Managing allegations concerning Black and Asian police officers, cultural competence and reflective practice under the Police (Conduct) Regulations 2020

Abstract

The Police (Conduct) Regulations 2020 were introduced in the aftermath of serious findings by the National Police Chiefs Council (NPCC) that many police supervisors are uncomfortable dealing with low-level misconduct allegations concerning Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic (BAME) officers. A key component of the new regulations is the use of reflective practice as a way of managing low-level breaches of professional standards. We argue that there is little in the regulations to ensure that police supervisors can reach a threshold of cultural competency to oversee the new processes authentically. Furthermore, we fear that police misconduct data in coming years may indicate significant improvements in rates of misconduct and disproportionalities when the reality is that many issues are being shunted downward to more informal environments where little effort is made to gather and analyse data. Racial and ethnic disproportionalities may become even harder to identify and address as a result.