Policing in Britain has \u201cadopted the language of activism\u201d and official guidance has \u201cover-corrected\u201d to combat accusations of racism, one of the UK\u2019s most senior officers has said.<\/p>\n
Sir Stephen Watson, the chief constable of Greater Manchester<\/a> police, said he did not believe that \u201ctwo-tier policing\u201d existed or that forces were biased against white people.<\/p>\n Police had, however, allowed that perception to take hold in part as a result of anti-racism guidance that advised officers to treat suspects differently depending on their ethnicity.<\/p>\n Watson said the official guidance, produced by the National Police Chiefs\u2019 Council (NPCC) in 2025, should be reviewed after the murder of Henry Nowak<\/a>, whose treatment by officers prompted riots in Southampton and accusations of two-tier policing from Nigel Farage and the Trump administration.<\/p>\n \u201cParticularly in the light of the tragic murder of Henry Nowak, I do understand that this idea that two-tier policing takes place is now widespread,\u201d he said. \u201cI don\u2019t think it\u2019s justified, but I can understand where it\u2019s coming from.\u201d<\/p>\n Watson, who is tipped as the potential successor to Sir Mark Rowley as the head of the Metropolitan police, said forces must be \u201ca little less timid about making sure we emphasise our impartiality\u201d.<\/p>\n He said policing had \u201cin some cases over-corrected\u201d in official guidance which has \u201callowed the impression to take hold that we\u2019re not policing without fear or favour\u201d.<\/p>\n \u201cI think we have some lessons to learn \u2026 Perhaps we have been uncritical in adopting certain elements of language. We\u2019ve adopted the language of activism,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n \u201cWe\u2019ve sometimes taken on board what are challenged concepts and we\u2019ve written those into policy and intent \u2013 all with the best of reasons \u2013 but these issues then get held up almost as exhibit X, as the proof that we do not treat people equally.\u201d<\/p>\n After criticism in the wake of Nowak\u2019s murder, the NPCC is reviewing its 2025 \u201canti-racism commitment\u201d, which states that officers should \u201crespond to individuals and communities according to their specific needs, circumstances and experiences, with understanding that these will be racialised and with the aim of reducing harm. It does not mean treating everyone \u2018the same\u2019 or being \u2018colour blind\u2019 (racial equality)\u201d.<\/p>\n The policing minister, Sarah Jones, said earlier this month it was important to be \u201cmindful of the fact that there has been a history of racism in policing\u201d but called the guidance wrong.<\/p>\n Watson has been called Britain\u2019s \u201canti-woke\u201d police chief after he instructed officers not to take the knee during Black Lives Matters protests in 2021 because it would undermine impartiality. He said he would \u201cprobably kneel before the queen, God and Mrs Watson, that\u2019s it\u201d.<\/p>\n Speaking to reporters in Stockport, Watson said forces should not \u201cuse the language of being anti-racist\u201d because it implies officers have \u201csome activist role\u201d.<\/p>\n \u201cOf course we\u2019re fiercely opposed to racism but we\u2019re the police,\u201d he said. \u201cWe are not activists. If we overstep \u2026 this is what then informs the public perception of two-tier policing.\u201d<\/p>\n Watson was appointed chief constable of England\u2019s second largest police force in 2021 after Greater Manchester police was put into special measures<\/a> over a series of scandals in which a fifth of crimes went unrecorded.<\/p>\n