Ray Powell (police officer)

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Inspector Ray Powell is a senior British Police Officer who held the position of President of the National Black Police Association from September 2003 to November 2005. [1]

Law enforcement in the United Kingdom National law enforcement of the U.K.

Law enforcement in the United Kingdom is organised separately in each of the legal systems of the United Kingdom: England and Wales, Northern Ireland and Scotland. Most law enforcement is carried out by police officers serving in regional police services within one of those jurisdictions. These regional services are complemented by UK-wide agencies, such as the National Crime Agency and the national specialist units of certain territorial police forces, such as the Specialist Operations directorate of the Metropolitan Police.

Police officer warranted employee of a police force

A police officer, also known as an officer, policeman, policewoman, cop/copper, garda, police agent, or a police employee is a warranted law employee of a police force. In most countries, "police officer" is a generic term not specifying a particular rank. In some, the use of the rank "officer" is legally reserved for military personnel.

Powell joined the South Yorkshire Police Service in 1984, [2] and was based at police headquarters in Snigg Hill, Sheffield, serving for eighteen years and rising to the rank of sergeant before being elected as deputy general secretary of the NBPA in November 2002. [3] Powell subsequently took up the presidency when the previous holder left. [3] In this post he represented 3,000 black staff across the country and helped to formulate policies affecting police forces nationally. [3] At the time of his appointment he said:

South Yorkshire Police

South Yorkshire Police is the territorial police force responsible for policing South Yorkshire in England. The Chief Constable of the force since July 2016 is Steven Watson.

Sheffield City and Metropolitan borough in England

Sheffield is a city and metropolitan borough in South Yorkshire, England. Historically part of the West Riding of Yorkshire, its name derives from the River Sheaf, which runs through the city. With some of its southern suburbs annexed from Derbyshire, the city has grown from its largely industrial roots to encompass a wider economic base. The population of the City of Sheffield is 577,800 (mid-2017 est.) and it is one of the eight largest regional English cities that make up the Core Cities Group. Sheffield is the third-largest English district by population. The metropolitan population of Sheffield is 1,569,000.

In October 2003, a month after assuming the presidency, and following the failure of talks over the reinstatement of suspended Superintendent Ali Dizaei, Powell called for a boycott of Metropolitan Police recruitment campaigns, warning that the NBPA could not encourage black and Asian recruits to join a force that practised racial discrimination. [4] Dizaei was subsequently reinstated. [5]

Jamshid Ali Dizaei is a former Commander in London's Metropolitan Police Service, Iranian-born with dual nationality, and formerly one of Britain's more senior Muslim police officers. Dizaei came to prominence as a result of his outspoken views on racial discrimination in the London Metropolitan Police and various allegations of malpractice on his part. He had received advancement after his criticism of the force following his claims of racism. He was a frequent media commentator on a variety of issues, mainly concerned with ethnicity and religion. In April 2008, he was promoted to Commander, responsible for West London.

Powell also urged that an undercover BBC reporter who investigated racism among police recruits in Cheshire should not be prosecuted. [6] In the event, the Crown Prosecution Service decided there was insufficient evidence to proceed with the case against the so-called 'secret policeman'. [7]

The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) is a British public service broadcaster. Its headquarters are at Broadcasting House in Westminster, London, and it is the world's oldest national broadcasting organisation and the largest broadcaster in the world by number of employees. It employs over 20,950 staff in total, 16,672 of whom are in public sector broadcasting. The total number of staff is 35,402 when part-time, flexible, and fixed-contract staff are included.

Cheshire Constabulary

Cheshire Constabulary is the territorial police force responsible for policing the English unitary authorities of Cheshire East, Cheshire West and Chester, Halton and Warrington. The force is responsible for policing an area of 946 square miles (2,450 km2) with a population of roughly 1 million.

Crown Prosecution Service United Kingdom government non-ministerial department

The Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) is the principal public prosecuting agency for conducting criminal prosecutions in England and Wales. It is headed by the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP).

In August 2004 Powell described complaints from white officers that they had been rejected for promotion in favour of black or Asian officers as 'the whining of a few unsuccessful white officers trying to test the system'. His remark was prompted by the revelation that nearly half the race discrimination cases outstanding against the Met had been brought by white officers. [8] 'If you ask anybody in the police what positive action is,' Powell argued, 'they would not have a clue: therefore they interpret it as positive action against them.' [9]

In March 2005 Powell told Police Review that officers who were 'diversity opportunists' posed as much danger to the service as 'overt' racists. Referring to diversity training, Powell claimed that problem staff in middle management were either 'diversity opportunists' who used diversity training as a 'badge' for their career enhancement, or 'postmodern racists' who would 'use the system' against ethnic minority staff, by only paying lip-service to the diversity agenda. [10]

Powell is currently the Head of Operational Equality Diversity Human Rights for the National Policing Improvement Agency, with the rank of Inspector. [2]

At the time of his appointment as NBPA president, Powell lived in Sheffield and was a married father of two. [3]

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References

  1. ↑ A different perspective, Police - The Voice of the Service (November 2005). Retrieved 20 January 2009.
  2. 1 2 JCI Barnsley Business Lecture 2007, JCI. Retrieved 20 January 2009.
  3. 1 2 3 4 5 Lyn Barton, 'Sergeant takes big role in police', Yorkshire Post (11 April 2002).
  4. ↑ Met faces black police boycott, BBC News, 8 October 2003. Retrieved 20 January 2009.
  5. ↑ Dizaei probe 'seriously flawed', BBC News, 16 June 2004. Retrieved 20 January 2009.
  6. ↑ Black police praise racism exposé, BBC News, 23 October 2003. Retrieved 20 January 2009.
  7. ↑ CPS advises no prosecution in case of undercover BBC reporter, Crown Prosecution Service, 4 November 2003. Retrieved 20 January 2009.
  8. ↑ 'White officers claim racism', The Sunday Times (22 August 2004), p. 26.
  9. ↑ 'Society: Quotes of the week', The Guardian (25 August 2004), p. 4.
  10. ↑ 'Lip service to diversity; Police', The Times (22 March 2005), p. 7.
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