The Macpherson Report: twenty-two years on

Home Affairs Committee Closed Inquiry
Opened: 5 Jun 2020 Closed: 31 Jan 2024 Parliament page
The Home Affairs Committee has confirmed its intention to complete its predecessors’ work on The Macpherson Report: twenty years on , and will take new evidence on policing and race including on concerns raised about the policing of the Covid-19 lockdown and reported disproportionality in fines and investigations of individuals … Read more
25 Recommendations
77 Conclusions
1 Report
2 Oral sessions
5 Letters
2 Events
Activity timeline 11 events
1 Jul
2022
Correspondence
26 May
2022
Report published
27 Apr
2022
Correspondence
23 Mar
2022
Correspondence
23 Mar
2022
Correspondence
30 Jul
2021
Report published
22 Jul
2020
Oral evidence
22 Jul
2020
Correspondence
22 Jul
2020
Formal meeting (oral evidence session) · Room 6, Palace of Westminster
17 Jun
2020
Oral evidence
17 Jun
2020
Formal meeting (oral evidence session) · The Wilson Room, Portcullis House
Oral evidence sessions 2 sessions
22 Jul 2020
View on parliament.uk
Bishop Derek Webley · Windrush Cross-Government Working Group Inspector Dan Popple · West Midlands Police Pastor Lorraine Jones · Dwayne Simpson Foundation CIC PC Adam Ahmed Sayce Holmes-Lewis · Mentivity
17 Jun 2020
View on parliament.uk
Katrina Ffrench · StopWatch Mirren Gidda · Liberty Investigates Nick Glynn · Open Society Foundations Professor Ben Bowling · Kings College London Rosalind Comyn · Liberty
Title HC No. Published Items Response
Third Report - The Macpherson Report: Twenty-two years on HC 139 30 Jul 2021 102 Responded
Recommendations & Conclusions
39 results
Clear
2 Conclusion Accepted
Third Report - The Macpherson Repo…
Stagnation in achieving Stephen Lawrence Inquiry aims regarding policing fairness remains concerning.
Many of the findings and subsequent 70 recommendations made by the Stephen Lawrence Inquiry focused on longstanding issues which remain as relevant today, in particular, the overall aim set by the late Sir William Macpherson of “the elimination of racist … Read more
Government Response
The government asserts its commitment to tackling hate crime by referencing its 2016 Hate Crime Action Plan (refreshed 2018) and communications campaigns, which aimed to improve police response and public understanding of hate crime.
Home Office
View details
4 Conclusion Accepted
Third Report - The Macpherson Repo…
Confidence in police significantly declining among Black and Mixed ethnicity communities
Evidence to our inquiry shows that there is a significant problem with confidence in the police within Black communities. We were very concerned to see that confidence in the police among Black people has fallen in recent years and the … Read more
Government Response
The government highlights its ongoing Police Uplift Programme, which aims to increase police representation from diverse communities through national campaigns, attraction and recruitment strategies, and enhanced data capture to address issues related to community confidence.
Home Office
View details
5 Conclusion Accepted
Third Report - The Macpherson Repo…
Black communities, particularly youth, expect less fair and respectful treatment from police
Fairness, respect and impartiality are core values that should be fundamental to policing. So the fact that Black people, and especially Black Caribbean people, have much lower expectations than White people that they will be treated fairly and with respect … Read more
Government Response
The government states that police forces are using positive action provisions from the Equality Act 2010 to increase representation, with updated guidance from the College and new guidance in development as part of 'Inclusive Britain,' alongside Police Uplift Programme investment in diverse recruitment.
Home Office
View details
6 Conclusion Accepted
Third Report - The Macpherson Repo…
Significant confidence and fairness gap for Black communities persists for over two decades
Overall the majority of people from all communities still report confidence in their local police. However, there is no getting away from the significant confidence and fairness gap for Black communities. The fact that this persists twenty-two years after the … Read more
Government Response
The government outlines existing governance mechanisms, such as the National Policing Board and the Police Uplift Programme Board, which are tasked with strategic oversight and ensuring progress on diversity within policing to address issues of confidence and fairness.
