We are writing to ask the Inquiry to hear directly from victims of police racism, their families and supporters. We are also asking that the Inquiry’s brief be extended to explore the various ways in which police racism, which is compounded by sexism when the victim is a woman, perverts the course of justice.

The evidence of collusion between racist police and extreme racist criminals has been central to the Inquiry so far. The actions of the police in the murder of Stephen Lawrence cannot be seen in isolation. It must be compared to how the police have acted in other cases involving Black people, both as victims of racist violence and as defendants. Only then will the extent of police racism, its connection with racially motivated crime, and the implications for the lives of Black people and for everyone in society, begin to be acknowledged.

As Winston Silcott commented in The Observer (4 October 1998) when he was asked about Sir Paul Condon’s shocking denial that the Metropolitan Police is institutionally racist:

"While the Lawrence Inquiry was going on Condon complained about serious corruption in the Met. But what about racist corruption? What about the connection between the two? Those who attack Black people and those in the police who shield them or do their own attacking, have got the same attitude, the same thinking. If the police act like the BNP, then shouldn’t there be an inquiry into whether any of them are BNP? Most people who hold racist views are not violent like that.

"What if police were members of organisations like Combat 18 or BNP before they joined the force? These same people could use the fact that they are police as a cover to do whatever these organisations want done, holding Black people down and disadvantaged."

"Police racism regularly perverts the course of justice. The Lawrence Inquiry has been dealing with just a single issue, just a single case. And yet look at all that has come out. Police couldn’t make all those "mistakes" unless they were used to behaving this way. It can’t be down to a few rotten apples." [Our emphasis.]

We support the demand of a number of people, including the Movement for Justice, that victims of racist attacks and police racism, and their supporters be asked to give evidence in their own voice to the Inquiry so that their experiences are taken into account in the Inquiry’s recommendations. If the majority of those giving evidence are members of the establishment, professionals, and so-called race and legal experts, the recommendations they make may not represent what victims and their families want and need. How will the Inquiry get to the truth without hearing from those most deeply affected by racist violence, the police response to it, and racist police violence?

We would like to give evidence on how women who sustain families and are usually the driving force in justice campaigns are affected by police racism. We would also like to give evidence on the cases of two people: Rita Porter, a Black mother assaulted by police at a London Electricity showroom after being asked where she was from; and Winston Silcott, the victim of two miscarriages of justice who has been in prison for 12 years as a result of the most extreme racist demonisation by police and their associates in the media. We ask that both Ms Porter and Mr Silcott be called to give evidence.

It is also vital that Black women are heard at the Inquiry. Without women’s voices, much of what Black communities suffer in surviving racist violence and pursuing justice remains hidden. Some of the women who should be invited to give evidence are: Mrs Reel, the mother of Ricky Reel who was recently murdered by racists; Mrs Simpson, the mother of Joy Gardner who was killed by police and immigration officers; Mrs Bailey, the mother of Dwayne Brookes who narrowly escaped murder and witnessed the murder of his friend Stephen Lawrence while the police did nothing. The family of Ibrahima Sey, Rolan Adams, Rohit Dougal, Shiji Lapite, Wayne Douglas, Brian Douglas and Michael Menson should also be invited. The list, tragically, is long, far too long. Who is to blame for that?

It is urgent for the Inquiry to look further at how police racism, compounded by sexism in the case of Black women victims, and often also in the case of the mothers, sisters and wives of victims, fuels racially motivated violence, and undermines the right of Black people – of both African and Asian descent – to protection from this (and other) violence. Police racism and other biases determine what decisions are taken in a case, and who is and isn’t protected, who is and isn’t arrested. In many cases police racism has determined the outcome of cases – the case of Winston Silcott is one among others.

The Lawrence family and Dwayne Brookes have given evidence of how the police treated them like criminals rather than victims. There have been many cases where victims of racist attacks have ended up arrested, charged and even imprisoned. Satpal Ram is serving a life sentence for defending himself against those who attacked him. The Inquiry should hear from Satpal Ram and others like him.

As the public presence at the Inquiry testifies, it is not only Black people who are affected by and concerned about police racism. Many Black people have white mothers or other white relatives, colleagues, neighbours and friends who have been deeply upset by what they have seen and heard at the Inquiry. However widespread racism is in society, most white people would not stand by and let a Black teenager bleed to death while another teenager is frantically asking for help, as happened when Stephen Lawrence was stabbed to death. Most importantly, as Mr Silcott has pointed out in his comment on Sir Paul Condon’s evidence, "unlike the ordinary white person who holds racist views, police are in a position where they have the power to ruin people’s lives."

