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
19 results
Clear
7 Conclusion Not Addressed
Third Report - The Macpherson Repo…
Police forces and Home Office failing to collect local ethnic confidence data or plan effectively
Given the seriousness of the issue we are particularly alarmed by the failure of police forces and the Home Office to have proper plans in place to address the confidence gap, or even to be gathering the basic evidence and … Read more
Government Response
The government's response discusses progress in handling complaints and conduct, and the importance of granular data on disproportionality, but it does not address the committee's specific concern about the failure to gather local force-level confidence data by ethnicity.
Home Office
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8 Conclusion Not Addressed
Third Report - The Macpherson Repo…
Increasing Black community trust in policing not considered a Ministerial or policing priority
The Macpherson report in its first recommendation called for a Ministerial Priority for all police services to “increase trust and confidence in policing amongst minority ethnic communities”. For the Macpherson report, the setting of a “Ministerial Priority” had a particular … Read more
Government Response
The government provides statistics on ethnic minority representation in Professional Standards Departments and states the NPCC is working to improve this, but the response does not address the committee's central point about the failure to treat increasing trust and confidence as a Ministerial priority or the lack of local confidence data collection.
Home Office
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9 Conclusion Not Addressed
Third Report - The Macpherson Repo…
Practical action, including regular publication of confidence data, urgently needed from policing bodies
Practical action is needed. The Home Office and National Police Chiefs’ Council must ensure that confidence data is gathered and regularly published for all forces so that their communities and Police and Crime Commissioners can hold them to account, with … Read more
Government Response
The government's response focuses on the benefits and monitoring of stop and search powers, detailing piloted data collection for s.163 Road Traffic Act powers and a commitment to consider various stop and search metrics. It does not address the recommendation to gather and regularly publish public confidence data for all forces.
Home Office
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10 Recommendation Not Addressed
Third Report - The Macpherson Repo…
Require police forces to establish local plans to improve BME confidence, monitored by HMICFRS
Police forces in England and Wales should set out clear local plans to improve confidence informed by local confidence data. They should state what measurable actions they are taking a) to increase the confidence of BME communities and b) to … Read more
Government Response
The government details improved stop and search data collection and a commitment to use data to challenge disparities. It also highlights the importance of internal and external body-worn video reviews to build confidence, but does not commit to police forces setting out local plans to improve BME community confidence or to HMICFRS monitoring these efforts.
Home Office
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11 Recommendation Not Addressed
Third Report - The Macpherson Repo…
Mandate Home Office and National Policing Board to monitor confidence gap and report annual actions
The Home Office and the National Policing Board should monitor the confidence gap in each force and should set out each year what action is being taken nationally to ensure that confidence among BME communities increases in order to restore … Read more
Government Response
The government extensively discusses the use of Body Worn Video (BWV) to improve accountability and transparency, outlining efforts to improve guidance, facilitate footage sharing with scrutiny panels, and enhance officer communication training. However, the response does not address the recommendation for the Home Office and National Policing Board to monitor the confidence gap or set out annual national actions for BME communities.
Home Office
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13 Conclusion Not Addressed
Third Report - The Macpherson Repo…
Police response to hate crime victims inconsistent, lacking respect and satisfaction with investigations.
However, we are concerned about the variability in police force responses at a local level: the commitment to tackling hate crime needs to be universal and consistent across the police service. We are also very concerned that the victims of … Read more
Government Response
The government acknowledges concerns about disproportionality in COVID-19 Fixed Penalty Notices (FPNs) and notes ongoing data publication and an independent analysis commissioned by the NPCC. It commits to improving diversity and community relations but does not address the specific recommendation for clear action to properly support victims of racist crimes.
Home Office
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14 Conclusion Not Addressed
Third Report - The Macpherson Repo…
Police lack adequate data and information to effectively address hate crimes and victim confidence.
We are concerned that the police once again lack the information and data they need to address these issues properly. More public information is needed on race hate crimes, the impact on different communities and the experiences of victims. The … Read more
Government Response
The government outlines its support for police technology and the role of the Chief Scientific Advisor, emphasizing training programs that involve local communities and address racial disparities within institutions. However, it does not commit to commissioning research on confidence among hate crime victims or improving the recording and breakdown of hate crime data by ethnicity as recommended.
Home Office
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15 Recommendation Not Addressed
Third Report - The Macpherson Repo…
Disaggregate race hate crime data by ethnicity for publication in Home Office statistics.
The Government’s disaggregation of religious hate crimes for different religions is welcome, as this provides valuable detail and insight. We believe that race hate crimes should be similarly disaggregated, so as to understand the breakdown of offences by ethnicity. Other … Read more
Government Response
The government discusses the College of Policing's role in developing quality training for officers on community engagement, diversity, and the appropriate use of powers. It then outlines the responsibilities of a proposed independent Commissioner, but neither aspect addresses the specific recommendation to disaggregate race hate crime data by ethnicity for publication.
Home Office
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18 Conclusion Not Addressed
Third Report - The Macpherson Repo…
Social media companies' progress in tackling online racist crime and abuse remains too slow.
Social media companies and platforms need to do far more to tackle online racist crime, incitement and abuse. The Committee has been raising these issues with the major social media companies for four years and, while some changes have been … Read more
Government Response
The government's response did not directly address the committee's call for social media companies to do more to tackle online racist crime, focusing instead on existing government and police initiatives against hate crime.
Home Office
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20 Conclusion Not Addressed
Third Report - The Macpherson Repo…
Home Office and NPCC need new strategy for policing online hate crime.
