Ray Powell (police officer)
Encyclopedia
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.
Powell joined the South Yorkshire Police Service
in 1984, 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. Powell subsequently took up the presidency when the previous holder left. In this post he represented 3,000 black staff across the country and helped to formulate policies affecting police forces nationally. At the time of his appointment he said:
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. Dizaei was subsequently reinstated.
Powell also urged that an undercover BBC
reporter who investigated racism among police recruits in Cheshire
should not be prosecuted. In the event, the Crown Prosecution Service
decided there was insufficient evidence to proceed with the case against the so-called 'secret policeman'.
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. '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.'
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.
Powell is currently the Head of Operational Equality Diversity Human Rights for the National Policing Improvement Agency
, with the rank of Inspector.
At the time of his appointment as NBPA president, Powell lived in Sheffield and was a married father of two.
Police officer
A police officer is a warranted employee of a police force...
who held the position of President of the National Black Police Association from September 2003 to November 2005.
Powell joined the South Yorkshire Police Service
South Yorkshire Police
South Yorkshire Police is the territorial police force responsible for policing South Yorkshire in England.The police force covers an area of approximately 1,554 square kilometres which is made up of the county's three boroughs , along with the City of Sheffield. The resident population is 1.2...
in 1984, and was based at police headquarters in Snigg Hill, Sheffield
Sheffield
Sheffield is a city and metropolitan borough of South Yorkshire, England. Its name derives from the River Sheaf, which runs through the city. Historically a part of the West Riding of Yorkshire, and with some of its southern suburbs annexed from Derbyshire, the city has grown from its largely...
, serving for eighteen years and rising to the rank of sergeant before being elected as deputy general secretary of the NBPA in November 2002. Powell subsequently took up the presidency when the previous holder left. In this post he represented 3,000 black staff across the country and helped to formulate policies affecting police forces nationally. At the time of his appointment he said:
In October 2003, a month after assuming the presidency, and following the failure of talks over the reinstatement of suspended Superintendent Ali Dizaei
Ali Dizaei
Jamshid Ali Dizaei is a Commander in London's Metropolitan Police Service. Iranian-born with dual nationality, and formerly one of Britain's most senior Muslim police officers, he came to prominence as a result of his outspoken views on racial discrimination in the London Metropolitan Police and...
, Powell called for a boycott of Metropolitan Police
Metropolitan police
Metropolitan Police is a generic title for the municipal police force for a major metropolitan area, and it may be part of the official title of the force...
recruitment campaigns, warning that the NBPA could not encourage black and Asian recruits to join a force that practised racial discrimination. Dizaei was subsequently reinstated.
Powell also urged that an undercover BBC
BBC
The British Broadcasting Corporation is a British public service broadcaster. Its headquarters is at Broadcasting House in the City of Westminster, London. It is the largest broadcaster in the world, with about 23,000 staff...
reporter who investigated racism among police recruits in Cheshire
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 with a population of roughly 1 million.The Chief Constable of the...
should not be prosecuted. In the event, the Crown Prosecution Service
Crown Prosecution Service
The Crown Prosecution Service, or CPS, is a non-ministerial department of the Government of the United Kingdom responsible for public prosecutions of people charged with criminal offences in England and Wales. Its role is similar to that of the longer-established Crown Office in Scotland, and the...
decided there was insufficient evidence to proceed with the case against the so-called 'secret policeman'.
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. '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.'
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.
Powell is currently the Head of Operational Equality Diversity Human Rights for the National Policing Improvement Agency
National Policing Improvement Agency
The United Kingdom's National Policing Improvement Agency is a non-departmental public body established to support police by providing expertise in such areas as information technology, information sharing, and recruitment.-Background:...
, with the rank of Inspector.
At the time of his appointment as NBPA president, Powell lived in Sheffield and was a married father of two.