Why Do Black Officers In This Country Stay Despite Discrimination And Abuse?

police box - hanging on the wall
Zain Murdock
January 27, 2023

In January 2023, news broke of white Metropolitan cop David Carrick admitting to misconduct that ran nearly 20 years, including more than 24 rapes. Soon after came another admission: Britain's Black cops, much like the U.S., are witnesses to a culture of sexual abuse and racism.

Black officers have said that reporting rape results in verbal abuse and the assaulted women being forced to work with the same officers they reported. That, in combination with the force's routine racial discrimination, left some feeling suicidal. 

But this culture isn't new. It's rooted in history.

London got its first Black officer in 1967. He was met with constant and severe harassment but chalked his survival up to resilience. 

In the 90s, the first openly gay Black officer was a diversity and inclusion trainer. He, too, said he struggled with suicidal thoughts after misconduct, including his white colleagues painting his face white.

Today, more than 50% of Britain's Black cops reported suffering racist workplace incidents. 66% considered leaving policing as a career. Why didn't they? 

40% said it's because they want to change the system from the inside.

But is that possible when the purpose of policing is anti-Blackness? What would happen if people with hopes for change redirected that energy into our communities instead?

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