§ 36. Mrs. BrintonTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what recent assessment he has made of the efforts made by police forces to stamp out racism. [108270]
§ Mr. Charles Clarke"Race and the Criminal Justice System 1999" published on 9 December 1999 gives a comprehensive picture of how people from minority406W ethnic backgrounds fare under the criminal justice system, including the police service. The key findings for 1998–99 include a substantial increase by 66 per cent. of the number of racist incidents recorded by the police; against a history of under-recording of racist incidents this appears to reflect improved recording practices by the police and the higher priority the service is giving to its response to racist crime. Black people were, on average, six times more likely than white people to be stopped and searched by the police. The Department has set in hand a wide-ranging programme of research to help broaden understanding of these powers and how their use can be improved. The report found under-representation of ethnic minorities in the police service as in other parts of the criminal justice system. My right hon. Friend the Home Secretary has set targets for forces on recruitment, retention and progression of ethnic minority officers and has published a 25 point action plan to help forces meet them.
Her Majesty' s Chief Inspector of Constabulary's report of the inspection of the Metropolitan Police Service (MPS), which my right hon. Friend the Home Secretary directed should be carried out in response to recommendation 4 of the Stephen Lawrence Inquiry, was published on 10 January. The inspectors found significant progress within the MPS in their response to the community and race relations issues raised in the Inquiry's report, and while there were still areas to be addressed there were grounds for confidence that there would be significant improvements when the inspectors return in 12 months' time.
My right hon. Friend the Home Secretary undertook during the debate on the report of the Stephen Lawrence Inquiry last March that I would publish an annual report on progress of the implementation of the Action Plan I published in response to the Inquiry's report; my right hon. Friend the Home Secretary will publish the first such report shortly.