Anti-black discrimination ‘baked’ into Metropolitan Police, damning review warns
The Metropolitan Police’s HR systems leadership, management and culture are producing racial harm, a review into anti-black racism within the force has warned.
The report builds on more than 40 years of evidence showing how racism has shaped the Met’s relationship with black communities and affected black officers and staff.
Shereen Daniels, author 30 Harm Models: A Structural Examination of Systemic Racism in London’s Metropolitan Police ServiceHe said discrimination was “baked into” the force’s “institutional design”.
The review, commissioned from consultancy firm HR Rewired, found that dark-skinned staff were labeled as “confrontational”, while light-skinned staff were quicker to receive empathy and tolerance.
“Plans that ignore this always return to the same logic, managing perception, avoiding power, so the cycle continues,” he added.
Scotland Yard said it fully welcomed the report and recognized the extent of the challenges it posed.
The latest review of the force comes after Louise Casey’s 2023 review, commissioned in the wake of Sarah Everard’s murder, found the Met to be “institutionally racist, misogynistic and homophobic”.
Reviews dating back decades have criticized the Met as discriminatory; this included the MacPherson report (1999), which described the Met as “institutionally racist” after officers mishandled the Stephen Lawrence case.
Mr Lawrence’s mother welcomed the new report but said it “contains nothing I don’t already know”.
Baroness Doreen Lawrence, whose 18-year-old son was killed in a racist attack in south-east London in 1993, continued: “Racism was the reason for Stephen’s murder and racism was the reason the police could not find all of his killers.
“Racism at the Met must be acknowledged, acknowledged and confronted.
“In the three decades since my son’s murder there has never been an honest acknowledgment of racism and how it impacts how our communities are treated.
“The police must stop telling us that change will come while we continue to suffer. This change must happen now.”
Ms Daniels said: “Systemic racism is not a matter of perception. For almost 50 years, Metropolitan Police investigations have documented the harm experienced by black Londoners, officers and staff.”
“True accountability starts with specificity. When institutions talk in broad terms about ‘ethnic minorities’ or ‘diversity,’ those most harmed are lost sight of.”
“This work begins where the harm is sharpest, because that is where structural change must begin. Anti-Blackness is the clearest indicator of organizational dysfunction.”
“The systems that enable racial harm against Black people also enable other types of harm. Confronting this is not an act of exclusion, but a necessary foundation for safety, fairness, and justice for all.”
“The challenge for the Met is to build the leadership discipline to confront what the report reveals and act on its findings in a way that protects the public, not the institution.”
Commissioner Sir Mark Rowley said: “Dr Daniels’ report is strong.
“It speaks to the need for further systemic, structural and cultural change. I have called for a review that focuses on the Met and black communities and pushes us to go further towards becoming an actively anti-racist organisation.
“London is a uniquely global city and the Met can only truly police through consent when it is inclusive and anti-racist.
“Initiatives such as New Met for London and the London Racing Action Plan are helping us make progress.
“Levels of trust in the Met have risen by 10 per cent in two years, according to a Black Londoners report, but they still lag behind others.
“We are committed to listening to their concerns, learning and taking action.
“Working with black communities and colleagues whose experiences are reflected in Dr Daniels’ report, we will apply the same commitment to follow up by identifying and addressing the root causes of patterns of discrimination emerging in our operational work and within the organisation.”
