The relationship between the police and ethnic minority communities

Many people in the Midlands say they feel excluded, targetted or threatened by British police.

And many of them speak from personal experience.

These young women were at a Black Lives Matter protest in Nottingham.

  • Police are more than six times more likely to issue Coronavirus lockdown fines to people from black and minority ethnic communities than white people - despite the fact they make up a much smaller part of the population. 

  • In the West Midlands, a black person is four times more likely to be stopped by the police for any reason.

  • Only around 10% of people eventually convicted of a crime in the UK are black.

Kedisha Brown-Burrell's brother Kingsley died after being detained by police in 2011. 

An inquest jury found that excessive police force and a failure to provide basic medical attention contributed to the death. 

She believes race played a part.

Kingsley Burrell Credit: ITV News Central

Most agree that getting more officers from different backgrounds into the police would help. But recruitment specifically among the black community is low.

In Leicestershire, black people make up 2.4% of the population but only 0.6% of local police.

In the West Midlands Police Force area, 6% of the population is black, but only 1.4% of police officers are black.

The West Midlands Police and Crime Commissioner has this month committed to quickly recruiting more black and minority ethnic officers, saying it has to be done to represent the people they serve, and because the force will miss out on talent.

But campaigners say it all starts with education, and police officers need to be taught how to build community relationships.

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