This item was published during the term of a previous administration that ended in April 2007
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Wallace praises police race progress
11/01/2001
There is welcome improvement but no room for complacency in police relations with ethnic minority communities, Justice Minister Jim Wallace said today, as he welcomed a report on the subject published today.
The HMIC report Without Prejudice examines how well the police are responding to the challenges posed by the Stephen Lawrence Inquiry Report. It looks at how individual forces and common police services are implementing their agreed Racial Diversity Strategy.
Mr Wallace said:
"This report records the genuine commitment by Scottish Chief Constables to improve police relations with ethnic minority communities. That is in line with my experience of working with them over the last two years on the Stephen Lawrence Steering Group.
"The Executive is committed to foster a culture of better understanding of ethnic minority needs and better relations between those communities and the criminal justice system as a whole. That's why I commissioned this report from Her Majesty's Inspectorate of Constabulary. We and the police will be studying its recommendations in detail.
"Both the Lawrence and the Chhokar cases have shown us that there is a continuing need to improve performance across the board, and to ensure that our good intentions are carried through to a real cultural change. Today's findings are welcome in underlining progress so far and today's recommendations are useful in showing us where we can improve further.
"This report is one step of many to ensure that the lessons from both cases are learned throughout the system. . Since the publication of our action plan for the Stephen Lawrence Inquiry , the Executive has been working with our partners in the police, Crown Office, Commission for Racial Equality and other interested bodies to implement its recommendations across Scotland. Much progress has been made in the two years since the Stephen Lawrence Report was published, but much remains to be done.
"An important next step will be my forthcoming proposals for reform of the police complaints system. It is essential that the public have full confidence in the handling of any complaints against the police, and the proposals will introduce an independent element into the process."
BACKGROUND
1. It was as part of the Scottish Executive response to the Stephen Lawrence Inquiry that the Scottish Executive Minister for Justice requested that HMIC conduct a thematic inspection of police race relations in Scotland.
2. The Stephen Lawrence Steering Group, which contains representatives of these organisations and independent members, has overseen and advised on the work done by the police and the Crown Office. The police and the Steering Group worked closely together on the ACPOS Racial Diversity Guidance Manual which provides detailed advice for the police on a wide range of subjects. The Group has recently commented on a the Scottish Police College Family Liaison Officer training material, and a new policy produced by the police for the recruitment, retention and development of minority ethnic staff within the Scottish Police Service.
3. The Group has also been updated on the activities of the Crown Office in providing guidance on prosecuting racial offence and in providing anti-racism training for all Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service staff, and well as initiatives the Crown Office is taking in recruitment from minority ethnic communities.
4. The report is on the internet at www.scotland.gov.uk\hmic
News Release: SE0023/2001
11 Jan 2001