We are Better Together - Newsletter October 2022

By Teddy Burton, Chair of Gloucestershire's Community Legitimacy Panel

When, largely through the efforts of Sir Robert Peel as Home Secretary, the Metropolitan Police was established in 1829, the wages of constables were set at a rate comparable to that of an agricultural labourer. Additionally, constables were only armed with a truncheon, and with a rattle to summon help where necessary. Both those factors were aimed at ensuring the police remained ‘of the people’ and were not seen as an occupying force. It was recognised at the outset that it was important for policing to have legitimacy; not merely having the quality of being done according to law but also to be, and to be seen as, reasonable and acceptable in the eyes of the public. British policing, more widely, adopted this model and prides itself on ‘policing by consent’.

However, police legitimacy has come under increasing strain, especially in recent times. For decades, report after report has come to the same conclusion, that black people’s experience of policing in Britain needs to be improved. Black communities themselves have been telling anyone who would listen that ours is not the same experience as others. And that was reflected repeatedly in the low levels of confidence expressed in the police, lower than any other group. The problem is that not many people were listening. But when George Floyd was murdered in May 2020, by a police officer in the US, the sentiments around police violence towards black people and black men in particular, but also towards people from Asian and other ethnic minorities, resonated with communities in the UK, from the most populous cities to the remotest villages. The fact that we were in lockdown at the time enabled our fellow citizens from other backgrounds, who, but for the pandemic, may have otherwise been caught up in the daily bustle of life, to witness this traumatic event. The protests which followed showed the collective call of multicultural Britain for change here at home. The problem of diminishing legitimacy was becoming a problem the police would have to contend with beyond just black communities.

Recognising the need to urgently improve the experience of policing of ethnically diverse communities in Gloucestershire, the Community Legitimacy Panel (CLP) was launched in August 2020. The CLP seeks, within its terms of reference, to hold the Constabulary to account in relation to how it uses its powers towards people of Black, Asian, and Minority Ethnic backgrounds. We review the Constabulary’s work in a wide range of areas, from use of force to recruitment and progression and we make recommendations for policy and operational changes. The panel is comprised of about 20 outstanding, public service oriented individuals from a wide range of backgrounds including students, nurses, educators, lawyers, religious leaders, broadcasters and retired professionals.

Over the past two years, we have reviewed and made recommendations in matters relating to use of force and wrongful arrest, stop and search, body worn video cameras and how additional police powers were used during the height of the pandemic. We have also been active in a myriad of other areas; contributing to discussions at the most senior levels of the police through strategic development forums, hosting public meetings to encourage direct dialogue between the community and the police, engaging a barrister to advise the community on their rights when dealing with the police in various circumstances, seeking to improve relations between the police and the community through the Better Together community sports and fun day, among other activities.

The work of the CLP was cited by His Majesty’s Inspectorate of Constabulary and Fire & Rescue Services, in its 2021/2022 inspection report, as a significant contributor to Gloucestershire Constabulary’s rating as being good at engaging with and treating people with fairness and respect. Nevertheless, we recognise there is a huge deficit of trust and in standards of service to be made up between the police and some communities. That is why we remain resolute in our commitment to make policing in our county a model of good practice by ensuring it is fair, just and reasonable; that it has legitimacy in the eyes of all segments of the community and therefore, will be more likely to succeed in its stated aim of keeping the public safe. But the goal we pursue cannot be achieved with the work of the CLP alone. It is only possible with the input of all police officers and staff, being willing both to examine and remedy any personal biases, consciously or unconsciously held, and challenging such prejudices as may be observed in their colleagues. It will also require that members of the public, of whatever background, both support the legitimate work of the police and robustly challenge police conduct where it is disproportionate, unprofessional or even unlawful. As one senior police leader put it, ‘The work of the police is too important to be left to the police alone’. He is right. We each have our part to play in pursuit, not only of a better police service but also a better society. And we are at our moment to decide whether and how we will.

In the eloquent and timeless words of the poet, James Russell Lowell:

‘Once to every man and nation Comes the moment to decide, In the strife of truth and falsehood, For the good or evil side; Some great cause, God’s new Messiah, Off’ring each the bloom or blight, And the choice goes by forever Twixt that darkness and that light…

Though the cause of evil prosper, Yet ’tis truth alone is strong; Though her portion be the scaffold, And upon the throne be wrong: Yet that scaffold sways the future, And behind the dim unknown, Standeth God within the shadow Keeping watch above his own.’

Teddy Burton

(Chairman, Community Legitimacy Panel, Gloucestershire)

Interested in joining the CLP?

If you would like to join the panel, please email us or, email the Better Together Team and you will be sent the link with the full application details.