The mayor of Bristol and the police & crime commissioner (PCC) have praised Avon & Somerset’s chief constable for declaring the force “institutionally racist”. But a councillor is demanding Sarah Crew’s sacking over the “monstrous and untrue criticism of excellent police officers”, saying confidence in the constabulary has been “fundamentally damaged” and its reputation brought into disrepute.
In a statement posted on the constabulary website on Friday (June 16), Chief Constable Crew accepted there was “clear evidence of differential experiences in the way we interact with people from different ethnic and racial backgrounds, particularly those who are from Black heritage communities”. The force’s top officer said there was a need for “real and profound change” to retain the public’s trust and confidence but insisted she was “not talking about what’s in the hearts and minds of most people who work for Avon & Somerset Police”.
Instead, it was about “recognising the structural and institutional barriers that exist and which put people at a disadvantage in the way they interact with policing because of their race”, she said. Her comments were branded as “virtue signalling” by Mark Loker, chairman of Avon & Somerset Police Federation, which represents rank-and-file officers, and that her statement would “actually drive a divide between our officers and communities”.
