Summary Of The Macpherson Report

The violence that some officers exude to minorities should only be used in extreme, desperate situations not when a teen steals some cigars or is walking home with a hood on. Besides showing an interest in racial justice and issues of race helps to break down barriers, exposed as false perceived misunderstandings, and shed light on commonly held perceptions of a race-infused

Unfortunately, individuals are dehumanized by police officers by way of discrimination. One example of unfair treatment from law officers is the racial discrimination in England and Wales uncovered by a shocking survey, “Police forces were threatened today with legal action as the Government’s equality watchdog said Black and Asian Britons were still being unfairly

With so many news stories and incidents surrounding the topic of race and the police these days, it is not surprising for people to come to the conclusion that racism may exist within the criminal justice system. We will be taking a deeper look into the problem to find out what other possible determinants may play a role in deciding how an officer makes an arrest or stop and continue to analyze what is happening in those contexts. The issues surrounding the topic of race is like the two faces of the same coin as there are usually two sides that we have to consider: reality and media portrayals. The reality side of situations is always there at the time, but it is so subtly hidden from society that nobody understands it unless they witness it firsthand and with the media spreading filtered information, it becomes even harder for us to identify the key issue; this is especially the case when dealing with the police and racial profiling. If you turn on the news and flip to a channel where it is reporting on the police and their arrests, you will most likely see more arrests pertaining to minorities than other ethnicities. In the news, we can often see a misrepresentation of ethnic minorities, usually African-Americans, being arrested when compared to others and this has caused problems around societies countless times. For this essay topic, I will be discussing the different issues surrounding race within the parameters of criminal justice and inequality; furthermore I will be

There are numerous concerns based on the quantity and content of stop and searches which are often influenced by institutionalised racism (Home Office, 1997). Studies suggested that the police maintain a belief that black people are prone to be involved in violent crimes (Reiner, 1989). Therefore leading to black individuals routinely falling victim to police stereotypes and overgeneralisations (Bowling and Phillips, 2007). Police interviews have suggested that police perceive certain ethnicities to be involved with certain crimes, one interview suggested that if police are alerted of a robbery, 90% of the time they will assume it is involving a black individual (Quinton et al, 2000). Despite that there is evidence suggesting that racial disadvantages will cause an increase in young blacks to be involved with crime, suggesting that these suspicions are justified (Waddington et al, 2007). Furthermore, there is little research suggesting that police enforce their prejudices when working on the streets, thus suggesting that racial views are a result of police canteen sub-culture (Waddington, 1999).

On April the 22nd 1993, Stephen Lawrence was murdered in an unprovoked racially motivated attack in South London. During inquiries, the police were criticized for how they handled the case, and in 1999 The Macpherson Report was published (HOC-HAC, 2009). This found that the police showed a lack of professionalism through incompetence in properly investigating the case, fuelled by institutional racism (HOC-HAC, 2009). The report concludes by stating that institutional racism is present in all police forces and should be eradicated to achieve fairness in policing, and thus, justice for all. With the hope of achieving this vision, 70 recommendations were made. In 2009, ten years after the emergence of the Macpherson Report, another report was published with the intention of reviewing the progress made in achieving the recommendations previously outlined. Although the report acknowledges progress has been made within the police force in combatting racial prejudices and institutional racism there are still major areas of concern, with targets set out in the Macpherson Report not being achieved. In 2007/08 its reported that 28% of people from BAME communities felt they would be treated unfairly by the police and the CJS, due to their race (HOC-HAC, 2009). Furthermore, 20 out of the 43 police forces in England and Wales have failed to reach their target of

Police officers are given a lot of power because it is needed to help protect citizens and the community. However, police often abuse their power by the over use of force, corruption, sexual misconduct, bias based policing, and failure to maintain police ethics. (Peak, 2011)

A current theme that has been expressed that ties in with police brutality is racism. One case study from The Journal of African

However, on a positive note, it led to the Introduction of Race Relations Act 2000 and a recruitment drive for police officers from an ethnic background in a bid to show that the institution of the Metroplitan Police are not racist which has been successful in some respect. http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk/2013/apr/22/stephen-lawrence-murder-changed-legal-landscape A recent poll by the British Future showed that ‘’ nearly 60% of the British public believed the police response to such cases is now quicker, fairer and less racist. The police say that much has changed over the past decade and there is now a firm desire throughout policing, especially within its leadership, to tackle racism more robustly’’http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/home-news/metropolitan-police-still-institutionally-racist-20-years-after-stephen-lawrence-murder-black-police-leaders-say-8581873.html

Police Relations with Minority Ethnic Communities The Macpherson report was published in 1999 amidst problems of racial inequality and a lack of faith in the police amongst minority ethnic communities. There is an ongoing debate on whether Macpherson’s report was a help or a hindrance with regards to minority ethnic relations and the police; it is this dispute that the essay shall examine. To begin with the paper will look at the problems, which existed prior to Sir William Macpherson’s publication and which led to the publication of his report. It will then proceed to examine the failures of the Scarman report, in order to look at both the prior problems and failures regarding the 1981 Scarman

Racially biased statements and racial slurs have become an everyday staple in many police departments, but they go usually unreported. A Department of Justice investigation into the Baltimore Police department found examples of this exact behavior. When the DOJ interviewed the Baltimore community,

A number of problems arise from race and ethnicity issues in policing practices. From the department’s perspective, issues with race and ethnicity, create negative consequences. For example, if a police department fails properly to resolve situational conflicts, this can cause loss of productivity, tension among officers of different race and backgrounds, enhanced suspicion of other officers, and increased isolation of staff member. The department will suffer tremendously if it fails

Racial Profiling of minorities and people of colour have stormed up many questions about our police force and the targeted suspects. Many wonder if suspects were targeted all

Racism in police treatment of minorities has created great disparities in incarceration amongst the races. Blatant cases of racist law enforcement that are covered in the news are a testament to the fact that racism within police departments exists from coast to coast. However, these are only the cases that people find out about; there are countless other cases of police racism and brutality that are not reported.

This essay will screen through the changes made in major areas of Criminal Justice System after the Stephen Lawrence Inquiry Report published and attempts to address changes that have already implemented, the supposed and actual outcomes, and effectiveness of these changes in tackling institutional racism mainly based on qualitative academic debates.

There are three reasons for the disproportionate use of stop and search against members of minority ethnic groups. Firstly Police Racism; the Macpherson Report (1999), on the investigation of the murder of the black teenager Stephen Lawrence, concluded that there was institutional racism within the Met.Police. Other people have also found there to be excessive racist attitudes among officers. Also Phillips and Bowling suggested that officers hold negative stereotypes about ethnic minorities. Such stereotypes are endorsed and upheld by the canteen culture.