At a glance
• Anti-black racism is “baked” into the Metropolitan Police, a landmark report has warned despite efforts to stamp out prejudice in the force
• The review highlights how darker-skinned officers and civilians face stereotypes that lead to disproportionate policing, harsher treatment, and exclusion masked as professionalism
• Commissioner Sir Mark Rowley said Dr Daniels’ evidence is “powerful” and he recognised the scale of the challenges set out
Anti-black racism is “baked” into the Metropolitan Police, a landmark report warns as it says discrimination is thriving despite senior officers’ intent and PR rebrands.
Darker-skinned staff are often cast as “risky, ungrateful, angry or in need of support” whereas lighter-skinned employees - unconsciously perceived as trustworthy and approachable - receive quicker empathy and leniency, the report found.
Author Shereen Daniels says Scotland Yard’s HR systems, leadership, governance and culture is biased towards “unspoken norms” of “who is welcomed, promoted, and protected”, so-called “whiteness”.
It “rewards those who align with dominant values and punishes those who challenge or differ from them”, allowing exclusion to be framed as professionalism.
The situation is no better for black and ethnic minority Londoners who encounter police in the street, she adds.
They are more likely to be read as suspicious, non-compliant or aggressive with greater use of force deployed against them because “darker complexions trigger unconscious associations with danger”, it is said.
Heavier policing in working-class areas reinforces stereotypes of disorder, Dr Daniels adds her review called 30 Patterns Of Harm: A Structural Review Of Systemic Racism Within The London Metropolitan Police Service.
For blacks that means the type of car driven, particularly if expensive or sporty, combined with casual clothing, can prompt assumptions of “criminality rather than success”.
The Met said it welcomed “in full” the report which draws on more than 40 years of evidence showing how racism has shaped the force’s relationship with black communities, officers and staff.
Commissioner Sir Mark Rowley said Dr Daniels’ evidence is “powerful” and he recognised the scale of the challenges set out.
The latest examination of the force, commissioned from the consultancy HR Rewired, comes after Baroness Louise Casey’s 2023 review following Sarah Everard’s murder, found the Met “institutionally racist, misogynistic and homophobic”.
Dr Daniels makes a point of highlighting reviews dating back to 1981’s Scarman Report in a section titled “four decades of warning”.
The MacPherson report in 1999 labelled the Yard “institutionally racist” after the bungled investigation into student Stephen Lawrence’s murder was mired in allegations of corruption.
Dr Daniels said: “Systemic racism is not a matter of perception. For almost 50 years, reviews of the Metropolitan Police have documented the harm experienced by black Londoners, officers and staff.
“True accountability begins with specificity. When institutions speak in broad terms of ‘ethnic minorities’ or ‘diversity,’ those most harmed disappear from view.
“This work begins where harm is sharpest, because that is where structural change must start. Anti-blackness is the clearest indicator of organisational dysfunction.
“The same systems that sustain racial harm against black people also enable other forms of harm. Confronting this is not an act of exclusion but a necessary foundation for safety, fairness and justice for everyone.
“For the Met, the challenge ahead is to build the leadership discipline to face what the report has revealed and act on its findings in a way that protects the public rather than the institution.”
Sir Mark said “further systemic, structural, cultural change is needed”, adding: “I asked for a review focused on the Met and black communities which challenges us to go further in becoming an actively anti-racist organisation.
“London is a unique global city, and the Met will only truly deliver policing by consent when it is inclusive and anti-racist.
“Initiatives like New Met for London and the London Race Action Plan are helping us make progress.
“The level of trust in the Met that black Londoners report is improving – by 10 per cent in two years – but still lags behind others.
“We remain committed to listening, learning, and acting on their concerns.
“Working with black communities and colleagues whose experiences are reflected in Dr Daniels’ report, we will be applying the same resolve to go after the patterns of discrimination that show up in our operational work, and within the organisation by identifying and addressing their root causes.”
Mr Lawrence’s mother welcomed the new report, but said it contained “nothing that I did not already know”.
Baroness Doreen Lawrence, whose 18-year-old son was killed in a racist attack in south east London in 1993, continued: “Racism was the reason why Stephen was killed and racism was the reason why the police have failed to find all of his killers.
“Racism must be acknowledged, accepted and confronted in the Met.
“In the three decades since my son’s murder there has never been an honest acceptance of racism and how it has affected how our communities are treated.
“The police must stop telling us that change is coming whilst we continue to suffer. That change must take place now.”
Andy George, president of the National Black Police Association, said: “Dr Daniels’ report confirms what black officers and communities have said for decades — racism in the Met is not an isolated failing, it’s built into the system.
“Despite promises of reform, we’ve seen regression, not progress. The London Race Action Plan has failed, and the New Met for London strategy is simply not strong enough to dismantle the structures that keep racism alive.
“Our members continue to face hostility and harm for speaking out, and the Commissioner has surrounded himself with people who tell him what he wants to hear.
“The Met must stop managing its reputation and start repairing the damage.
“Real accountability means listening to those most affected and working with the Met Black Police Association, NBPA and Mayor’s Office for Policing and Crime to deliver genuine anti-racist reform.”
Last month a BBC Panorama journalist covertly filmed officers at Charing Cross Police Station revelling in the use of force, calling for immigrants to be shot and being dismissive of rape claims.
