Office and other national bodies in achieving nationwide progress against Sir William’s recommendations.