Final Report of the Morris Inquiry: The Case for Change

THE CASE FOR CHANGE
“I think a lot of people, when you say ‘diversity’, will immediately think ‘people of colour’, that is
the first thing they think of, and they forget that you have got – you know, the broad spectrum
of the populace of London in particular, being everything.”
(Evidence of Franco Iannelli, Police Anglo-Italian Association.)
5.25 The MPS seems keen to take all opportunities to draw attention to its
commitment to race-equality:
“A friend of mine who is a black officer has had pressure to join the BPA. He just wants to do
his job. He gets pushed to the front in photos or if there is a visit. He finds it annoying and
offensive.” (Speaker during a London Police Station visit.)
5.26 Our survey also demonstrated that officers and staff think race has eclipsed
other aspects of difference. Only 32% agree (and 38% disagree) that the MPS is
placing equal emphasis on all aspects of diversity not just focusing on ethnicity
issues. (Benchmark scores are not available for this question.) But non-white
respondents are more likely than the white majority to think that the balance is right.
5.27 Responses differ amongst officers and staff of the different religions but responses
are negative regardless of sexual orientation. Respondents with disabilities are
significantly less likely than the average to agree that the MPS has got the emphasis right.
5.28 In addition, it now seems to be generally accepted that issues of gender have
been somewhat neglected in recent years:
“There is a widely held perception that gender has not featured sufficiently in diversity training
thus far. This may, in part, be responsible for an apparent willingness in parts of the MPS to
condone, or at the very least, ignore sexist banter and language.”
(Submission from the MPS Association of Senior Women Officers.)
5.29 However, we note that, since we began work, and presumably in response to
some of the evidence we have received and the discussions at our hearings, the
MPS has begun to redress the balance and renew efforts to address issues which are
relevant to its women officers and employees.
“We have been having a large number of women officers and police staff officers coming to
sessions where – I have been shocked, I will tell you. There is a woman officer… who was at
the Yard and then went back to a station in [redacted] London.
“… I have been absolutely shocked as to some of the language that is being used down at this
particular station, the chauvinist attitude, which I think has pushed us back to the time when I
first worked in Northumbria, for instance, and we will not put up with it.
“I can tell you now we will get to grips with this, because, for the right reasons, I think we have
been focusing on race, for the right reasons, no one can criticise that, and I have to say I think
we have taken the eye off the ball in relation to the way women officers and women staff are
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