IF, on the one hand, visiting the West can be exciting, it can also be terribly depressing, on the other hand. During my first visit to England in 1985, I felt like Alice in Wonderland. I was mesmerised with Heathrow airport and its state-of-the-art technology, décor and comforts. I found England bewitching and fascinating.

But subsequent visits enabled me to learn of the stark reality behind the quality of life of the West. There are innumerable aspects of lives in the West that we all need to peep into. But today allow me to transport you into just one, that is, the minds of the British police.

This force is known for instilling confidence and a sense of security in the minds of the British people, but the racist attitude of White policemen towards the Blacks can never be buried. And, today, this attitude is visible even towards their colleagues, who are from the ethnic minorities.

The first tremors of racism within the British police force that had rocked England came in the form of the Macpherson report. Macpherson had very categorically pointed out that White policemen were largely racist towards their own colleagues. He had also observed that discrimination against the Black police personnel in promotions existed beyond doubt. Soon after the Macpherson report, Professor Ellis Cashmore of Staffordshire University has come out with yet another report on this issue.

Findings of Cashmore are an eye-opener. He quotes an African Caribbean officer’s account of his first day on duty. "My senior took my papers and began flicking through them. He then looked up at me and said, ‘At last! A Black officer who can read.’ I had never thought of myself as Black. I have only learnt to be Black ever since I joined the police."

Here are some of the quotes of White police officers against their Black colleagues as reported in the Cashmore report:

An Asian officer has stated, "My White colleagues often use derogatory language in my presence. For instance, they saw a young man driving rashly and said, ‘Oh, he is not really Black, he is one of us.’ They use such a language as if we are not listening."

A Black woman police officer has recounted how a sergeant made a mock warrant card. "He had this cartoon of a gorilla in the slot where the picture of the wanted is pasted. And he thought it was hysterical. He showed it to all of us and every body had great fun at a Black being equated with a gorilla."

Another Black police officer has narrated an incident in which a White police officer purposely wore a fancy dress that was styled to make him look like a rabbit. The officer entered the cell of a Black suspect and beat him up. Later he boasted that if the suspect would complain against him in the court and describe the police officer in the rabbit’s outfit, nobody would believe him. "All of us (Black police personnel) have to put up with this kind of racist attitude being exercised. They use words like ’Nigger’, ‘Paki bitch’ and ‘Black bastard’ in front of us as if we are deaf."

The Home Office of the UK funded a study in 1990 in which Simon Holdaway and Anne-Marri Barron discovered that White colleagues often attributed negative characteristics derived from racial stereotypes to minority officers. "Black and Asian officers were frequently identified with perceived characteristics of whole ethnic groups."

The Home Office research report concluded, "Asian officers were more likely than the White officers to have A-levels and graduate qualifications, yet took longer to reach the rank of both Sergeant and Inspector."

Similarly, Lord Dholakia, who chaired the National Association for the Care and Resettlement of Offenders, has attacked the British police for its "Whites only" monopoly of the upper ranks. He has stated that the Black and Asian officers have "not a hope in hell" of reaching the post of chief constable by progressing through the ranks.

Do the police personnel belonging to the ethnic minorities protest against racism? No, largely, they do not, mentions Professor Cashmore in his report. An Asian officer puts it simply, "You alienate yourself if you say anything against racism in the force." Most minority officers are career-oriented and believe that speaking against racism will come in the way of their promotions.

Cashmore has underlined a few reasons that might be the cause of under representation of people belonging to ethnic minorities in the British police. The reasons enlisted below have been based on interviews:

a) All Asian parents want their kids to be doctors or lawyers and rate police service quite low from a career point of view.

b) African-Caribbean youth often face opposition from their peers if they join the police force.

(c) Most ethnic minority recruits get a rude shock when they realise that many White colleagues harbour racist views.

(d) Ethnic minorities are aware that there are restricted opportunities of promotions for them within the British police, which acts as a deterrent to their joining the force.

(e) "You are not going to get more young Blacks or Asians joining the police until they have more of a stake in society. It is like a Tebbit test about whether you support the Indian or Pakistani or West Indies cricket team when they play against England. Many Asians and Blacks born and brought up in England do not view this country as their own."

Macpherson in his report pointed out that incredibly low recruitment of ethnic minorities into the police had resulted in continuation of racist attitude amongst the White police officers. In response to his report, the then Home Secretary, Jack Straw, had announced impressive targets (in 1999) to recruit people from ethnic minorities into the police. However, these targets have remained unfulfilled.

Meanwhile, emboldened by the Macpherson report, many ethnic minority police officers have taken their racist colleagues to the courts and have had justice delivered in their favour.

Professor Cashmore’s recommendations include that the British police be urged "to develop strategies for dealing with racism and ethnic affairs and that the strategies should be devised in consultation with the National Black Police Association, which would also be involved in the process of monitoring the results".