The Reason Why The Macpherson Report Was Such A Poisonous Legacy…

From an article in (where else?) the ‘Guardian’:

In this country we waste an awful lot of talent. Bright children from second-, third- or even fourth-generation (black) families from the former colonies are too often denied the equal opportunities that are offered to their white schoolmates.

A flat statement of fact, with no supporting evidence for what he claims at all.

Right, I see where this is going…

But what of the police as employers of minorities? They are, after all, major employers, and probably the largest apprenticeship scheme in the UK. In 2009...I asked the Met's head of human resources how many GCSEs one needed to sign up as a probationary police officer. He had to send his staff officer to find out. Both were startled at the answer. None. The applicant had to pass (a very simple) literacy and numeracy test, and they were in.

Well, great! So black kids have an equal chance of being morons and getting into the police force as white kids!

/facepalm

But apparently, having entry requirements that my cat could probably pass still isn’t enough for this chap. These kids need more help, damn it!

Unlike the army, police services don't have an Army Educational Corps (as they did when I did national service). That is a serious weakness that must be corrected if we want sharp-thinking officers serving us.

Officers like PC Jasbir Dhanda, perhaps? Or the likes of Ali Dizai?

Police services, however, do deserve genuine praise for recent improvements in dealing with discrimination in employment. Women now occupy senior posts in numbers that would have been unthinkable 13 years ago.

Yes, yes, they do. Sterling officers like, say, Cressida Dick! Truly, a momentous leap forwards, eh?

In the wake of such a damning inquiry, I would have expected to see a broad wave of black officers at or above the level of commander, as is the wave of women there now.

Would you? Because, frankly, I’d rather have good men and women in the top job, regardless of colour.

Tokenism just gets you more Cressidas, more Alis, and a pervading feeling for the ones who aren’t like Cressida or Ali that they only got where they were because of what they are, not who they are…

In relation to police forces as employers, the Lawrence inquiry recommended "a ministerial priority" that should include "performance indicators in relation to levels of recruitment, retention and progression of minority ethnic recruits … with the overall aim of elimination of racism, prejudice and disadvantage in its demonstration of fairness in all aspects of policing".

A recipe for utter failure, and one of the reasons the police force is so utterly debased and discredited today.

Enough of this anger-creating suppression of the hopes and opportunities of people from black backgrounds. My message to white (mainly) men (like me), who have the power to discriminate is this: just stop doing it.

And who is this cretin, you ask?

Why, this is who he is:

Dr Richard Stone was a panel member of the Stephen Lawrence inquiry as an adviser to the judge, Sir William Macpherson, and the author in 2009 of Stephen Lawrence Review: an independent commentary to mark the 10th anniversary of the Stephen Lawrence Inquiry.

And now you know why MacPherson was such a travesty.

How could it be otherwise, with people this blinkered and self-admittedly partisan on it?