Mayor Boris Johnson to review Met Police anti-racism measures

The Mayor of London Boris Johnson has ordered a review of anti-racism reforms within the Metropolitan Police. It will look at measures adopted as a result of the Race and Faith Inquiry set up by the mayor in 2008. The response to this inquiry was published in 2010, and stated the Met needed a "fresh and energetic" approach to making the principles of equality, diversity and human rights a practical reality.

Currently, one particular area under scrutiny includes opening top positions to people of diverse backgrounds even when they have not worked as constables. The review will also consider a recommendation that said the process should be easier for members of the force to apply for internal promotions and transfers.

The mayor has stated that more must be done to encourage the recruitment of police officers from black and ethnic minority backgrounds. However he said that progress has been made to date but more needed to be done to recruit people from communities across London. Latest figures show 10% of Met officers are of black or ethnic minority origin, compared with 40% of London's population being from these groups.

Meanwhile, the Independent Police Complaints Commission (IPCC) has revealed it had received 51 racism complaints about the Met since April. Mr Johnson said that he wanted to improve the relations the community that the Met serves and said that they were “committed to driving forward the changes needed to ensure the Met provides an excellent level of service to the entire community."

Joanne McCartney, Labour's police and crime spokesperson on the London Assembly, said: "We welcome all efforts to counter racism and prejudice; however, it is disappointing that Boris Johnson hasn't fully implemented his original Race and Faith Inquiry that he commissioned four years ago." She added: "There seems to be a minority of officers who think racist views are acceptable."

Buddy will update this blog with the review findings, which are due to be published in the autumn.