West Midlands Police accused of failing to act on racism in its ranks

Summary

Highlights

• Whistleblower Kiz Rano shares her devastating experiences of racism and isolation after attempting to address the issue internally. 😞
• Insensitive and racist comments reported by officers underscore a deep-seated issue within the force. 😬
• Senior police officials are accused of prioritizing reputation over tackling racism, leading to a toxic work environment. 🏢
• Despite claims of progress, misgivings remain about the authenticity and effectiveness of changes within the force. 🤔
• The broader issue of institutional racism in UK policing is highlighted by former senior officers. 📊

Key Takeaways

• West Midlands Police faces accusations of ignoring racism within its ranks. 🚨
• Whistleblowers, including Kiz Rano, claim retaliation for exposing racism. 🤐
• Institutional racism and misogyny remain a major issue in policing. 🕵️‍♀️
• Efforts to address racism often meet with resistance from leadership. ✋
• There's a call for genuine cultural change within the police force. 🔄

Overview

Chapters

• 00:00 - 00:30: Introduction and Allegations The chapter highlights the oppressive culture within an organization, likening it to 'gang culture.' Whistleblowers face severe repercussions if they speak out, creating a pervasive fear among staff. The organization's prioritization of its reputation over the well-being of the public and its employees is criticized as unacceptable and unjust.
• 00:30 - 01:00: Officers speaking out In the chapter titled 'Officers speaking out,' two experienced officers discuss being forced out of West Midlands police after challenging a toxic culture within the organization. Kiz Rano, one of the officers, has been with the force for 22 years and is now pursuing an employment tribunal claim. The chapter highlights Rano's deep commitment to her role as a police officer and her motivation for joining the force shortly after the events of 9/11.
• 01:00 - 01:30: Motivation behind joining the police The chapter explores the motivation behind joining the police, focusing on the lived experiences within a predominantly Asian area in Birmingham. The impact of the war on terror on the local community's relationship with the police is a significant concern. The motivation to join the police force stems from a desire to enact change internally rather than just criticize from the outside. Miss Bano's journey reflects her ambition to make a difference and culminates in her becoming the highest-ranking female Asian officer.
• 01:30 - 02:00: Promotion and experience within the force The chapter titled 'Promotion and Experience within the Force' explores the personal and professional journey of an individual who has just been promoted to Chief Inspector in the West Midlands police. The narrative shares the protagonist's emotional reaction upon receiving the promotion, highlighting her surprise and sense of achievement as an autistic brown girl from Perry Barr. She reflects on the significance of her accomplishment and the support she received from her colleagues. The chapter underscores the feeling of being acknowledged and presented as a successful example within the police force.
• 02:00 - 02:30: Initiatives and shocking revelations Miss Bano, wearing her uniform, showcased her success on Fosil Road, highlighting the spirit of unity as part of Coventry's City of Culture event.
• 02:30 - 03:00: Examples of racism and discrimination The chapter discusses a 'Brave space' initiative aimed at encouraging officers to open up and reach common ground regarding their experiences of racism and discrimination. Mbano, a participant, was shocked by the horrific and breathtaking comments shared by colleagues about their experiences in the workplace. The chapter raises concerns about how officers who treat their colleagues poorly at work may also treat black and brown communities outside of work.
• 03:00 - 03:30: Senior officers' response to racism allegations In this chapter, senior officers are confronted with serious racism allegations at a police station. Instances include racial slurs like the n-word and p-word openly written in the showers used by officers, indicating a tolerated racist culture. Moreover, a brown female officer faced an inappropriate comment from a senior officer, suggesting her brown skin would look good against his white sheets, encapsulating both racism and misogyny. These examples signify a deeper, pervasive problem as more disclosures surfaced following a specific incident.
