BRIG and APA to Launch the Country’s First Black Policing Charter

On Wednesday 22nd April, the eighth annual Stephen Lawrence Day, the community  gathered at the BRIG Café to contribute to the launch of something bigger— the Birmingham Black Policing Charter.  

The session, hosted by Lee Jasper, (Chair of the Alliance for Police Accountability) and Lorna Shaw, (BRIG’s Interim Chief Executive), brought together community members alongside colleagues from the Police and Crime Commissioner’s Office and West Midlands Police. 

The Charter is a joint initiative between Birmingham Race Impact Group (BRIG), the Alliance for Police Accountability (APA), Action for Race Equality (ARE) and the West Midlands Police and Crime Commissioner’s Office (OPCC). It seeks to strengthen trust, accountability and understanding between Black communities and the police. At its core, the charter asks the key question — what does policing by consent of the Black community look like? Yet, this session did not aim to present finished answers. It sought to start a conversation surrounding how the Charter should take shape.

After a short introduction about the Charter’s purpose, the session opened up for discussion. Participants shared their experiences, frustrations and hopes regarding the current state of policing. 

Some spoke about a lack of transparency and cultural sensitivity in their interactions with the police. Others reflected on the impact of austerity and how stretched resources have changed the nature of neighbourhood policing, while others highlighted the widespread apathy present within the Black community. The group recognised that rebuilding— or building— trust and meaningful channels of communication will not be a straightforward process. 

Police representatives and colleagues from the OPCC spoke openly about the challenges they face, acknowledging difficult issues and reflecting on the concerns that were voiced in the room. There was also recognition of steps already being taken, including high levels of compliance with body-worn camera usage across West Midlands Police. 

Simultaneously, the conversation surfaced more challenging reflections, including an acknowledgement that not all officers recognise how their behaviours may be perceived and experienced by others, and the impact that this has on communication and trust.

What stood out was the tone of the discussion. It was challenging and emotionally charged, yet profoundly open and honest. There was a shared insistence that things must change; “the time is now” was a sentiment echoed several times. 

Birmingham’s status as the youngest city in Europe, with a 51% ethnic minority population, was regularly referenced as a source of local pride. The Charter aims to reflect this reality, instigating an inclusive and accountable approach to policing.  

As Lorna Shaw, Interim Chief Executive of BRIG summarised

"Meeting on Stephen Lawrence Day is not coincidental. It connects this work to a longer history of questions about trust, accountability, and policing that remain important today.

When I worked on the Birmingham Stephen Lawrence Commission over 20 years ago, there was a clear call to forge a different kind of relationship between Black communities and policing, one rooted in the idea of policing as a service, not simply a force.

Many of the issues identified then still resonate today. This is an important moment to address long-standing concerns and to ensure that accountability is not just discussed but built into how this work develops.

Communities are clear that consultation without meaningful change is no longer enough.

This process must lead to something different."

The session marked the start of something different.

That evening, Lorna Shaw addressed the community at the OPCC Stephen Lawrence memorial event, hosted by Bringing Hope in Handsworth, Birmingham. As community members remembered Stephen Lawrence, they similarly expressed a desire for positive change, with many attendees offering support for the Charter.

On the 21st May, BRIG and APA will launch the inaugural meeting of the Birmingham Black Policing Charter Steering Group, an event that we encourage all members of the community to be involved in. In the words of APA Chair Lee Jasper, “there has never been a better time to pull together the nation’s first Black Policing Charter through the power of deliberative democracy”.