Anti-racist women and men know only too well that there is no safety or justice for anyone unless those of us who are most vulnerable to violence are protected. Those of us who are Irish and/or immigrant and/or have a criminal record have also been the victims of police violence: many people who die in custody or have suffered miscarriages of justice are Irish or of Irish descent. The implementation of clear and uncompromising recommendations against police racism would begin to undermine all discrimination by police and other branches of the establishment against working class people of every race. It would also strengthen those police officers, starting with Black officers, who are hostile to racism in their ranks.

We welcome the decision to hold public Inquiry meetings in different locations in and outside London. But some people have expressed concern that the police presence at these meetings is discouraging victims, their families and members of the public who may have themselves experienced police racism, from attending. People have also raised that the hearings should be more widely advertised.

On the question of your recommendations, we wish to make clear that:

the police are trained to gather evidence;

the police are trained to give first aid;

the police are trained to apprehend and charge those who beat, maim or murder.

Yet in the case of Stephen Lawrence (and in many other cases) they did not do these things. Would education or training on anti-racism teach them not to let Black people bleed to death? Natural human compassion "trains" the rest of us. Therefore a recommendation that the police should get more money for training to solve the problem of police racism would be outrageous, wilfully distorting the meaning of the evidence that we have all heard. It would again dismiss the suffering and insult the intelligence of people who have been the victims, one way or another, of all kinds of police prejudice and discrimination.

Unless racist police are disciplined and prosecuted, all that training would do is to teach the police what language and PR they need to disguise their racism. It would be a travesty of justice if the recommendations of this Inquiry increased the budget and powers of the Metropolitan Police at the expense of increasing their accountability to the public.

Victims of police illegality, racism and other forms of violence, have complained over and over again that the major problem with the police is that they are never made to answer for their crimes: they are not prosecuted, they are not sacked, they are rarely even disciplined. When the wrong-doings of particular officers become an embarrassment to the force, those officers take early retirement with full pension. This is a formula for high ranking officers to ensure that racism continues and spreads from top to bottom.

We support the demand of Doreen and Neville Lawrence that Sir Paul Condon should resign. Any policeman who claims that Black people are guilty of 80% of muggings should be asked to resign on the grounds of racism. We add the demand that the Police Complaints Authority, which could not find any racism in the investigation of the murder of Stephen Lawrence, should be disbanded and reformed to become a truly independent authority.

We also object to the attempt made by some officers at the Inquiry to blame children for racist attacks. Again, it would be a travesty of justice if an Inquiry into the police handling of racist attacks were to make children as young as 10 responsible for racist violence while police who do little or nothing to stop, prevent or even record such violence are let off the hook. Given Sir Paul Condon’s racist view of young Black people, the police must not be allowed to use anti-racism as an excuse to gain further access to schools, youth centres and other places where young people congregate. Otherwise Black children and anyone else the police may consider ‘troublemakers’ will continue to be criminalised while violent racists are protected.

The Inquiry must hear directly from victims of police racism, their families and supporters.

Black women must be heard. Without women’s voices, much of what Black families and communities suffer in surviving racist violence and pursuing justice remains hidden.

The Inquiry’s brief should be extended to explore the various ways in which police racism, which is compounded by sexism when its victim is a woman, perverts the course of justice.

The Inquiry must look into evidence of collusion between extreme racist criminals and racist police and any connections between officers and any racist extremists, from being members or supporters of a group to using extreme racists as paid informers.

The Inquiry must also hear from people who have been criminalised for defending themselves against racist attacks.

We agree with the 1990 Trust that legal aid should be available for civil and class actions as well as inquests against abuses of power by police.

Clear and uncompromising recommendations against police racism would begin to undermine all discrimination by police and other branches of the establishment against working class people of every race. They would also strengthen those police, starting with Black officers, who are hostile to racism in their ranks. Such recommendations must include the prosecution, sacking and/or withdrawal of pension of all high ranking officers involved in investigating the murder of Stephen Lawrence, and the resignation of Sir Paul Condon.

Recommendations must not result in increased police powers and budgets at the expense of increased accountability to the public. This would be a travesty of justice and an insult to the public which has attended, given evidence to and paid for this Inquiry.

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