Wiltshire remembers Stephen Lawrence on 28th anniversary of death
His family are still fighting for justice, decades on from the racially-motivated murder
Last updated 22nd Apr 2021
Residents across Wiltshire are remembering Stephen Lawrence today, on the 28th anniversary of his death.
Since 2018, the occasion has been dubbed the 'Stephen Lawrence Day'. The Foundation launched in his memory says the occasion gives people the opportunity to pay their respects and "celebrate his life and legacy".
The then 18-year-old was murdered by a group of racists, whilst waiting for a bus with his friend Duwayne Brooks in Eltham, South East London in 1993.
Of the estimated six white males who fatally attacked the teenager, only two have faced justice for their crimes.
In 2012, almost two decades after Stephen was killed, Gary Dobson and David Norris were convicted of his murder and jailed for life.
The victim's parents have campaigned for all the offenders to be brought to justice over the past 28 years.
Neville and Baroness Doreen Lawrence's fight continues today, despite the Metropolitan Police declaring the investigation into Stephen's death "inactive" in August 2020.
Institutional Racism
The Macpherson Report, which analysed the investigation into Stephen's murder, found that initial attempts to catch the killers were hampered by institutional racism within the Metropolitan Police.
During the two weeks immediately after the attack, no arrests were made. This was despite the fact that five suspects had already been named.
Sir William Macpherson's 350 page dossier was published in 1999. Within two years, 67 changes had been made in police practice or to the law, including specific targets around the recruitment and promotion of black police officers.
'In Wiltshire there is nobody above the rank of Sergeant who's black'
During Black History Month in October 2020, Greatest Hits Radio spoke to the woman who is looking to improve diversity and inclusion in our region's police force.
Megan Kenzie, Wiltshire's Ethnic Police Association chair, claims that Wiltshire Police has more black officers than when she started working there around 15 years ago.
Despite this, she insisted that more progress must be made: "At our higher ranks in Wiltshire, I have to be honest, there is nobody above the rank of Sergeant who is black, Asian or minority ethnic.
"I think we're just behind. When I talk about when I joined and how low the numbers were, we do have a lot more (black) officers and staff now.
"But do we have that big pool (of black officers in Wiltshire)? No we don't".
You can hear more from her interview with our reporter Matt Hutchinson below: