London's police force may have announced a ‘new Met for London’ policing plan but the question from its critics are still the same: will it accept that it’s ‘institutionally racist?’
It’s not the weather for a brand relaunch for the Met. It’s drizzling in Brixton as everyone makes their way to the launch of the Alliance for Police Accountability.
The new group has been set up to try and hold the police accountable for racism, sexism and homophobia.
The ‘new Met’ is focused on ‘community crime fighting, culture change and fixing foundations’. This group is part of that, with Mina Smallman, whose daughters’ bodies were photographed by a police officer after they were murdered, opening the event.
With Mina’s husband with her in support and filming her keynote speech on his phone, she is the first of many to call for the force to use the term ‘institutionally racist.’
Although she begins by saying she is “hopeful” that “today is the day things change” her speech ends by what appears to be her addressing the police in the room. “The only people who will benefit from denying institutional racism are the perpetrators.”
She is followed by questions by the community in the room. It seems inevitable to question whether it’s possible for the police to mend its relationship with the Black community unless they accept this term.
Assistant Commissioner Louisa Rolfe stands up to explain. “We absolutely accept Baroness Casey’s findings” and apologises to the community in the room saying it “makes me incredibly sad this has been so difficult for so long”.
Finally she addresses the question, “our choice about not using the word 'institutional' is because it means so many different things to so many different people” and adds they want to be actively an “anti-racist organisation”.
Even though there’s clearly a lot of hurt in the room - there’s also hope and celebration. There are moments where former Black officers are repeatedly asked to stand and applauded for their service.
And it’s Dame Louise Casey who, in a pre-recorded interview, speaks about the need for more transparency but she also reflects personally “one would have hoped there would have been more progress' since a previous report found the similar racist findings in 1999.
Regardless of the ‘new Met’ rebrand, the fact APA exists makes for a momentous - and now sunny - day as the Brixton community are told: “today we will start nurturing the future of police commissioners”.