CHAIR ASKS REINSTATING TRUST


Acting National Chair Tiff Lynch speaks to T/Deputy Assistant Commissioner Dr Alison Heydari who was appointed as programme director for the Police Race Action Plan last year


them, while some forces have chosen to focus their delivery of the race action plan more widely too.


TL: We appreciate it has taken a lot


Tiff Lynch: Why does the Police Race Action Plan only focus on black communities and officers and not other ethnic minorities as well? Are there any plans to extend it wider? Dr Alison Heydari: This is a question we do get a lot. Sadly, data indicates that Black communities face the worst impacts and outcomes across various aspects of policing. Disproportionality in how police use powers such as stop and search most affects those from Black communities. Some 60 per cent of those from Black backgrounds have confidence in the police, compared to 68 per cent of the general population, while for those from Black Caribbean backgrounds this figure is 49 per cent. Just 1.3 per cent of police officers are from Black backgrounds, despite Black people making up around 4 per cent of the general population. This is why the Police Race Action


Plan was created with a focus on Black communities, because this is where there is the biggest deficit in trust and confidence among minority groups. That being said, the plan is fundamentally about better policing and being more operationally effective. Progress delivered through our plan which builds the trust and confidence of Black people will inevitably benefit all the communities we serve. Forces can tailor the good practice we are delivering and sharing to the local circumstances that best suit


26 | POLICE | AUGUST | 2024


of hard work to get to this stage. Could you tell readers about the timeline to date and what tangible results in terms of progress has the PRAP achieved? AH: One of the most significant bits of progress we have made in the past year is the consultation and engagement we have done with Black communities. Both the central team and officers in force have been working really hard to talk to, and more importantly, listen to Black communities, to an extent that hasn’t been done before. Nationally, more than 800 people have attended in person events and projects commissioned by the plan to give us feedback, with more than 400 school, college and university students engaged in this process. All of this work and feedback is shaping the short, and long term, future of the plan, while this does not mention recent further engagement with young people, such as sponsoring a Hope Hack event about the future of policing. We have also made great strides through


all four of the Police Race Action Plan’s workstreams, which aim to address internal culture and representation, police use of powers, community engagement and the protection of Black victims respectively. These projects range from producing educational products on Black history and its connection to policing, piloting bespoke mentoring programmes as well


as setting up new panels drawn from Black communities to advise and guide various aspects of policing. The plan has driven better recording of ethnicity data and traffic stops, peer to peer conversations between senior police officers and Black executives, as well as a major focus on improving the police response to Black missing people. Individual police forces have been busy delivering their own local work in support of the plan too, to complement the work being led nationally by the College of Policing and the National Police Chiefs’ Council. Our recent progress report outlines what the plan will focus on over the coming months, much of which has been shaped by feedback from Black communities. This includes work on reforms to police


stops, including stop and search, and improving the retention of Black police officers and staff already working in the service. Over the coming months the PRAP will also pilot new trauma informed community engagement models to improve the trust and confidence of Black communities and continue to ensure that the experience of Black victims informs wider work across policing, such as the response to violence against women and girls. You can read more about this work and


what the plan will focus on next on our website at www.npcc.police.uk/our-work/ police-race-action-plan.


TL: The Violence Against Women and Girls strategy has landed really well, was delivered with urgency and has more attention externally, whereas progress on the PRAP seems to be slower. Are there any particular challenges at the moment when it comes to momentum and how to do you plan on overcoming them to ensure attention on the PRAP is on par with VAWG? AH: I personally welcome the progress that


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