Avon and Somerset Police admits it employs 'bad apples'
The organisation was ruled to be institutionally racist last month
Last updated 11th Jul 2023
Bosses at Avon and Somerset Police have admitted some of their own staff members are "bad apples".
It comes after the Force was deemed to be "institutionally racist" by its Chief Constable last month.
At the time, Sarah Crew said she was in "no doubt" about her ruling, which was made according to the four criteria in the Casey Review.
Those measures for institutional racism include a police force employing racists, as well as dismissing or ignoring racism aimed at ethnic minority staff members by colleagues.
Such organisations will also under-protect and over-police black people, and have racism enforced within their systems.
'There's language used, or conduct, that I would view as racist'
Following this revelation, Greatest Hits Radio has spoken to Avon and Somerset Police's lead for its Race Matters work, Assistant Chief Constable Will White.
"Often within the police and other organisations, we talk about 'a few bad apples'. Those exist. There are people that have got into the organisation with racist views, either conscious or unconscious.
"I have seen the contents of things like disciplinary proceedings where there's language used, or conduct, that I would view as racist.
"Those are the few bad apples that we work really hard to get out of the organisation, because that's not who we want here and they are not part of what we're trying to do as policing," he said.
What's next at Avon and Somerset Police?
The Force has revealed it will focus on three main areas, as it looks to crackdown on institutional racism.
The first of these is improving its stop and search procedures. In the year 2019/20, black people were nine times more likely than white people to be stop and searched by Avon and Somerset Police.
The organisation is offering regular training to officers on how to conduct fair and respectful stop and searches, and it's compulsory for staff to use body worn video to record such interactions.
Furthermore, it will soon be easier for local people to provide feedback about their experience when they have been stop and searched. They will be able to do so through a new tool called 'stop search receipt'.
Avon and Somerset Police is also looking to reduce offending from 18 to 24-year-olds of black heritage. It will be rolling-out the 'Chance to Change' programme, previously piloted by West Yorkshire and the Metropolitan Police, allowing young black men to avoid a criminal justice outcome for low level or first-time offences.
The scheme doesn't require participants to admit their guilt, with the aim of reducing re-offending and improving their relationships with the police.
Finally, the Force says it wants to better support black heritage victims of crime. In her statement last month, the Chief Constable admitted that "some people from these communities do not have the confidence to report crime to us".
The organisation says it's now "exploring" ways to provide equal treatment for all victims. This will include officers being given specific training about the traumas endured by black people. Sarah Crew said she hopes this will ensure "fairer, more sensitive policing".
'We want to be anti-racist'
Despite the Chief Constable's damning verdict last month, ACC White believes the Force's outlook on diversity and inclusion "looks and feels" different to when he joined in 1995.
"Particularly over the last 10 years, I see much more representation at work. I see much more diversity, I see much more awareness of different cultures and understanding.
"That gives much better empathy to our people interacting with victims, or local communities," he told Greatest Hits Radio.
Despite this, ACC White recognised that Avon and Somerset Police has "a long way to go" regarding diversity in the workplace and its disproportionately for stop and searches.
"We accept there's an issue there. We want people in our communities to work with us and be involved in how we can do that (making changes)," he said.
We also asked ACC White if he would proactively call out any colleagues who display the "racist views" he previously alluded to.
"I feel comfortable that I would do, and others in this organisation would do, but we've all got to do better at that.
"We want to be anti-racist. That's all about everyone standing-up, not being a bystander, but speaking-up, challenging and being prepared to tackle things where we see them," he added.