Over the last three years PolicingTV has carried out a range of interviews with serving police officers and contributors on and around the Police action plan. We hear from Assistant Chief Constable Dennis Murray and the National Race Action Plan’s Programme Director Dr Alison Heydari in July and August 2024 respectively, with West Yorkshire’s Chief Inspector Darren Beech in March 2025 introducing his Chief Constable John Robbin’s presentation from the previous December.

In light of the recent report from the Independent Scrutiny & Oversight Board, PolicingTV looks back at these interviews and looks at the answers given at the time as to why was the plan needed in the first place, and what it would take for policing to rebuild trust with black communities? The video sets the plan in the context of long-standing mistrust, the impact of George Floyd’s death and Black Lives Matter, and the wider history that continues to shape confidence in policing today.

The conversation also focuses on what meaningful change looks like in practice. From stop and search and Taser use to cultural awareness training, recruitment, scrutiny and community engagement, the speakers argue that this cannot be treated as a short-term initiative. Instead, the challenge is to embed anti-racist practice into everyday policing, build trust over time and make lasting change part of business as usual.

If you want to have a read of the Police Race Action Plan, click here  

If you want to have a read of the report, click here

The page used at 00:30 is this page here

Key takeaways

• The Police Race Action Plan was created to improve policing for black communities and black staff.
• Speakers say the plan grew out of both recent events and much longer histories of mistrust.
• A major message is that trust cannot be rebuilt through a short-term programme alone.
• West Yorkshire says it has reduced racial disparity in stop and search and Taser use.
• Cultural awareness training is being rolled out force-wide as a core part of the response.
• The interview stresses that listening to lived experience must shape how policing changes.
• Recruitment matters, but retention and internal trust are just as important for lasting progress.
• Speakers say the long-term goal is to make this work part of everyday policing practice.

Chapters
00:00 – Why this conversation matters
01:14 – Why the Police Race Action Plan was created
03:11 – The vision behind the plan
04:09 – Why this cannot be a short-term fix
04:58 – What is already changing in West Yorkshire
06:54 – Cultural awareness training at scale
08:43 – Recruitment, retention and representation
10:10 – Embedding race action into daily performance
11:48 – Listening more closely to communities

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