The Metropolitan Police commissioner has admitted the London force has “let black communities down” in the 30 years since the murder of Stephen Lawrence.
“They feel over-policed and under-protected,” Sir Mark Rowley said, adding there are still “disproportionalities and systemic biases in our use of policing tactics and our support to victims of crime”.
Stephen Lawrence was murdered in a racist attack while waiting for a bus in Eltham, south-east London, on 22 April 1993.
Five men were arrested over the black teenager’s murder, but just two of his suspected killers – David Norris and Gary Dobson – were jailed, with three never prosecuted.
Both were given life sentences in 2012 after being found guilty of murder.
The bungled original investigation hampered by racism and alleged police corruption meant it took nearly 20 years for the convictions.
Commissioner Rowley said: “Thirty years on from Stephen’s murder, we offer our sympathies to the Lawrence family on their unimaginable loss. He was a dearly loved son and brother who was taken from them far too soon and in such senseless circumstances.
“Their dignified fight for justice, conducted in the pressure of the public eye with unwavering determination over so many years, continues to be a source of inspiration for us and so many.
“On behalf of the Metropolitan Police, I apologise again for our past failings which will have made the grief of losing a loved one all the more difficult to endure.”
A major review of the Metropolitan Police found last month that the force is institutionally racist, misogynist and homophobic in the wake of a series of scandals including the murder of Sarah Everard by serving officer Wayne Couzens, and Pc David Carrick being unmasked as a serial rapist.
Read more: Six of the worst scandals the force has faced in recent years
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Rowley refuses to admit Met Police is ‘institutionally racist’
This echoed the 1999 Macpherson Report on the murder of Mr Lawrence which originally branded the force institutionally racist over its handling of the case.
Commissioner Rowley said in the wake of the stark findings of the Casey Review, “it is now clear that we did not dig deep enough to confront the cultural and systemic failings that allow discrimination to propagate”.
“This failing has undermined the experience of our increasingly diverse workforce and compromised the trust of Londoners and our ability to protect them from crime,” he said.
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“We have let black communities down. They feel over-policed and under-protected. We are still not sufficiently representative of London, black officers and staff still face discrimination and are not always sufficiently supported to progress within the Met.
“There are disproportionalities and systemic biases in our use of policing tactics and our support to victims of crime.
“We are deeply sorry for these failings.”
He added: “The responsibility for righting those wrongs, restoring the relationship with those communities and supporting our black colleagues to succeed starts with those of us in positions of leadership but it continues through every rank and role in our organisation.
“I and the good majority of our officers are resolved to finally make the Met determinedly anti-racist and anti-discrimination of all kinds.”
