Published on | General
October marks Black History Month, and this year’s theme is ‘Honouring our Communities’. Following the stories of individual Black trailblazers in policing in the West Midlands, in the fourth and final instalment of these features, we are looking at the creation and development of the West Midlands Police Black and Asian Police Association, the group that is working to support and promote the work of under-represented ethnic groups, both within the force and externally.
The roots of Black Police Associations across the country can be traced back to the brutal and racially motivated murder of Black teenager, Stephen Lawrence in London on 22 April 1993 and the conclusions drawn by Sir William Macpherson’s public inquiry into the handling of the investigation by the Metropolitan Police and CPS. The Macpherson Report was an important moment in the history of modern policing. It made 70 recommendations for the future of policing and concluded that ‘the investigation was marred by a combination of professional incompetence, institutional racism and a failure of leadership by senior officers’. Stephen’s death and the conclusions of the report led to huge changes in attitudes towards racism in the police service.
WMP Black officers and police staff first met on 1 January 1996 to share their experiences and reflect on the reality of their lives in the force, with a view to addressing the issues that were causing high numbers of black officers to leave the service. The success of this meeting led to the creation of an informal support network, which developed into WMBAPA. It was officially launched in September 1997 and since then, despite facing the challenges arising from not being ‘universally welcomed within the force’, the association has gone from strength to strength. I think interim WMP BAPA Chair Nelly Ali put the future of the association best, in the latest edition of the WMP Black and Asian Police Association newsletter: ‘I am committed to leading the network, advocating for members and the real issues that affect us and helping create safe spaces where support is accessible…I want to ensure there is representation in force and also help further community connections and relationships.
Information courtesy of ‘The Future is Bright – the Future is BAPA Celebrating 50 Years of Black and Ethnic Minority Officers in the West Midlands and 20 Years of West Midlands Police Black and Asian Police Association’; assets.publishing.service.gov.uk 4262.pdf; WMP BAPA SharePoint and BBC NEWS | UK | Q&A: Stephen Lawrence murder