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A Metropolitan Police unit which has been plagued by incidents of racism from its officers is facing calls from one of the UK’s most prominent Black former policemen for an independent review to avert the potential for public disorder.
The appeal by Leroy Logan comes as Byline Times can reveal a white officer from the unit received “reflective practice” and “education”, after we reported last week that he used ‘racist’ emojis in a Met Police social media post – with a source telling this newspaper: “If he were Black, he would have been put on a disciplinary.”
The North Area Basic Command Unit (BCU) – which encompasses Enfield and Haringey, two of the most ethnically diverse areas of London – has a long history of racial incidents by its employees.
They include the jailing in 2021 of one of its officers for being a member of neo-Nazi terror group National Action, a detective who was last year allowed to keep her job despite sending racist WhatsApp messages about an Asian colleague, and a swastika which was daubed on the wall of a staff area of a police station not accessible to the public in 2019.
This newspaper can also reveal that the atmosphere at North Area BCU became so racially-charged last year that a “concerning” number of Black officers asked for a voluntary transfer due to the treatment they had received.
Now Mr Logan, a founding member and former chairman of the Black Police Association who was given an MBE for his work in advancing policing, has warned drastic action needs to be taken before it ends up creating public disorder.
Mr Logan – who grew up and served in the parts of North London served by the North Area BCU, experiencing police racism as a member of the public in the 1960s and 1970s and then as an officer in the 1980s and 1990s – told Byline Times: “During my career I fought overt racism and hoped that racism being displayed openly on a public forum by police officers would be banished to the past.
“When I was a PC the term ‘spade’ was regularly used by officers about Black people, but that stopped following the Macpherson Report 25 years ago, showing that things can change quickly if action is taken from the top.”
Mr Logan said he was “shocked” the officer responsible for the social media post received “such a nominal sanction which indicates what a toxic culture has been allowed to develop due to greatly reduced accountability” and added that it is “clear drastic action” needs to be taken to stem racist behaviour from officers in the unit.
“While I do not condone public disorder, it is impossible to discount the fact there is a direct correlation between racist policing and riots, as it can create an anti-police mindset among the public,” Mr Logan explained.
“I used to hear as a youngster in the ‘60s and ‘70s Black people I knew saying they wanted to take matters into their own hands due to what they perceived as racist policing, and I’m sure those conversations still go on today.”
Mr Logan said if management at North Area BCU “had a good grip on their officers these sort of issues wouldn’t happen, and until they do, they will continue to happen”.
“It needs good cops to call out the bad cops and grip the situation before it’s too late and people feel they have no choice but riot,” he said.
Mr Logan called for an urgent independent review of what’s been happening in North Area BCU, saying things must change “before things get worse”.
“Sadly, until The Met accepts it has a race problem – which stretches right back to the 1950s and has caused riots in Brixton, Notting Hill, Tottenham, and other areas – riots will keep happening.”
The Met apologised and reported one of its officers to professional standards after photographs were posted on MPS Enfield’s social media of Black men being stopped and searched.
Their identity had been disguised with an emoji of the ace of spades – a well-known racial epithet – which left the National Black Police Association (NBPA) “absolutely shocked”.
In an email sent to all North Area BCU staff and seen by Byline Times, the unit’s Commander Caroline Haines said she was “truly sorry” for the “upset and anger” caused by the post, “particularly to Black colleagues”.
But Ms Haines said it was “clear” that the offending officer had made a “mistake” as they had been “unaware of the historical connotation, and racist use” of the symbol, and that it had not been a “deliberate act with any racist…intent”.
The officer, Ms Haines said, had “received reflective practice…via training and education”. She went on to “reassure” staff with a “commitment to…build and maintain an anti-discriminatory organisation”.
The social media incident is the latest in long line of racist incidents at North Area BCU, which appears to be forcing Black officers to move on.
Last year around 10 officers submitted voluntary transfer requests to other BCUs due concerns around matters of racism.
A source at North Area BCU said: “The number of Black officers wanting to leave the unit in this number due to concerns around racism is very uncommon, and North Area BCU bosses had a meeting with them all, begging them to stay.”
Others considered leaving the job completely, but stayed after the “stay conversations” with their superiors.
The source added: “It is a BCU that is out of control in terms of racism by officers, and one that does not represent its diverse population. It should be a major concern to [Met Commissioner] Sir Mark Rowley.”
Responding to the criticism, Detective Superintendent Marco Bardetti said: “We know that a post which appeared on Enfield social media accounts caused offence and we apologised for this at the time.
“Once the post came to our attention, the BCU commander contacted all officers and staff based in Enfield and Edmonton to reiterate this apology and acknowledge the anger it had caused, as well as setting out the actions that had been taken and why.
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“We know these are not the standards that either the public or our officers expect. We are committed to becoming an organisation that is anti-discriminatory in all we do and we will be ruthless in identifying and removing those guilty of prejudice from the organisation.”
NBPA President Andy George said: “The Met Police say they have a zero tolerance approach to racism yet we continue to see white officers given the benefit of the doubt whilst Black and Asian officers are put through misconduct processes at a disproportionate rate.
“We have been supporting a number of officers on North Area BCU and will be visiting there again soon as it is a particular area of concern in The Met.”