We need to make headway to spark change - police chief
The death of George Floyd had a huge personal impact on Sir David Thompson, the Chief Constable of West Midlands Police.
In the aftermath last summer he spoke of experiencing feelings of anger and deep distress; of reflecting on his own role as a senior police officer; and ultimately of his pride in how West Midlands Police had stood up to protect all communities.
For Sir David, George Floyd's death helped to refocus a belief that had grown since he was a young officer in Manchester, attempting to fix a cycle of gun crime on Moss Side with next to no community trust.
That belief – that effective policing is impossible unless communities are on board – has manifested itself into a pledge to make policing in the region fairer for people of all backgrounds
Looking to the year ahead as Covid restrictions start to ease, the Chief Constable has today outlined plans to step up changes to how the force looks and operates.
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He wants to see more recruitment of young black people, and to that end is committed to debunking the "myth" that West Midlands Police is a racist organisation.
The work done by the force up to now with the Black British community, he concedes, has not been effective enough.
Reflecting on George Floyd's death, he told the Express & Star: "Those events resonated with a lot of young people particularly and had a big impact on us as a force.
"We asked ourselves some hard questions about whether there is more that we should be doing, and the answer is 'yes'.
Diverse
"This year is very much about getting more things right. We are desperately keen to recruit a more diverse West Midlands Police, and we've been really successful in recruiting more women.
"Some ethnic minority communities are stepping forward, but I think with communities like the Black British community, we are not making the headway we need to.
"We've got to do more this year to convince young people from black communities that this is a genuinely exciting career, and debunk some myths.
"This myth that somehow you will be coming into an organisation that will hate you, be racist and you will end up leaving.
"Our retention rate is really high on people who join us. We're thinking as how restrictions ease, we can get more of our young people from black communities in.
"We need to prioritise some of those communities. You are always likely to join an organisation when you see somebody like you.
"The resounding message over the summer that we got from George Floyd is still resonating with us now."
Sir David said George Floyd's death had also had an impact on how police in the region were viewed, as some people saw policing as the same the world over.
"A lot of young people don't differentiate between police and policing globally," he said. "To them there is no difference.
"George Floyd was a reminder that what happens in other places and other cities has a direct impact on how policing is seen. We've got to work doubly hard to get our message across as a result."
As part of his plans, Sir David has demanded a fairer policy on stop and search – which disproportionately effects people from BAME communities – and the use of force.
Challenged
He said he believed there was widespread support across communities for the use of stop and search when looking for weapons, but conceded that "too often" the tactic was used for "drugs possession searching" that was "not effective".
"Nationally we have been challenged whether we are getting the balance right," he said. "We do lots with body cams and also how we train officers in self-defence because we are using more force on young black people, and I don't think we've entirely worked out why that might be the case.
"There's more work that needs to be done on both sides to look at that. We are certainly trying to drive a stronger culture about how we de-escalate violence."
Sir David said that although stop and search sometimes created "tensions with young people", it was "an important part of the range of powers" available to officers.
He said it would be dangerous to follow the example of Holland, where police have few powers and criminals are able to carry drugs and firearms "with impunity".
He also pointed out that the force had been praised by Her Majesty's Inspectorate of Constabulary for good practice with stop and search, and said it was right that it was focused on "high crime" areas.
