Police watchdog says officers ‘must listen to concerns’ over racism as George Floyd protests continue

British police must respond to “real and growing concerns” about racism within their forces, the head of the police watchdog has said.

The comments from Michael Lockwood, the director general of the Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC), came as thousands of demonstrators gathered in Birmingham to protest over the death of 46-year-old African American George Floyd in Minneapolis.

Writing for the Independent today, Mr Lockwood said it was “incumbent on the wider police service to listen and respond to the concerns being raised”.

“Right now, communities in the UK are expressing real and growing concerns about disproportionality,” he added.

Mr Lockwood added that the IOPC, which oversees complaints made against forces in England and Wales, had highlighted heightened concerns a fortnight ago about officers' use of Taser and was now receiving complaints regarding other policing measures, too.

"We are also hearing concerns about stop and search and, most recently, fines issued during lockdown being disproportionate to black people," he said.

“There must be more research to understand issues of disproportionality, as well as assurance and scrutiny around tactics like use of force and stop and search."

He went on: "Police officers have significant powers that can impact on people’s liberty and lives.

"In the UK, our model of policing is based on consent. With this must come accountability. It is vital that the public have confidence that those powers are not abused."

Separately on Thursday some 4,000 “loud and passionate” protesters gathered in Birmingham as part of a Black Lives Matter (BLM) demonstration, following protests in London the day before.

Protesters in Birmingham on Thursday afternoon “made their voices clearly heard”, police said, but there were no arrests and no disorder.

Crowds gathered in the city’s Centenary Square, where a silence was observed in memory of Mr Floyd, who died after a white officer held him down by pressing a knee into his neck in Minneapolis on May 25.

Hs death has sparked mass and widespread protest in cities throughout the United States.

Demonstrators, many wearing protective face masks, had been due to congregate in nearby Victoria Square but moved to the larger area to aid social distancing.

Several hundred people then headed to an area outside West Midlands Police’s Lloyd House HQ, where many of them knelt or sat in the road with their fists raised.

Over the past month the IOPC has begun nine investigations into West Midlands Police connected to alleged excessive use of force on black men following six separate incidents. Two officers have meanwhile been suspended.

The demonstration in Birmingham came after pockets of protesters clashed with police as thousands of people flooded into central London and abandoned social distancing for a BLM demonstration on Wednesday.

After a largely peaceful demonstration in Hyde Park, during which Star Wars actor John Boyega gave an impassioned speech, tensions later escalated outside Downing Street.

The Metropolitan Police said 13 people were arrested during the protests, which ran into the early hours of Thursday morning.

Read more

UK diplomats raise arrest of British journalists with US government

Moving scenes from Trafalgar Square as BLM protesters take the knee

George Floyd could be us, Lammy says, as he urges UK to 'make noise'