A row over claims Somerset Police are racist

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A Somerset MP has challenged the Avon and Somerset Police Chief’s claim that his force is ‘institutionally racist’.

Ian Liddell-Grainger says he has never encountered allegations of racist behavior or attitudes in more than 20 years representing part of the Force Zone in Parliament.

And, he said, Chief Constable Sarah Crew risked damaging the force’s reputation by reaching her conclusions solely on the basis of statistical analysis.

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Ms Crew reviewed his strength and performance against the criteria set out by Baroness Casey in her review of the Metropolitan Police.

Based on these tests, Crew found the force guilty of institutional racism.

“I have to accept that the definition fits – it fits the breed,” she said. “I think that’s probably the case for misogyny, homophobia and disability as well, although the data gaps don’t give us the sense of scale, impact or certainty that we have for the race.”

But the Police Federation says the picture drawn from its investigation was false and that it needed to produce clear and relevant evidence to back up its findings.

Now Mr Liddell-Grainger, MP for Bridgwater and West Somerset, has added his voice to that call.

“Unless the police chief can offer specific examples of racism, she is guilty of simply relying on formula rather than actual facts,” he said.

“It is a very dangerous path to follow to question the integrity of a police force simply on the basis of a set of criteria developed in an entirely different field.

“Unfortunately, any statement from a chief constable carries a certain weight of authority, so many people will believe what they say and therefore the reputation of the force will be diminished in their eyes.

“If the police chief says his own force is racist, the danger is that it will impact frontline officers’ relationship with the public. This could lead to increased tensions in interactions with members of ethnic communities as well as more dissent, more resentment and more confrontation from the less law-abiding layers of the population and will inevitably render their work even more difficult.

‘I don’t know who suggested that Ms Crew should subject her strength to statistical scrutiny in this way, but the picture that has emerged is quite at odds with the Avon and Somerset strength with which I have been closely engaged for over two decades.

“I have no idea what good she expected from it: I think it was a totally unnecessary and potentially extremely harmful exercise.”

Avon and Somerset Police did not respond to a request for comment.

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