Institutional racism became a mobilising concept in police reform in the united kingdom following the publication of the Stephen Lawrence Inquiry in 1999. While it continues to be utilised to highlight problematic police/community relationships, little attention has been paid to whether it works as a conceptual instrument for change.
The explanatory value of the concept has long been contested due to the ambiguities. Reflecting the noted absence of research in this area, there has been little exploration of the way the concept is interpreted and applied individuals charged with responding. Drawing on ethnographic research in the aftermath of the Inquiry, this newspaper sets in question the continuing usage of the concept as a lever for reform.
Empirical exploration shows that the conceptual limitations of the term possess significant operational implications. Even though the concept provoked a pressing reaction, its own central ambiguities confronted police services with profound difficulties in responding. At the same time, it inadvertently concentrated attention on internal police culture. Regardless of the Inquiry's intention that the term would divert attention away from a preoccupation with overt racism among police staff, this is where reform action was led. The concept not only neglected to direct attention to the dynamics of institutional discrimination however, through the action it succeeds, actually sustained them. Despite these limitations, the mobilising power of the concept could have instigated a subtle and pervasive series of shifts in organisational norms. A fresh strategy grounded in practice and also giving to conceptual accuracy is needed.