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THE EXPERIENCE OF BLACK/MINORITY ETHNIC POLICE OFFICERS, SUPPORT STAFF, SPECIAL CONSTABLES AND RESIGNERS IN SCOTLAND

CHAPTER TWO

Emerging Themes

Some themes came to light very quickly during the individual interviews. One was that the general attitude of Police Officers towards complaints of any sort is negative. This made officers very reluctant to make a complaint against another officer for fear of a backlash. When elements of racism are included in any such complaint, the fear of a backlash is even greater. Racism manifests itself in many forms, the most common of which are discrimination and harassment. These may include denial of rights and privileges of the victim, exclusion, omitting to act (especially where there is a duty to act or intervene), name-calling, jokes, unwanted banter, etc.

Complaints

On close examination of the data collected from the questionnaires and interviews, there seems to be a prevailing view that as with most other situations in the Police Service, Officers and Support Staff are not expected to complain when they suffer racism within the service. Thirty six (69%) of the fifty two participants said they have experienced racism in one form or another but only six (17%) of these thirty six had complained (12% of the total participants). The rest indicated that they did not complain because of the fear of repercussions. All those who complained indicated that they had had unpleasant experiences afterwards; despite the assurances they had received from very senior officers, the actions of colleagues and immediate line managers were not in line with the assurances given.

Equal Opportunities and Race Relations

Twenty five (48%) of the participants believed that existing Race Relations Policies and Equal Opportunities Policies were only there for public relations purposes.

A further interesting finding was that twenty six (50%) of the participants believed that even where there is a genuine intention to apply the Race Relations Policy, this is undermined by the apparent lack of implementation strategy, and that a number of forces still lump race equality and equal opportunities together as the same issue. A large proportion of the participants, thirty two (62%), indicated that they had expected to suffer some form of racism in the police before they joined. This has not, however, stopped them from encouraging others from their ethnic background to join the police, as they believe the advantages outweigh the disadvantages. Thirty seven (71%) of the respondents to the questionnaire would not discourage their children from joining the police but only nineteen (37%) would positively encourage their children to join the police although not at an age below twenty. The thinking behind this, they say, is that the responsibilities of a Police Constable require some life experience and this is best acquired in other spheres of life before joining the police.

Support from Colleagues

Forty two participants (81%) indicated that they had absolute faith in their colleagues during work and that they had no fears of tackling a dangerous situation, as they believe they will get the support and backup of their colleagues. The remaining 20% took an opposite view. Faith in their colleagues was not "absolute", they said, and some of the actions and comments of colleagues made them wonder if it would be wise to trust such persons with their safety during dangerous situations. When asked what would happen to a member of the public if they behaved in a racist manner towards a Black/Minority Ethnic Officer, everyone said they believed that member of the public would be arrested by their white colleagues. However, the 20% mentioned above maintained the view that the actions of their colleagues would not be motivated by their non-racist or anti-racist stance but because of the power relationship between the Police and the public. One of them put it succinctly "it is about who has the right to call me a nigger".

The information received also indicated that thirty three (63%) of the participants had told racist jokes to their colleagues. Forty one (79%) of the participants had at one time or another been the subject of racist jokes (compared with 69% who said that they had experienced racism). When asked if racism was commonplace in the Police Service, thirty nine (74%) of the participants said "yes", seven (13%) said "no" and another six (12%) replied that they could not say as they had not been in the service long enough to make a judgement.

It is also worthy of note that, of the sixteen participants who said that they had no experience of racism in the service, ten said they had been at the receiving end of racist jokes but that these did not amount to racism in their opinion.

The figures reflect the following pattern:

• 79% had been targeted with jokes
• 74% believed there is racism within the Police Service
• 69% said they had suffered racism within the service
• 12% said they had complained about their experience of racism

This is illustrated in the chart in figure 1 below:

Figure 1

A = 79% who had been the subject of racist jokes
B = 74% believed racism is commonplace in the police service
C = 69% said they have experienced racism in the service
D =12% had complained about racism.

Career Progress

When asked whether they felt race has been a barrier to their career progress, forty nine (94%) of the total participants said "no". This is interesting as 74% of the same group said that racism does exist in the force. This suggests that a majority of the participants do not see the organisation or its structures as discriminating against them in career terms but that racism exists within the organisation in groups and individual/personal attitudes, behaviour and actions.

Generational Differences

The analysis indicated a pattern suggesting that experiences and perspectives differ with length of service of officers.

Under five years service

There were twenty eight participants having up to five years service. Twelve of them said they had not experienced racism in the Police Service. Five of these twelve officers said racism did not exist in the Police Service. These five officers however said they had suffered some minor incidents of racial overtones within their own Forces but those did not amount to racism in their opinion. They blame to an extent, ignorant individuals for such experience and do not see why the whole Police Service should bear responsibility for the actions of a few undesirables. These five officers argued that the very presence of black and minority ethnic officers in the Service was proof that racism does not exist.

Five to eighteen years service

Participants with between five and eighteen years service tended to be more willing to say that racism existed in the Police Service and believed measures taken so far to combat it were not enough. Twenty one participants fell into this category, seventeen of whom were serving officers and, of these, fourteen agreed that racism exists and not enough was being done about it. They were also the most likely group to say that they had unwittingly encouraged some of the treatment that now constitutes part of their experience. Many of the people in this group said things could change for the better and that the majority of their colleagues were not inherently racist, but that racist name-calling had been placed on a level equivalent to everyday banter.

Over eighteen years service

Participants with over eighteen years experience seem to have a different perspective on racism. They appear to have had no expectation of the system and seem to have accepted whatever situation they find themselves in. However, they did not believe that racism was responsible for their perceived lack of progress. Two officers and a civilian fell into this category. Despite their experiences, the officers would encourage their children to join the police, as they believed that things are changing and are far better now than they were when they joined the police.

Table 2 Responses by length of service

*DK stands for Don't Know.

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