Police Scotland is a "racist institution", denounces its chief

Police Scotland is "institutionally racist" and "discriminatory", said Thursday its chief, Iain Livingstone, after a report on the functioning of the institution.

Police Scotland is under public inquiry after the death in police custody in 2015 of a 31-year-old black man. AP - Jon Super

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Institutional racism, sexism, misogyny and discrimination exist. Police Scotland is a racist and discriminatory institution," said Iain Livingstone. This blunt admission by Scotland's top police official comes as an independent investigation by the Scottish Police Authority (SPA), which oversees police work, published on Wednesday, found racist, misogynistic and homophobic acts or comments by police officers.

Police Scotland is under public inquiry after the death in police custody in 2015 of Sheku Bayoh, a 31-year-old black man, while he was physically restrained by six police officers in Kirkcaldy, north of Edinburgh. It was in front of his family that Iain Livingstone recognized the toxic culture within his ranks, reports our correspondent in London, Emeline Vin.

In early May, several former police officers denounced a culture of machismo at work at all levels of the police. The SPA report also notes the growing concern within the police about these practices. "We have heard of people being punished for raising issues or concerns, such as being removed from teams," it said.

Other police services involved

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It is essential to publicly acknowledge that these institutional problems exist within our organization, in order to promote equality and become an anti-racism force. " said Iain Livingstone on Thursday, while admitting that these problems exist beyond the police, and that this does not mean that every Scottish police officer is racist, homophobic or sexist. "There is no place in our ranks for those who do not respect our values," he insisted.

>> READ ALSO: London police accused of racism, sexism and institutional homophobia

Other police services, including that of the British capital, have also faced similar charges in recent years. In March, British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak called for a "top-to-bottom" reform of the Metropolitan Police in London after the revelation of similar facts in a report commissioned in 2021 after the murder of a young woman by police officer Wayne Couzens. He was sentenced to life in prison.

Since then, another officer, David Carrick, has also been sentenced to life in prison for dozens of rapes and sexual assaults, further compounding Britain's loss of trust in their police.

As early as 1999, London police were accused of racism for the way they conducted their investigation after the murder of a black teenager, Stephen Lawrence, in 1993.

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And with AFP)

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