Responding to publication of the PSNI’s Race and Ethnicity Action Plan, Chief Executive of the North West Migrants Forum, Lilian Seenoi Barr, said:
We welcome the PSNI’s Race and Ethnicity Plan but will judge it by the tangible impact it has on communities.
The publication of this five-year plan comes at a time when race hate incidents are at an all-time high, when those of a minority ethnic background are being openly attacked, driven from their homes and racially abused as they go about their daily lives.
The commitment from Chief Constable John Boutcher that a more robust approach will be taken when it comes to dealing with these crimes and that a greater focus will be put on making individuals and families feel “safe and valued” is to be welcomed.
We hope that lessons have been learned from the shambolic response to the Black Lives Matter protests of 2020 which dented confidence in policing here beyond measure.
Again this Race and Ethnicity Plan is a welcome development. But it cannot just be a glossy brochure, launched and then shelved.
It has to be put into action and it has to evolve as Northern Ireland continues to evolve.
We as an organisation wish the PSNI well with its new plan but we will be monitoring closely its implementation in the years ahead.