• 03:30 - 04:00: Case of Rebecca Callum and consequences The chapter titled 'Case of Rebecca Callum and Consequences' discusses the discriminatory incidents experienced by colleagues of different ethnicities and backgrounds. A Muslim colleague faced a prejudiced comment related to a terrorist stereotype. A black colleague was demeaningly requested to perform a 'tribal dance.' An individual with a mixed heritage child received a remark suggesting relief at the child not appearing 'blacker.' Additionally, there was mention of an officer who openly shared a racially insensitive comment from his father. The discussions also touched upon issues of misogyny, disability, and disproportionate use of force by law enforcement, particularly highlighting the concern that black men are significantly more likely to face forceful interventions, being 15 times more likely compared to others.
• 04:00 - 04:30: Rocky Callum's experience This chapter explores the stark racial biases in law enforcement against black men, as revealed in a report titled 'Bristling at Black' by Miss Bano. The report highlights alarming statistics, such as black men being significantly more likely to be subjected to force and have firearms used against them compared to white men. It presents insights from numerous response constables who admitted to prejudiced attitudes towards black men.
• 04:30 - 05:00: West Midlands Police's official stance The chapter discusses the West Midlands Police's official stance on racism within the force. It highlights comments within the force like reluctance to accept interracial marriages, assumptions about drug use, and criminal stereotyping of black people. The transcript further explores the defensive and confrontational attitude adopted by officers when dealing with black people. Senior officers were reportedly horrified by these racist attitudes and expressed a desire to address and ensure such behavior was not acceptable.
• 05:00 - 05:30: Impact on whistle-blowers In this chapter titled 'Impact on whistle-blowers', a person recounts their experience with proposing solutions to issues within a police force. They mention that despite their efforts to address concerns related to racism, senior leadership rejected their suggestions. They were openly told that the proposals were declined due to a fear of upsetting the white male majority within the police force. This highlights the challenges and setbacks faced by whistle-blowers when dealing with systemic issues within organizations.
• 05:30 - 06:00: Interview with Neil B The chapter titled 'Interview with Neil B' includes a discussion where Miss Bano talks about conversations with individuals admitting to racist behavior. She highlights that although the force was superficially acknowledging her reports on racism, a significant change occurred when she brought up issues concerning the treatment of a Firearms officer who had exposed wrongdoing. Rebecca Callum is mentioned as having received a record payout after her story of facing racism and misogyny within the unit was uncovered, and Miss Bano discusses her involvement in Rebecca's case.
• 06:00 - 06:30: Neil B's perspective on institutional racism Neil B's perspective highlights how institutional racism can isolate individuals who speak out or are involved in supporting others facing discrimination. After supporting Rebecca Callum, Neil experienced exclusion and a significant shift in how colleagues engaged with him. He received a warning call from an ACC to not get involved, suggesting potential risks could arise from his involvement. Official court documents, however, deny any targeting of Miss Bano related to her support of Rebecca Callum. This reflects the challenging dynamics and pressure within institutions that can suppress individual careers and experiences due to systemic issues.
• 06:30 - 07:00: Importance of acknowledging institutional racism Rebecca Callum broke her silence to Channel 4 news, claiming institutional racism within ACC, despite the organization's assurances of upholding high standards and changing for the better.
• 07:00 - 07:30: Systemic changes and solutions The chapter discusses systemic issues within the West Midlands police, particularly focusing on how officers might be deterred from challenging misconduct due to negative repercussions. It highlights the case of Rocky Callum, a sergeant with 15 years in service, who claims he was forced out after supporting an employment tribunal related to misogyny claims made by Rebecca Callum, whom he met and married during his tenure. The situation reportedly caused stress for the couple as they navigated the fallout.
• 07:30 - 08:00: Need for better cultural understanding The chapter titled 'Need for better cultural understanding' discusses the experience of an individual who was supported by their line management at work. The management team was understanding and empathetic towards the seriousness of a case and its potential impact on the individual and their family. There was a shift in support when this person was called as a witness to give evidence. It is noted that the force in question had already acknowledged the claims, and Mr. Callum was summoned as a witness by the defense team for a hearing to establish the extent of the claims.

