Police chief pledges to tackle racism within force

Temporary Chief Constable Maggie Blyth said tackling racism within her force remains "an absolute priority"

Gloucestershire Police's temporary Chief Constable has acknowledged that racism still exists within the force.

T/CC Maggie Blyth met the public at a community engagement forum in Gloucester on Thursday, and answered questions the force's performance.

Among concerns raised about racism, a lack of professionalism and worries over hate crimes, there was some praise for neighbourhood policing.

The acting head of the force said she recognised the importance of responding to feedback in order to maintain public trust in the force to "protect and keep people safe".

The forum, which was jointly hosted by the independent Community Legitimacy Panel (CLP) and Gloucestershire Police, was attended by dozens of people from across the county, and held at the Church of God of Prophecy on Melbourne Street East.

One of the questions posed was whether racism existed within the force - T/CC Blyth accepted that it did, based on conversations with colleagues, the National Black Police Association and members of the public.

She added while the force still has a long way to go, tackling racism remained "an absolute priority".

The event provided members of the public with the opportunity to pose questions directly to T/CC Blyth, as well as other senior members of the force

Members of the public also claimed armed officers sometimes showed a "lack of respect" when responding to incidents.

In response, T/CC Blyth said she would work hard to ensure all force employees carried out their work with respect, empathy and professionalism.

Some of the people who attended the meeting praised the work of the Neighbourhood Policing Team for their efforts in building and maintaining "strong relationships with all communities".

The panel, which included other senior officers, was also told how victims of hate crime often lack the confidence their report would be investigated.

T/CC Blyth said she recognised people sometimes find it difficult to report crimes for a variety of reasons, but wanted to reassure any victim of hate crime they would be taken seriously.

'Words and actions'

"It's so important for police services to listen to their communities, take on board any concerns they may have and positively respond with both words and actions to them," T/CC Blyth said.

"If we don't, we will inevitably have a negative impact on levels of public trust and confidence in our service; in our ability to protect and keep people safe; to investigate any crimes people have had the misfortune of being victims of; and to act with the highest standards of professionalism and integrity."

She was appointed to the role following the suspension of former Chief Constable Rod Hansen after allegations of gross misconduct.