Home Office
View details
17 Conclusion Accepted
Third Report - The Macpherson Repo…
Police lack digital capacity, training, and systems to tackle rising online racist crimes effectively.
Our greatest concern going forward is that the Government and police forces are being left behind by the rise of online racism and racist crimes as the rise of social media means patterns of race hate crime are changing. Currently … Read more
Government Response
The government acknowledged its commitment to tackling hate crime and outlined existing measures, including the Hate Crime Action Plan, public awareness campaigns, the True Vision online reporting portal, and Operation Modify, a digital skills training program for police.
Home Office
View details
19 Conclusion Accepted
Third Report - The Macpherson Repo…
More action needed regarding the policing response to online safety issues.
We welcome the Government legislating for online safety and we continue to consider these issues separately from this report. But we are concerned that much more also needs to be done around the policing response.
Government Response
The government acknowledged its commitment to tackling hate crime and listed existing measures to improve the police response and public awareness, such as the Hate Crime Action Plan, awareness campaigns, the True Vision portal, and Operation Modify training for police.
Home Office
View details
23 Conclusion Accepted
Third Report - The Macpherson Repo…
Police service remains unrepresentative of diverse communities two decades after Macpherson Report.
In 2020 BME officers represented just 7% of the police service across England and Wales, far below the 14% of the population in England and Wales who are BME. The Macpherson Report: Twenty-two years on 179 It is extremely disappointing … Read more
Government Response
The government acknowledges the need for representative police forces and details ongoing work through the Police Uplift Programme to diversify recruitment, including national campaigns, sharing best practices, and improved data collection.
Home Office
View details
24 Conclusion Accepted
Third Report - The Macpherson Repo…
Police forces show insufficient progress in BME recruitment, retention, and senior representation.
What is equally shocking is that so little changed in terms of BME recruitment and retention in the decade following our predecessors’ last inquiry on the Macpherson report. While there has been progress in BME recruitment by some forces in … Read more
Government Response
The government acknowledges the importance of representative police forces and outlines current efforts through the Police Uplift Programme to improve recruitment, retention, and progression of BME officers, including targeted attraction strategies and enhanced data collection.
Home Office
View details
25 Conclusion Accepted
Third Report - The Macpherson Repo…
Lack of BME police officers undermines legitimacy and Peel principles of policing.
The Macpherson report was clear that police forces need to be representative of the communities they serve. Throughout our inquiry we have heard concerns about community confidence in the police, the use of certain police powers and wider racism in … Read more
Government Response
The government reiterates that police forces should be representative of their communities and highlights the ongoing Police Uplift Programme, detailing its strategies for diversifying recruitment and improving understanding through better data.
Home Office
View details
26 Conclusion Accepted
Third Report - The Macpherson Repo…
Police forces demonstrate decades of inadequate focus and leadership on BME recruitment and promotion.
Despite commitments made over many years police forces across the country have failed to do enough to increase BME recruitment, retention and promotion for decades. There has been a lack of focus, consistency and leadership in driving BME recruitment and … Read more
Government Response
The government acknowledges the challenge of achieving a diverse police service and details the current efforts of the Police Uplift Programme, which aims to improve BME recruitment, retention, and progression through various strategies.
Home Office
View details
27 Conclusion Accepted
Third Report - The Macpherson Repo…
Current progress rates indicate decades until police forces are properly representative.
Our analysis suggests that, on the current rate of progress, we will not have properly representative police forces in England and Wales for another twenty years. That would be four decades after the Macpherson report raised the seriousness of this … Read more
Government Response
The government acknowledges the need for representative police forces and describes the ongoing Police Uplift Programme, emphasizing its role in diversifying recruitment and improving data collection to understand retention.
Home Office
View details
28 Conclusion Accepted
Third Report - The Macpherson Repo…
Police uplift presents vital but urgent opportunity to increase BME representation across forces.
The Government has committed to the recruitment of an additional 20,000 police officers by 31 March 2023. We agree with the Home Secretary that the uplift must be used to make immediate and significant progress in tackling the persistent under- … Read more
Government Response
The government acknowledges the opportunity presented by the Police Uplift Programme to improve BME representation and details various ongoing strategies within this programme, such as targeted recruitment campaigns and data collection, to achieve this.