West Midlands Police accused of failing to act on racism in its ranks Transcription

• 00:00 - 00:30 it's like gang culture they will punish you whistleblowers are crushed beneath the the um the feet of the organization there's a real lived fear of if I stand up here I'm going to be the victim the force will put their reputation ahead of of of the public ahead of their own staff and it's unacceptable it's not right
• 00:30 - 01:00 two highly experienced highly regarded officers who claim they've been forced out of West Midlands police victimized for daring to challenge a toxic culture inside the organization out in the cold after 22 years kiz Rano is now bringing an employment tribunal claim against the force I thought I would be buried in my uniform I was a police officer to my soul she was motivated to join after the events of 911 having grown up in a
• 01:00 - 01:30 largely Asian area of Birmingham she saw the impact the so-called war on terror had on her local community and their relationship with the police so you wanted to join the police and change it from within yeah it felt like it was a very easy thing to do to sit outside an organization and criticize it but to really get inside it roll your sleeves up and try and make uh a difference Miss Bano was eventually promoted to become the most senior female Asian officer in
• 01:30 - 02:00 the region so when I got the call to say that I'd made a Chief Inspector um I kind of had to and I had to sit down on the end of my bed and take a deep breath and just say to myself okay you're a you're a brown girl from Perry bar you're autistic and you just made Chief Inspector West Midland's police amazing and you felt supported by the force yes there was a long time where I was um not just celebrated but also showcased I
• 02:00 - 02:30 first dawned my uniform on fosil road showcasing her success this video the city of coming together promoted as part of coventry's city of culture Miss Bano wanted to use her profile to help other officers in 2020 police forces were grappling with issues around race following the murder of George Floyd and black lives matter protests she set up a monthly Forum
• 02:30 - 03:00 called Brave space to encourage officers to open up and reach some common ground mbano was shocked by the experiences officers shared in those sessions some of the comments uh that colleagues told us they'd been exposed to in the workplace some of the things that have been done and said to them were really quite uh horrific um quite breathtaking and if people are treating colleagues like this at work how are they treating uh black communities and brand communities out um outside of um work
• 03:00 - 03:30 give us some examples of that so I I mean we had showers with the nword and the p word openly written um so showers that police officers used the station yeah within the station that nobody else has access to we had a brown female who was told by a senior officer um that her brown skin would look great against his white sheets um you know one felt in one comment you've managed to wrap up all that you know misogyny and all that racism she was inundated with other disclosures following a Terrior incident
• 03:30 - 04:00 a Muslim colleague was asked so your mates have been at it again a black colleague was asked to get on the table and give me a tribal dance a colleague with a mixed Heritage son was told you're luy he not any blacker and an officer said in front of witnesses my dad used to say I had a nose her sessions also covered misogyny and disability and she was asking awkward questions around the disproportionate use of force so I was looking at why um black men are 15 times more likely to be
• 04:00 - 04:30 subjected to the use of a baton on the street than white men why they're um eight times more likely to have a firearm deployed against them on the street than a white man the levels of bias that were emerging were startling and were devastating Miss Bano compiled a report called bristling at black she says it detailed what hundreds of response constables had admitted about their attitudes towards black men their
• 04:30 - 05:00 comments included you wouldn't want your daughter to marry one all black people take drugs I'd never met a black person till I joined this job so my only experience of them is as criminals they don't like us any more than we like them so when you see a group of them you're sort of bristle up ready for a fight what was the response of senior officers to what you were presenting them with so they told me that they shared um my horror and that they wanted to make sure that the racist attitude displayed by um
• 05:00 - 05:30 police officers um uh that changes were made and so I went away and I did a lot of work um uh Conjuring up you know Solutions potential Solutions um and they were all turned down and I was told openly by um senior leadership that um they were concerned about upsetting the white male majority within the police force by um deploying any of these measures that suggested that they might be racist meanwhile I've got people on
