UK police chief who declared her force ‘institutionally racist’ says culture is changing

Crew accepted it had been difficult for many officers and staff to hear their force described as institutionally racist. Photograph: Barbara Evripidou

A chief constable has said her acknowledgment that her police force was “institutionally racist” unsettled and hurt some officers but insisted it has allowed the force to make vital changes.

Sarah Crew, the chief constable of Avon and Somerset, described her declaration a year ago as a “step towards” communities who believed the police never listened to them, and she said it had helped the force deal better with a series of high-profile killings in the past 12 months.