Home Office
View details
29 Conclusion Accepted
Third Report - The Macpherson Repo…
Existing diversity initiatives lack consistent implementation and sufficient focus on BME recruitment.
Much stronger national action is needed. We recognise the various equality and diversity initiatives that have been undertaken by different policing bodies but in practice they have not delivered sufficient focus or progress on BME recruitment or tackling race inequality … Read more
Government Response
The government responds by detailing the existing Police Uplift Programme, which it states is a comprehensive programme working with all 43 forces to deliver recruitment and retention strategies for a more diverse service, rather than committing to a new framework.
Home Office
View details
32 Conclusion Accepted
Third Report - The Macpherson Repo…
Some forces show good BME recruitment commitments, but others lack ambition.
It is welcome that forces such as the West Midlands and Leicestershire have already made clear commitments both on immediate recruitment levels and the overall proportion of BME officers in the force over time. Other forces need to be more … Read more
Government Response
The government acknowledges the importance of diversity and details current comprehensive work through the Police Uplift Programme, including attraction campaigns, sharing best practice, and improved data collection to support all 43 forces in becoming more representative.
Home Office
View details
33 Conclusion Accepted
Third Report - The Macpherson Repo…
Police forces fail to achieve representative recruitment despite proven best practices.
It is particularly disappointing that the number of forces achieving representative recruitment is not higher since it is clear that forces which have made a focused effort to do so are able to achieve representative recruitment. The recent progress by … Read more
Government Response
The government acknowledges the importance of diversity and states that sharing best practice is already an effort being made through the Police Uplift Programme, which also supports forces with various recruitment strategies and national campaigns targeting diverse audiences.
Home Office
View details
35 Conclusion Accepted
Third Report - The Macpherson Repo…
Many police forces underutilised positive action provisions for BME recruitment.
All forces must do far more to use the positive action provisions of the Equality Act 2010 to develop targeted recruitment campaigns, mentoring and support. Some forces have used those provisions very effectively to increase BME recruitment significantly in a … Read more
Government Response
The government reiterates its commitment to increasing diversity through the Police Uplift Programme, which includes various attraction and recruitment strategies, as well as national campaigns designed to reach diverse audiences and provide targeted communications. However, it does not explicitly commit to ensuring forces do 'far more' to use the positive action provisions of the Equality Act 2010.
Home Office
View details
36 Conclusion Accepted
Third Report - The Macpherson Repo…
Chief officers should be held accountable for using positive action to achieve recruitment targets.
The evidence from forces which do use a positive action approach demonstrates that forces should be able to achieve their targets using tried and tested positive action measures. Given the success these forces have had, we believe that chief officer … Read more
Government Response
The government acknowledges the importance of representative forces and describes current efforts under the Police Uplift Programme to support forces with recruitment strategies and national campaigns to reach diverse audiences, but does not explicitly commit to requiring chief officer teams to use positive action tools or detailing new accountability measures for their progress.
Home Office
View details
37 Conclusion Accepted
Third Report - The Macpherson Repo…
Clear accountability framework needed for police forces failing on recruitment progress.
Given the enduring nature of this problem a clear framework is needed for holding Chief Constables and police forces to account and ensuring that there is follow up action where forces do not make sufficient progress.
Government Response
The government asserts that a clear framework for accountability already exists through the Home Secretary's National Policing Board, which sets strategic priorities and holds the sector to account, and through Police and Crime Commissioners who ensure local accountability for Chief Constables.
Home Office
View details
38 Conclusion Accepted
Third Report - The Macpherson Repo…
Representative recruitment must be a key legitimacy measure in HMICFRS inspections.
Progress against local targets must be assessed regularly by the Home Secretary, acting through the National Policing Board. We welcome the commitment made by HMICFRS to include recruitment in their inspections on disproportionality. Representative recruitment must be treated as a … Read more
Government Response
The government states that the Home Secretary, through the National Policing Board, already provides strong governance and oversight, holding the sector to account for strategic priorities that include building public trust, implying this encompasses representative recruitment and legitimacy.
Home Office
View details
39 Recommendation Accepted
Third Report - The Macpherson Repo…
Require Home Secretary to use powers against forces failing representative recruitment targets after two years.
