Alix Hattenstone, City Newsd
Duwayne Brooks says a difficult history makes it hard for The Met to recruit BAME officers.

Stephen Lawrence’s best friend says a difficult history makes it hard for the police to recruit BAME officers.

“The Met are struggling to recruit BAME officers because of the history between the force and black people across London,” Duwayne Brooks believes.

Difficult history

At the time of Lawrence’s murder, “The Met were persistently stopping black and Asian people and criminalising them.

“Black people will tell their children, and their children will tell their children about problems with the police”.

This comes in light of the revelation that it will take 100 years for the Met Police force to reflect the ethnic makeup of the city it serves.

Underrepresented

Currently, only 14% of the force is BAME, compared to 40% of the London population.

The Met Police have stated they will be redoubling their efforts to recruit BAME officers.

“Since the publication of the Stephen Lawrence Inquiry Report in 1999 representation of BAME officers in the Met has risen from 3% to 14%.

New targets

“Last year 30% of our new recruits were of BAME heritage, while for next year we aim to increase this to 35%.”

PC Jibran of the Met Police told City News that all people are welcome to join the force, no matter what their background.

100 years might seem far away but with a history of complex social and racial issues, changing public perceptions is not going to be easy.

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