Police in bid to defeat racists (From Warrington Guardian)

Police in bid to defeat racists

POLICE in Winsford and Middlewich have embarked upon a programme to tackle racism in the force following the recently published Macpherson Report into the death of Stephen Lawrence.

Cheshire Constabulary received the report this week, which it intends to examine in detail and fully debate its conclusions and recommendations.

Meanwhile, the force is aiming to restore public confidence in the ability of police officers to provide a service that is free of prejudice by acting positively to address the issues raised in the report.

The six main strands to the programme are:

Vigorous equal opportunities training courses to address racism, sexism and homophobia.

A seminar at which Home Office specialists in the field of race relations lead discussions on how the police service might improve its delivery of services.

Recruitment is a key issue - there are currently relatively few officers who come from ethnic minorities.

An evaluation of recording offences - the constabulary identified the fact there was insufficient detailed information on the extent and nature of racial offences and incidents taking place in the force area.

Research has been undertaken to guide the development of Cheshire constabulary - eg interviews with members of the ethnic minority community to explore the perceptions they have about police.

Building better relations between the police and ethnic minority communities.

Commenting on the way forward, the Chief Constable of Cheshire, Nigel Burgess, said: "The people of Cheshire want a police service in which each officer, regardless of his or her background, relates to all members of the community in a fair and equal manner.

"Following the Macpherson Inquiry, we need to restore public confidence in police officers.

"That confidence will come about if we are seen to be taking issues raised in the report seriously and acting positively to address them.

"We have already begun this process and will be looking to the report to provide further guidance on the way forward."

He explained: "Like many other police forces around the country, we have embarked upon a programme of practical initiatives.

"The aim is to build on our existing policy and practice."

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