The Home Secretary has powers in legislation to require HMICFRS inspections where there are concerns about force operational performance on particular matters, and to require specified measures in the face of persistent failings. Given the importance of representative recruitment to … Read more
Government Response
The government highlights its existing strong governance and oversight through the Home Secretary's National Policing Board and Police and Crime Commissioners, which collectively ensure accountability for policing priorities, rather than committing to the specific, triggered use of powers for HMICFRS inspections and required measures for forces failing BME recruitment targets.
Home Office
View details
43 Recommendation Accepted
Third Report - The Macpherson Repo…
Racial disparity in police officer dismissals and disciplinary processes remains persistent.
There is clear racial disparity in the number of officers being dismissed from police forces—BME officers are more than twice as likely to be dismissed as White officers— and in the number of BME officers and staff being subjected to … Read more
Government Response
The government agrees with the finding of racial disparity in police dismissals and misconduct. It welcomes the NPCC's new Race Action Plan (May 2022) to address this and commits the Home Office to review the police misconduct system in summer 2022 to ensure fairness and uphold integrity.
Home Office
View details
44 Recommendation Accepted
Third Report - The Macpherson Repo…
Police forces' inconsistent data collection obscures ethnic disparity in misconduct cases.
It is completely unacceptable that forces’ data on ethnic disparity in police misconduct has been inconsistent and incomplete to the point where it cannot be understood or acted upon. We are appalled that it has not been possible for us … Read more
Government Response
The government welcomes the NPCC's new Race Action Plan (May 2022), which commits to ensuring misconduct data is published consistently and fully broken down by ethnicity for all forces. The Home Office will also review the police misconduct system in summer 2022.
Home Office
View details
59 Conclusion Accepted
Third Report - The Macpherson Repo…
New policing technologies introduced without adequate consideration for racial bias or community confidence.
New policing technologies have developed in the decades since the Macpherson report. These technologies, which clearly could not have been considered by the Stephen Lawrence Inquiry, have given rise to similar kinds of issues about the importance of sustaining confidence … Read more
Government Response
The government agrees it is vital to have processes and governance for fair and proportionate use of new technology, and commits to working with policing partners to support the development of a national ethics framework for policing. This framework is expected to underpin high-quality impact assessments for new technology applications.
Home Office
View details
62 Conclusion Accepted
Third Report - The Macpherson Repo…
NPCC and Home Office fail to publish further analysis of COVID-19 enforcement racial disparity.
Evidence of disproportionality must be carefully considered and presented transparently, with robust systems of independent oversight. Although the NPCC conducted a detailed analysis of the use of covid Fixed Penalty Notices by ethnicity during the first lockdown, in response to … Read more
Government Response
The government responds by stating that the NPCC routinely publishes data on COVID-19 Fixed Penalty Notices, has commissioned an independent analysis of FPNs by demographic group to be published, and is committed to an action plan to improve diversity across forces, directly addressing the recommendation to continue monitoring disparities and their reasons.
Home Office
View details
64 Conclusion Accepted
Third Report - The Macpherson Repo…
New policing technologies like facial recognition require serious consideration of racial disparities.
The police are currently exploring other new technologies such as live facial recognition technology, where serious consideration is needed of the way the technology might apply for different communities and any consequences for racial disparities.
Government Response
The government commits to supporting the development of a national ethics framework for policing, which will underpin high-quality impact assessments for new technologies to ensure fair and proportionate use.
Home Office
View details
65 Conclusion Accepted
Third Report - The Macpherson Repo…
Robust processes are essential for new policing technologies to prevent racial disparities.
As new policing technologies, tools and powers are developed, it is important that there are robust and credible processes in place both to guard against the risk of importing or exacerbating racial disparities and to maximise their potential to demonstrate … Read more
Government Response
The government commits to supporting the development of a national ethics framework for policing, which will underpin high-quality impact assessments for new technologies to ensure fair and proportionate use.
Home Office
View details
66 Conclusion Accepted
Third Report - The Macpherson Repo…
Home Office and police fail to sufficiently address race equality duties for new technologies.
