§ Sir Eldon Griffithsasked the Secretary of State for the Home Department (1) if he has yet received from all chief officers of police the information about allegations of racial discriminatory behaviour by police officers as requested in the circular 4/86 on this subject; and if he intends to publish them;
(2) what representations he has received from the Police Federation about his circular 4/86;
(3) if, pursuant to his circular 4/86, about allegations of racially discriminatory behaviour by police officers, he will publish in the Official Report a description of how statistics are compiled of cases where a suspicion of such behaviour arises.
§ Mr. Giles ShawThe returns sought by Home Office circular 4/86 are intended to supplement the information about the complaints and discipline system which is already collected on an anual basis.
My right hon. Friend decided that, in order to meet expected parliamentary interest in the new offence of racially discriminatory behaviour, it was important to know what use had been made of it in forces. Not all the required returns have yet been received. Detailed statistics on complaints and discipline are published each year, and it is my right hon. Friend's intention to publish figures of the use of the new offence also.
The circular also sought information about the circumstances in which the new offence has been charged, and about the use of other disciplinary offences in regard to misconduct in which a racial element appeared to have been present. The object was to enable the Home Office to monitor the use of the new provision, having regard to the Government's stated belief that no new offence was needed in order to deal with instances of such behaviour when they came to light.
The Police Federation represented to me its anxiety that statistics of suspected racialist behaviour might give a misleading picture, and they complained that they had not been consulted on the preparation of the circular. I indicated in response that the material was being collected to facilitate the discharge of the Home Office's own responsibilities for monitoring the complaints and discipline system, and that it had not been seen as affecting the interests of federation members. But I have expressed my regret that they were not told, out of courtesy, of our plans to issue the circular.