• 05:30 - 06:00 the conversations that I'm having with them telling me themselves that they are racist Miss Bano says the force continued to pay lip service to her reports on racism but everything changed when she raised concerns about the treatment of this Firearms officer who'd blown the whistle Rebecca Callum won a record payout this program had revealed her story of racism and misogyny within the unit the second I got involved in Rebecca's case
• 06:00 - 06:30 um the organization closed its ranks um and I felt that really acutely um people stopped engaging with me I had a phone call from an ACC shortly thereafter saying um this case has got nothing to do with you you'll get caught in the crossfire stand down don't get involved it was as though the life was squeezed out of my career from uh that point forward in court documents seen by this program the force denies Miss Bano was targeted for her support of Rebecca Callum or warned off by the
• 06:30 - 07:00 ACC when Rebecca Callum broke cover and spoke to channel 4 news last year the force told us it's changing for the better and upholding high standards but kiz Rano believes that her experiences show nothing is changing and she's not the only one who feels she's faced career-ending consequences for her involvement in Miss callum's complaint this despite National calls for police forces to better support whistleblowers hardworking and committed
• 07:00 - 07:30 officers of which there's many within westman's police how are they ever going to feel like they can challenge that conduct when they can see the the impact it has Rocky Callum was a sergeant with 15 years in the service but he too claims that when he supported Rebecca callum's employment tribunal he was forced out of the job he'd met and married her during his time in the West Midlands Mr Callum said he'd been horrified to learn of the misogyny she'd revealed although it was a stressful time for the couple initially he felt
• 07:30 - 08:00 supported at work my line management was absolutely fantastic empathetic they appreciated the gravity of of of of the case and the impact it could have on me and my family you know at the point where I was called as a witness to give evidence that that support changed the force had already admitted all of his wife's claims Mr Callum was called as a witness to a hearing by her defense team to determine the level of
• 08:00 - 08:30 compensation did they say to you explicitly don't give evidence in your wife's case it was phrased that um the force didn't feel it would be in the Public's interest or the public would approve of me having being given time off to go and give that evidence there are some people watching who will say of course you supported your wife you know what husband wouldn't that you were bound to be biased yeah I mean I can't argue you know it's my wife I would do that for any police officer and I would
• 08:30 - 09:00 expect every police officer to do that for their colleagues let alone their Partners their wives you know whoever it may be that's your duty plain and simple West Midlands police denies the legal claims made by Rocky khum and kiz Rano the force told us in a statement that there's no place for discriminatory attitudes in policing and that it's made significant progress in rooting out improper Behavior he told us that officers are more confident and better supported in making internal reports and
• 09:00 - 09:30 that it's getting better at disciplining and dismissing officers who engage in discriminatory Behavior or breach its high Professional Standards but the force told us it'll resolutely defend itself against any unfair allegations of discrimination and it says ahead of her employment tribunal kis Rano used what it describes as Sensational language both kis Rano and Rocky Callum have been medically retired on Mental Health grounds
• 09:30 - 10:00 forced to stand down they claim for supporting a whistleblower and for revealing uncomfortable truths about a culture that still exists despite Promises of change there are parallels with honor-based abuse you know you don't shame the family and you don't air our dirty laundry in public if you speak out you are crushed you are finished well joining me now is the former Metropolitan Police assistant commissioner Neil B
• 10:00 - 10:30 obviously you don't know the details of these cases but in your long experience in the police are the sorts of things that were reported there as being said by white police officers very unusual well I was going to say I was hoping to sit here as a 56y old mixed raised man with 30 years policing experience and not tell you I was shocked and surprised by your film I actually was one of the most shocking things was not the language used uh it was the fact that officers would openly declare it to a senior I black um Asian female officer I
• 10:30 - 11:00 I mean that's extraordinary I mean it seems as though there was there were no guardrails for what they're prepared to say I genuinely shocked by that I mean are you shocked by the response that she had within her senior ranks according to her accounts well according to that account um I'm not shocked I I talked a lot about institutional racism in policing after the George Floyd protest in 2020 I went to Chief's Council the 52 Chiefs who