Under the Equality Act 2010 the Home Office and the police have a legal duty to consider the equality impact of new policies, measures or technologies on race equality or other protected characteristics. We do not believe that this responsibility … Read more
Government Response
The government commits to working with the NPCC and College of Policing to develop a national ethics framework, which will include high-quality impact assessments for new technologies to address racial disparities, directly responding to the call for collaboration on race equality assessments.
Home Office
View details
69 Conclusion Accepted
Third Report - The Macpherson Repo…
Individual bias and prejudice persist in policing, requiring robust challenge and disciplinary action.
Individual bias and prejudice have no place in policing. Where they persist they must be strongly challenged, including through robust disciplinary action and dismissals for unacceptable racist behaviour. Individual forces must be vigilant and proactive in shaping their organisational culture, … Read more
Government Response
The government commits to supporting the College and NPCC by autumn 2024 to review and deliver improvements to police officer training in de-escalation and conflict management, and highlights the new 'Race Action Plan' which includes measures to improve policing confidence among black people.
Home Office
View details
78 Conclusion Accepted
Third Report - The Macpherson Repo…
Impetus for change from Stephen Lawrence Inquiry not sustained across all policing areas.
Secondly, the evidence we have gathered shows that the impetus for change from the “clarion call” of the Stephen Lawrence Inquiry has not been sustained. In 1999 the House of Commons was told by the then Home Secretary that the … Read more
Government Response
The government asserts that significant progress has been made since the Macpherson Report, citing strengthened police accountability, improved data, a diverse recruitment drive, and measures outlined in the 'Inclusive Britain' report to tackle disparities.
Home Office
View details
79 Conclusion Accepted
Third Report - The Macpherson Repo…
Police and government demonstrate systematic failure to eliminate race inequality in policing.
We recognise that the devolved nature of policing means that there are variations in policies, cultures and outcomes between individual forces and institutions. However, based on the evidence we have received, we believe that whilst there have been improvements in … Read more
Government Response
The government acknowledges the committee's work and highlights significant progress made in policing over the past two decades through reforms, improved data collection, and diverse recruitment, outlining ongoing efforts to build on this progress via the "Inclusive Britain" response.
Home Office
View details
84 Recommendation Accepted
Third Report - The Macpherson Repo…
Police forces and PCCs show insufficient progress on key race equality areas
Twenty-two years on, police forces need to take responsibility for the lack of progress in vital areas raised by the Macpherson report. Individual forces and Chief Constables have considerable scope within their own organisations and communities to increase BME recruitment, … Read more
Government Response
The government outlines significant progress made since the Macpherson report, including strengthened police accountability, improved data collection, and a drive to recruit diverse officers. It refers to the 'Inclusive Britain' report for further measures to improve accountability and tackle disparities.
Home Office
View details
85 Conclusion Accepted
Third Report - The Macpherson Repo…
Patchy national progress on race equality due to varied local approaches
The wide variation among forces in the approaches taken and outcomes achieved on specific issues in relation to race equality is a matter of serious concern. Whilst we welcome the good practice of forces that have chosen to innovate on … Read more
Government Response
The government highlights significant national progress since the Macpherson report, including strengthened police accountability, improved Home Office data collection, and a drive to recruit diverse officers. It also refers to the 'Inclusive Britain' report for a comprehensive action plan to tackle disparities.
Home Office
View details
86 Recommendation Accepted
Third Report - The Macpherson Repo…
Lack of widespread local community oversight hinders racial disparity progress
The lack of widespread local scrutiny and oversight mechanisms involving different communities means that, too often, impetus to make progress is left to individual Chief Constables and PCCs, without improvements being made across the board or processes to ensure the … Read more
Government Response
The government commits to strengthening local community scrutiny by developing a new framework by Summer 2023, which will ensure panels are independently led and reflect local diversity. They will also explore sharing body-worn video footage with these panels.
Home Office
View details
87 Recommendation Accepted
Third Report - The Macpherson Repo…
Isolated police forces impede national progress in tackling race disparities
Police forces also need to recognise the importance of coordinated national work to address unjustified race disparities and tackle racism. Chief Constables and Police and Crime Commissioners should support work by the NPCC and APCC to establish national strategies and … Read more
Government Response
The Home Office commits to continuing work with the NPCC and APCC to support forces in collating and publishing data on public confidence, and to delivering recommendations aimed at improving PCCs' ability to use data for accountability and addressing community confidence.
