Agenda item

To receive an update on the Commissioner’s decisions and activities since the last meeting.

The Commissioner introduced the report, setting out key governance and scrutiny activities and OPCC/national business updates since the last meeting.

The Commissioner discussed the Chief Constable’s recent announcement in relation to the Constabulary and institutional racism. He read out the definition of institutional racism as stated in the Macpherson Report: the collective failure of an organisation to provide a service to people because of their colour, culture or ethnic origin. It can be seen or detected in processes, attitudes and behaviour which amount to discrimination through unwitting prejudice, ignorance, thoughtlessness and racial stereotyping.   

He reported that the statement was necessary to rebuild trust and that in order to address this problem, there needed to be a change in culture.  He believed this process would take a number of years and emphasised that he was fully supportive of the Chief Constable and her courageous work.  He said the process for change had started 18 months ago and all the agencies involved were on a journey. 

The Identifying Disproportionality Report had indicated under-representation from Black, Asian and other ethnic minority people. The first step had been to involve the communities.  This had already begun to have an impact shown in the recruitment of officers from under-represented groups. However, as the workforce has expanded, overall, this has not translated into greater diversity and the current figure of 3.6%  of the workforce should be closer to 9.2% to reflect the current BAME population as shown in the 2021 Census.

He talked about the perception of the Constabulary by minority communities and the statistical evidence and lived experiences that now demanded progress.  He said the Constabulary was determined to address the problem and this is core to tackling crime and upholding the law.

The Commissioner continued to give further updates:-

It was noted that further discussions around the improvement programme and the work of Assistant Chief Constable Will White emerging from the HMICFRS inspection, would take place at the annual planning meeting on 18^th July 2023.

He confirmed that local Police and Crime Plans (Community Safety Plans) were operational in 3 areas.  He further confirmed that the OPCC Community Engagement and Stakeholder Manager was now in post. 

Members were encouraged to pass on ideas for local initiatives that could be included in the Community Payback scheme.

The Panel was advised that a user-friendly guide for nominations for Gallantry Awards was under development. These awards can be given to the bravest Police Officers who deserve national recognition and the initiative was intended to help obtain that recognition and boost morale. 

The Commissioner reported that he was making good progress with his national fraud portfolio and with work underway to ensure that reporting systems were more accessible.  The Constabulary’s handling of cybercrime had been recognised as good practice and forces from across the country had been asking for advice. 

The Head of Communications and Engagement advised that the OPCC had won a regional award for its volunteer recruitment campaign.

During the discussion the following points were made:

The Panel acknowledged the importance of tackling racial disproportionality in the criminal justice system and growing a culture that addressed the behaviours in the workforce that fall within the definition of institutional racism. The Commissioner was advised that the main consideration for the Panel was leadership, the strategy for getting there and the pace of change.

There was general agreement that under-represented people in the workforce were over-represented in the criminal justice system, and this needed to be reversed. 

Some Panel members said experience had shown it was still difficult for black people to become Police Officers. 

Cllr Asher Craig spoke about her own lived experience and thanked the Commissioner for the Identifying Disproportionality report.  She acknowledged that there would never be a point at which work will be complete, but in the meantime we all need to work hard to address the issues.  A good indicator would be to see numbers going in a different direction from the current over-representation in the criminal justice system and under-representation in recruitment.  She reflected on the collective failures of the Constabulary and Bristol City Council in relation to Bijan Ebrahimi. Failures in people and systems led to him not being identified as a target for racist abuse and ultimately led to his death in 2013. Attention was drawn to a recent incident in Bristol involving a 14-year-old black child who was taken into custody without any apparent recognition of his injuries. It was felt an obvious safeguarding issue had been overlooked.

Cllr Craig added that the Chief Constable had her backing and respect and that she would continue to work with her to take the necessary work forward.

The Commissioner was invited to consider making his strategy to tackle racism and his support of the Chief Constable, front and centre in the Annual Report as this strong and important message was not currently reflected.

More generally, it was recognised that the Chief Constable’s recent announcement would have a variety of audiences and the message was likely to be welcomed by some and give others cause for concern. The Panel recommended the general public would benefit from some positive proactive publicity to help with their understanding of the strategy and sensitivities behind the approach of the Commissioner and Chief Constable. It was important for the public to see that there was a clear path to work towards overcoming this in the years to come.

It was emphasised that the Commissioner and the Panel would need requisite assurances at key stages that progress was being made.

It was suggested that positive examples needed to be publicised to show when Police Officers had done good work and had a good relationship with the community. The Gallantry Awards initiative was welcomed as one way to engender the historical warn=mth the public held for the service.

The Head of Communications and Engagement informed the Panel that the approach was centred around two complex and multifaceted workstreams – one a national directive through the Police Race Action Plan and another local programme of work emerging from the Avon and Somerset Identifying Disproportionality Report.

The Commissioner confirmed that two Forces had declared themselves to be institutionally racist, including Avon and Somerset Police.  In some cases, the Chief Constables had rejected the suggestion that their force was institutionally racist.

The Commissioner invited the Panel and the Councils they represented, to support him and the Chief Constable in their efforts to change their culture.

With regard to a query regarding the Community Speedwatch Scheme, the Commissioner clarified that the involvement of the public was to add value and not to replace the work being undertaken by the Constabulary.  The work of the volunteers helped inform the police where there were problems with speeding and where to target enforcement. 

Action:

1.    Discussions around the improvement programme and the work of Asst. Chief Constable Will White emerging from the HMICFRS inspection, to take place at the annual planning meeting on 18th July 2023.

2.    The Commissioner was invited to consider making his strategy to tackle racism and his support of the Chief Constable, front and centre in the Annual Report.

3.   The Panel recommended that the general public would benefit from some positive proactive publicity to help with their understanding of the strategy to tackle racism and the sensitivities behind the approach of the Commissioner and Chief Constable.