The National Police Chiefs’ Council (NPCC) and the College of Policing have published a new race strategy for the police service in England and Wales. Launching the Police Race Action Plan in May, the NPCC said it committed Chief Constables to establishing an “anti-racist police service and to explain or reform race disparities”.

The Plan, which will be finalised in December after consultation, is subject to external scrutiny and oversight by an independent panel, known as the Independent Scrutiny and Oversight Board (ISOB), which says: “The focus of the Plan is on the experiences and concerns of Black people due to the starkness of the racial disparities present in policing’s interactions with Black communities.”

ISOB’s chair is a barrister, Abimbola Johnson, who practices from the London chambers, 25 Bedford Row. In the latest edition of ’Talking Crime’, Policing TV’s Chief Presenter, Danny Shaw, spoke to Abi about keeping the Police Race Action Plan on track, institutional racism in the service, Black representation among officers – and how she came to be apply for this crucial role.