Home Office
View details
91 Conclusion Accepted
Third Report - The Macpherson Repo…
HMICFRS stop and search recommendations remain unimplemented by many forces
HMICFRS has a very important role to play in driving improvements, raising standards and measuring progress across policing. It has produced a series of extensive reports about stop and search which has added a great deal to understanding of the … Read more
Government Response
The government welcomes ongoing work by policing bodies and forces to implement HMICFRS recommendations, claiming a majority of forces have already done so or have plans. It states a follow-up survey is underway to gather more detailed information on force actions and timelines.
Home Office
View details
93 Conclusion Accepted
Third Report - The Macpherson Repo…
Policing's current race equality accountability system remains fragmented and ineffective.
The current system for delivery and accountability on race equality within policing is not working. While there are some opportunities for ensuring accountability within the police service, our evidence indicates that these processes are far too fragmented and rarely exercised … Read more
Government Response
The government asserts that strong governance and oversight of policing already exist through the Home Secretary-chaired National Policing Board and PCCs to ensure accountability and improve community confidence. It therefore rejects the need for a new Commissioner and maintains that much is already being done, while acknowledging more needs to be done.
Home Office
View details
95 Conclusion Accepted
Third Report - The Macpherson Repo…
Home Office withdrawal fragmented policing's race equality efforts, lacking leadership and accountability.
Furthermore the withdrawal of the Home Office from an active role in policing has been responsible for fragmentation and a lack of wholesale ownership in addressing race equality issues. While we acknowledge the devolved nature of policing, the Home Office … Read more
Government Response
The government asserts that it has fundamentally reformed its governance and oversight of policing through the Home Secretary-chaired National Policing Board, demonstrating its active role and leadership in ensuring progress on race equality, contrary to the committee's suggestion of withdrawal.
Home Office
View details
99 Conclusion Accepted
Third Report - The Macpherson Repo…
Policing's renewed race equality focus requires formal structures for accountability and scrutiny.
The renewed focus amongst policing leaders on issues of race inequality since the summer of 2020, and in particular the commitment on the part of the NPCC to the production of an action plan to consider “concerns about racial inequalities … Read more
Government Response
The government agrees more work is needed on training consistency and commits to supporting the College and NPCC by autumn 2024 to review and improve police officer training in de-escalation and conflict management. It also highlights the co-developed 'Race Action Plan' as a measure to improve policing confidence.
Home Office
View details
100 Recommendation Accepted
Third Report - The Macpherson Repo…
Require NPCC's race inclusion plan to prioritise workforce, data, stop and search, and culture.
Based on the evidence we have received and the systemic problems we have identified, we recommend that in taking forward its Plan of Action on Inclusion and Race, the NPCC must focus on the following priorities: • Achieving a police … Read more
Government Response
The government states that police forces are striving for a representative workforce and details existing comprehensive programmes, such as the Police Uplift Programme and targeted national campaigns, which are already delivering on this ambition through attraction, recruitment, and data capture initiatives.
Home Office
View details
Government Response AI assessment · 95 of 25 classified
Accepted 39
Accepted in Part 9
Acknowledged 22
Deferred 1
Not Addressed 19
Rejected 5
Total 25 recs + 77 conclusions
Correspondence 5 letters
1 Jul 2022 From committee Letter to the Home Secretary on the Macpherson Report: 22 years on, dated 23 March 2022
Parliament page
27 Apr 2022 To committee Letter from the Home Secretary on the Macpherson Report: 22 years on, dated 31 March 2022.
Parliament page
23 Mar 2022 To committee Letter from the Home Secretary on the government response to the Macpherson Report: 22 Years On, dated 11 March 2022
Parliament page
23 Mar 2022 To committee Letter from the Minister for Equalities on the Government's response to the Commission on Race and Ethnic Disparities' (CRED) Report, dated 17 March 2022
Parliament page
22 Jul 2020 To committee Letter from the Director General of the Independent Office of Police Conduct on recording ethnicity data in investigations dated 27 March 2020
Parliament page