Neil Basu, head of counter-terrorism in Scotland Yard, highlighted his Indian origin in a message to police officers across the UK on the issue of George Floyd’s killing, insisting that “we are not the same” as the US and described ‘taking a knee’ as a powerful symbol.
The senior-most police officer in the UK from the ethnic minority community, Basu recalled the issues he faced when he joined the police in 1992. Things had since improved, but there is still a long way to go on diversity, he said.
Noting that the death of Floyd had horrified many, Basu said he would not criticise his colleagues in the US, but highlighted the differences between the UK and US: in structure, law, government and most importantly, culture.
“We are not the same, because unlike America, we overwhelmingly police by consent, and not by force”, referring to the principle of ‘policing by consent’ and its nine strands of policing first issued in 1829 when Robert Peel was the home secretary.
“And so we cannot directly compare policing in the UK to that of our counterparts in the USA. But what we are seeing in America, and here in the UK, too, is anger directed not just at police brutality but the racial bias built into the very fabric of our institutions and society”, he added.
Urging colleagues to view the legitimate anger over Floyd’s death with nuance and care, Basu said the overwhelming majority showing solidarity with Floyd and what his death represents “have a point. We need to listen to our communities, and our people, and focus on what we in the UK can do better”.
Floyd’s death has sparked large protests in the UK, besides providing the tipping point for long-held anger over racism, its history and continuing symbols such as statues of slave traders. The statue of one of the major traders, Edward Colston, was pulled down in Bristol on Sunday, with the local police defending not taking action to prevent it.
Basu added: “Taking a knee was and is a powerful symbol of challenge and hope, and I was moved to see some of our officers do so. But personally I see this as a time to stand up – stand up to racists, to inequality and injustice”.
“We can be better than this, and we must be better than this. There can be no better sight than watching people of many different faiths, nationalities and colour, standing together in peace against injustice”.