• 11:00 - 11:30 pretty much control policy and direction for the profession and I asked them to consider acknowledging apologizing for institutional racism before they launched the national race action plan that was December 2021 in January 2022 they voted not to do that and very few Chief constables have come out and said institutional racism is a problem the ones who have have faced a backlash most of them like me are retired so uh I'm not shocked that senior officers seem to to have a
• 11:30 - 12:00 rather defensive denial and an optimism bias thinking this is only a few people rather than a cultural issue it's not just a few people it's far less than the media would sometimes have the public believe I worked with thousands of amazing police officers in my career but it's far more than a lot of senior leaders are prepared to acknowledge and what about the bodies within policing I mean the police Federation which represents the rank and file you know where are they in they in this kind of issue in question this is what's quite disappointing for me I mean the decision by Chiefs Council not to support this
• 12:00 - 12:30 point is was made it a very easy decision for me to retire in 2022 but I have spoken to the superintendent Association uh I've spoken clearly to Chiefs counsel I've never been asked to speak at the Federation conference but I do know that the chair I know the chair personally and he came out and said that he personally believes policing is still institutionally racist the chair of National Police Chiefs counselor said he personally believes that at a Staffordshire University conference last year it seems odd that they are unable
• 12:30 - 13:00 to represent their ranks because the ranks clearly don't believe it but I I think they're worried about a backlash and I think that's an abreg of leadership I think we need to explain what we mean to the front line if we're going to take their concerns that they might be worried that they're all being called racist I mean a lot of people say what difference would that really make I mean we've been banging on about this question for nearly 30 years um you know what why is it important that people like the Metropolitan Police Commissioner who still won't say it and
• 13:00 - 13:30 other uh senior officers say yes there is institutional racism I think we have to examine why they're not saying it um it is important so you only have to listen to some very senior black and Asian voices in the community some of whom said on the London policing board holding the commissioner to account who disagree with the decision not to acknowledge institutional racism he said systemic it's a semantic issue he agrees that it's not just about individual racist he knows there's something wrong with the culture i I know he will try and do something about that but not
• 13:30 - 14:00 acknowledging it when the black community took great faith in William mcferson report in 1999 they trusted William mcferson they trust that definition to say it doesn't exist now is a mistake and to say it's because it's political ambiguous or unhelpful fails to acknowledge the real feeling in the community these are the people we serve and what actually needs to be done what could be done I mean you have West M's police say we've improved which is an acknowledgement that they had a problem yes um so I mean who who's doing
• 14:00 - 14:30 this right right there's been massive improvements in policing I joined in 1992 100% of black brown or female officers would have given you a horror story about how they were treated even in the baroness Casey report those percentages were much lower disappointingly they're much higher than I think in the world wider Society we've got to be careful who we recruit uh how they are trained how they are LED and how they are promoted so so just I mean just to hammer that home you're saying there is more racism in the police than is in mainstream Society I I think
• 14:30 - 15:00 Society has moved on some of those comments in your report that police officers are making to a senior Asian officer are things that are not reflected in for instance the British attitude survey I'm mixed Ray somebody saying that about they wouldn't want to marry I mean that's personally very offensive given that my mother is white and my father was Indian um I'm amazed that that isn't reflected in the British attitude survey and what I would like to call out is the chief coun of police Scotland I was with her last week her her team who have admitted there's an
• 15:00 - 15:30 Institutional racism problem are bringing in policies and procedures to try and change the culture of their Force it's called act don't react it's based on Behavioral Science it's trying to give police officers a skill about how to interact with people who they claim they don't understand or um you know the the word is cultural incompetence I don't understand your culture I think you're going to be antagonistic to me so I immediately react in the wrong way they're bringing in something that witness last week that
• 15:30 - 16:00 I think will be gamechanging for the profession Neil Bassy thank you very much indeed for joining us um and we obviously don't have a response from police Scotland um uh but thank you very much indeed for that