Alongside the legislative and regulatory proposals that the Government is developing for social media companies, the Home Office and National Police Chiefs’ Council should draw up a new strategy for policing hate crime online including identifying the skills, training and … Read more
Government Response
The government did not commit to drawing up a new strategy for policing online hate crime. Instead, the response detailed existing measures such as the Hate Crime Action Plan, the True Vision reporting portal, and Operation Modify for digital skills training among police.
Home Office
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30 Recommendation Not Addressed
Third Report - The Macpherson Repo…
Agree minimum BME officer recruitment targets with constabularies to achieve 14% nationally by 2030.
We recommend that the Government agrees minimum targets for the recruitment of BME officers with each constabulary reflecting the respective composition of its local population, in order to achieve at least 14% of officers nationally by 2030. These should include … Read more
Government Response
The government acknowledges the need for representative police forces and details existing initiatives under the Police Uplift Programme, but does not commit to agreeing specific minimum targets for BME recruitment or a new national strategy with timelines and remedial measures.
Home Office
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31 Conclusion Not Addressed
Third Report - The Macpherson Repo…
Set clear, measurable race equality objectives for police forces, with annual performance reporting.
The Home Secretary must also set clear, measurable race equality objectives for individual police forces in relation to ethnic diversity, retention and progression, performance against which should be reported annually.
Government Response
The government highlights the ongoing Police Uplift Programme as its approach to increasing diversity and improving understanding of retention, but does not commit to the Home Secretary setting clear, measurable race equality objectives for individual police forces with annual reporting.
Home Office
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34 Recommendation Not Addressed
Third Report - The Macpherson Repo…
Require APCC to facilitate shared learning on race equality in police recruitment.
We recommend that the Association of Police and Crime Commissioners works with Police and Crime Commissioners (PCCs) to enable force level comparison, and shared learning from different PCCs’ approaches to addressing race equality in recruitment to the police service. Read more
Government Response
The government response reiterates its general commitment to police diversity through the Police Uplift Programme, which includes sharing best practice among forces, but it does not specifically address the recommendation for the Association of Police and Crime Commissioners to facilitate force-level comparison and shared learning among PCCs.
Home Office
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41 Recommendation Not Addressed
Third Report - The Macpherson Repo…
Mandate Home Office to investigate proposals broadening Equality Act tie-breaker provisions for recruitment.
The significance of representation for the legitimacy of the police, and for the Peel principle that the police are the public and the public are the police, means that the Home Office must ensure that all forces can make the … Read more
Government Response
The government reiterates its commitment to increasing diversity through the Police Uplift Programme, which involves attraction strategies, national campaigns for diverse audiences, and sharing best practice. However, it does not specifically address the recommendation to examine proposals for broadening positive action provisions or to explicitly affirm to forces that Chief Constables will be held accountable for recruitment progress.
Home Office
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50 Conclusion Not Addressed
Third Report - The Macpherson Repo…
Knife crime concerns fail to explain widespread racial disparities in stop and search.
We recognise the importance of the police being able to take action against knife crime, and their concern that victims and perpetrators of knife crime are disproportionately Black, but we also note that this does not explain the fact that … Read more
Government Response
The government defends the use of stop and search for tackling serious violence and highlights the importance of fair use and monitoring. However, it does not address the committee's specific finding that knife crime does not explain widespread racial disparities in stop and search.
Home Office
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51 Recommendation Not Addressed
Third Report - The Macpherson Repo…
Stop and search encounters are often alienating, lacking respect and de-escalation for individuals.
The manner in which police forces conduct stop and search is particularly important in determining how that stop will be perceived both by the individual who is searched and their wider community. We heard troubling examples of stops and searches … Read more
Government Response
The government defends the use of stop and search, stating that powers should be used fairly and properly. However, it offers no specific commitments or actions to improve the respectful manner or de-escalation of stop and search encounters.
Home Office
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52 Recommendation Not Addressed
Third Report - The Macpherson Repo…
Metropolitan Police's lockdown stop and search surge widened racial disparity and damaged confidence.
Stop and search needs to be used in a focused and targeted way. When it is not, it leads to injustice and to too many people being searched without good reason. The Metropolitan Police increased their use of stop and … Read more
Government Response
The government defends the use of stop and search and the need for fair use and monitoring, but does not address the recommendation for focused and targeted use or the specific criticism of the Metropolitan Police's past unfocused operations.
Home Office
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56 Conclusion Not Addressed
Third Report - The Macpherson Repo…
Many police forces fail to address or explain racial disparities in stop and search.
Police forces need to take very seriously their responsibility to address racial disparities in the way people are treated in their local communities. Too many forces are unable to explain the levels of racial disparities in their area and are … Read more
Government Response
The government's response largely discusses general support for stop and search and considering metrics for disproportionality as part of the Inclusive Britain report, but does not specifically address the recommendation for all forces to put systems in place for internal reviews of body worn video or to explicitly comply with HMICFRS recommendations on racial disparities.
Home Office
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80 Conclusion Not Addressed
Third Report - The Macpherson Repo…
Macpherson's concept of institutional racism remains vital for accountability over inequalities.
Thirdly, we note the different approaches to assessing “institutional racism”—the description in the Macpherson report, the six tests developed by Wendy Williams, the criteria proposed by the Sewell Commission, and the approach to assessing and tackling discrimination and racism within … Read more
Government Response
The government's response outlines past progress in policing reforms and diversity recruitment, and refers to the "Inclusive Britain" response for future actions to improve accountability, but does not directly address the committee's specific observations on the concept of institutional racism.
Home Office
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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