James Cleverly must not repeat the same “tropes and terminology” as Suella Braverman, the head of the police racism watchdog has said.
In an interview with the Mirror, Nick Glynn told the Home Secretary to recognise “his words have immense power and influence” as he warned that police officers are “not immune” to being influenced by harmful narratives. He gave the example of Ms Braverman describing illegal migration as an “invasion”, as well as her interference in pro-Palestine protests, which she described as “hate marches”.
“I know what it’s like as a Police Commander to keep the balance right and it’s hard. The Home Secretary’s job should not be making that more difficult for policing,” he said. “They should be being as supportive, or as quiet as appropriate, and to let them get on with treading that very difficult path and keeping that balance.”
It comes as the official police inspectorate warned that top politicians are trying to influence police operations by putting senior officers under pressure earlier this month. The review into “woke” policing was ordered by Ms Braverman as she was concerned about police "pandering to politically correct causes". But the review backfired, instead criticising politicians themselves.
Mr Glynn, who is interim-chair of the Independent Scrutiny and Oversight Board (ISOB), is holding police forces accountable to the Police Race Action Plan, which was set up in June 2020 after the murder of George Floyd in the US by a white policeman. Nearly four years on, he criticised a “lack of progress” specifically in relation to the police’s use of power. This can include anything from stop and search and strip searches to the use of pepper spray, handcuffs, tasers or firearms.
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He said the Home Office doesn’t give any “direct funding” with all efforts coming from police budgets. “What we do see from the Home Office, and the two previous Home Secretaries, is criticism of things like a Police Race Action Plan and use of terms like ‘woke’ and other similar tropes that are used to denigrate it and to criticise this kind of work and sowing division instead of saying things that recognise that things can be improved and helping things along,” he said. “So hopefully James Cleverly will change that course but we’ll wait and see, I’m not so sure that will happen.”
Gavin Stephens, the head of Britain’s police chiefs, took the unprecedented move to admit he believes policing is “institutionally racist”. Meanwhile Ms Braverman refused to use the term even after an independent report by Dame Louise Casey found “institutional racism, sexism and homophobia in the Met". The ex-Home Secretary branded it “an ambiguous, contested and politically charged term that is much misused and risks making it harder for officers to win back the trust of communities”.
Mr Glynn said having the Home Office get behind the Police Race Action Plan would help tackle “inconsistent activity and progress” across the 44 different police forces and British Transport Police. “I think if the Home Office funded this work it would add to the strength of the fact this work needs to be done and this work is supported because across 44 police forces, there is varying support for the plan,” he said.
“Some Police Constables have come out and said: ‘Yes, policing is institutionally racist and this is absolutely necessary.’ And other chiefs have said: ‘It doesn’t exist.’ Or other chiefs have said: ‘The terminology is unhelpful.’ So for the Home Office to take the lead from that perspective and back it up with funding I think would help those police forces and communities to see some benefit.”
Asked how he feels about Ms Braverman’s language, including her descriptions of illegal migration as a “hurricane” and an “invasion”, in an interview with the Times in November, Mr Cleverly said: “I’m not focused quite as much on describing it, I’m going to spend time dealing with it. Don’t talk tough, be tough. I am a player on the pitch. It’s not my job to try and think about creative ways of describing a situation. It is my job to deal with a situation.”
A Home Office spokesman said: “The Police Race Action Plan is independently led by the National Police Chiefs’ Council and College of Policing. We have been clear in saying that more needs to be done in policing to ensure everyone is treated fairly and without prejudice, regardless of their race or background.
“Following the recruitment of 20,000 additional officers in England and Wales, we now have the most diverse police force in history and we will be introducing additional safeguards on suspicionless stop and search to strengthen the trust between the police and local communities.”
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