The dangers of the Met police not recording ethnicity of drivers stopped

It’s no secret that the Metropolitan Police are in deep crisis. Recently we’ve seen the aftermath of the fallout between the London Mayor and the now former Metropolitan Police Commissioner, Cressida Dick.

The lack of confidence expressed by Sadiq Khan in Cressida Dick, following the revelations of racism, misogyny and bullying within her force and her lacklustre response triggered Khan’s comment which led her to step down.

There was also the heart-breaking case of Sarah Everard who was murdered by serving officer Wayne Couzens. This was followed by Couzens' Met colleagues brutally manhandling female protestors at a vigil for Everard.

Such scenes are ugly, and to list all of the other egregious examples of arguable failings within the Met institutionally, would require a thesis. The force is out of touch with the communities they are meant to serve.

''The Met seeking to reduce state accountability by not wishing to record the ethnicity of those they stop on the street or pull over while driving, tells us that many are operating in bad faith and simply do not want to change the status quo. Black communities do not have that luxury.''

Black communities are more acutely aware of this reality more than most.  The fatal shooting of unarmed Chris Kaba in South London was one of the recent reminders that more than ever state accountability is needed, especially amid concerns that the Human Rights Act could well be scrapped by the government, before long.

In addition, in a shocking piece of news which did not make enough headlines, the Met sought to scrap a scheme which started early this year, that recorded the ethnicities of drivers stopped by the Met. We already know that black people are disproportionately targeted with racial profiling including car stops. The findings of the scheme confirmed as much.

What possible explanation could the Met have for axing a scheme, recording the ethnicity of drivers stopped, if they are carrying out duties without racial bias? Surely they should welcome the data in the spirit of improving policing.

Interestingly, it seems that the Mayor’s office intervened and at the time of writing, the scheme continues and has been reinstated.

As we mark Black History Month in the UK, the families of the many hundreds of people who’ve died in police custody, the United Friends and Family Campaign, are preparing for their annual march through Westminster and Parliament in London at the end of this month.

In many cases, the families of those who’ve died in police custody or following contact with the police have been demanding justice and accountability for decades.

Each year, the number of attendees in the crowd grows, while the number of officers ever truly held to account, charged or jailed over custody deaths remains pitiful, and at virtual zero.

The Met’s cavalier attitude towards black communities is exemplified in their recent attempt to adopt a ‘colour blind’ approach when stopping drivers on the road.  Through the lens of ongoing demands for justice for Chris Kaba and many others, it beggars belief.  Hit with multiple scandals the Met are currently in special measures.  New Met Commissioner Mark Rowley pledged to “root out racism”.

Alarmingly however, despite the obvious racial disparities in policing, Rowley has refused to admit on the record that the Met are institutionally racist while a former superintendent has questioned Rowley’s stated commitment in tackling racism, suggesting it will not feature in Rowley’s priorities. 

Rowley also recently admitted that hundreds of corrupt officers need to be rooted out of the force, something which black communities and communities bearing the brunt of excessive policing have been calling out for many years.

It’s clear that even with the will, cleaning up the ranks of the Met will be no easy task, but the fact there are serious questions about their willingness to deal with the significant issue of racism and bias is deeply alarming.

The disconnect between the Met and the public is also mirrored by successive governments which have year after year failed to prioritise some of the key issues faced by black communities including police violence and lack of state accountability.

It should not take black MPs to continually have to raise the plight of black communities in parliament, but invariably it does. Despite so many repeatedly presenting the evidence, banging the drum for decades over the issues faced within policing from the perspective of BAME communities, the problems are no different to those that existed in the 1980s.

The Met seeking to reduce state accountability by not wishing to record the ethnicity of those they stop on the street or pull over while driving, tells us that many are operating in bad faith and simply do not want to change the status quo.

Black communities do not have that luxury. We are heading into a critical period in which all of the existing social problems faced will be further exacerbated by continued attacks on our civil liberties and erosion of rights, in addition to an ever deepening cost of living crisis.

The government, if we can currently call it that, does not care and neither does Keir Starmer’s Labour. I welcome evidence to the contrary.

It’s up to use to hold the state to account and refusing to allow the Met to adopt a ‘colour blind’ approach with stopping drivers is one of the most critical issues of all. Until trust is restored with black communities – if it can be restored at all – it remains vital to at the very least demand transparency when actions are deliberately shrouded in secrecy.

We pay the wages of the police. Having a clear picture of how they operate is absolutely a fundamental right in any decent society considering we’re told that the police exist to serve the public.

Richard Sudan is a journalist and writer specialising in anti-racism and has reported on various human rights issues from around the world. His writing has been published by The Guardian, Independent, The Voice and many others.

Follow him on Twitter: Follow him on Twitter: @richardsudan

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Opinions expressed in this article remain those of the author and do not necessarily represent those of The New Arab, its editorial board or staff.