Racism
Debate between Lord Hastings of Scarisbrick and Baroness Scott of Bybrook
Lord Hastings of Scarisbrick (CB)
My Lords, 22 years ago Sir William Macpherson declared the Metropolitan Police to be institutionally racist and the law was changed, but little has changed. The Guardian editorial today, in the light of Saturday’s grossly over-the-top and aggressive use of police power against women, states:
“The commissioner declared the service no longer institutionally racist, while a surge in stop and search has alienated many people of colour … this weekend, many more women and men are questioning whom exactly the police serve.”
Is it not time to abandon the unaccountable notion of operational independence and direct the police to abandon racist practices, notably stop and search?
Baroness Scott of Bybrook (Con)
My Lords, there was obviously, in the last few years, a large report on racism within the police. However, we will continue to work on this, and the commission will continue to look at what more we can do to ensure that all the systems—education, policing et cetera—have no racism in the future.
Royal Commission on Criminal Justice
Debate between Lord Hastings of Scarisbrick and Baroness Scott of Bybrook
Baroness Scott of Bybrook (Con)
My Lords, I reiterate that we cannot announce anything today about the royal commission. However, I can, once again, say that a team of officials has been established. It is working on the scope and the terms of reference as well as options for the chair and the commissioners.
Lord Hastings of Scarisbrick (CB)
My Lords, given that the Minister is announcing yet again somewhat of a perpetual procrastination on the royal commission, can she possibly clear up one matter that her predecessor was not keen to answer? I have asked three times—twice in writing and once on the Floor of the House—how many prisoners remain under IPP sentences in the estate of prisons across the UK and what percentage of those prisoners are black? Given the known fact of harsher sentences—by a factor of three to one—for black offenders, when will this institutional racism end?
Baroness Scott of Bybrook (Con)
My Lords, I cannot answer that. In fact, I had it in another pack on a previous Question. I will certainly write to the noble Lord.