Managing Investigations Stephen Lawrence case PDF

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Stephen Lawrence's case in details and fully analysed...

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Managing Investigations – Artefact 2

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Managing Investigations: Stephen Lawrence case

Institute of Criminal Justice Studies University of Portsmouth, UK SID: 915075

Submitted in partial fulfilment of the degree of Master of Science in Crime Science, Investigation and Intelligence

Word count: 2.708 Date: 13/05/2019

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Table of contents:

i.

Background .......................................................................................... pg. 3

ii.

Critical evaluation ................................................................................. pg. 5

iii.

Reviews ................................................................................................ pg. 6

iv.

Impact on contemporary policing .......................................................... pg. 9

v.

Conclusion ............................................................................................ pg. 10

vi.

References ........................................................................................... pg. 11

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Managing Investigations – Artefact 2 i.

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Background:

On the 22nd of April 1993, in Eltham, South-East London, Stephen Lawrence was stabbed to death while waiting at a bus stop with his friend, Duwayne Brooks. The eighteen-year old is the victim of an unprovoked attack caused by a gang of white youths. The attackers forced the victim to the ground and stabbed him to a depth of approximately 5 inches on both sides of his upper body. Both wounds severed axillary arteries before penetrating one of his lungs, which cause breathing restrictions and massive blood loss. Brooks has tried to help Lawrence escape from his assailants, however while the attackers fled the scene, the victim collapsed and bled to death after running Image 1: Map (Macpherson, 1999) over 100 yards. Richard Shepherd, the pathologist in charge of the post mortem examination, detailed the intensity of the injuries Stephen Lawrence suffered and said that ‘it is surprising how he managed to get 130 yards will all the injuries he had […] It is therefore a testimony to Stephen's physical fitness that he was able to run the distance he did before collapsing’ (Macpherson, 1999). During the period between the 7th of May and the 23rd of June 1993 police arrested the brothers Neil and Jamie Acourt, David Norris, Gary Dobson and Luke Knight, and search their homes, as they were the main suspects. Neil Acourt and Luke Knight were identified by Duwayne Brooks at ID parades as part of the gang responsible and the pair is charged with murder. They deny the charges. On the 29th of July 1993, the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) dropped the charges as the ID evidence from Duwayne Brooks is proved to be unreliable. There was a private investigation launched by the family, yet it failed because Brooks’ statement is ruled as inadmissible ("Stephen Lawrence murder: A timeline of how the story unfolded", 2018).

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In 1994 the CPS refuses to prosecute as it is considered to be insufficient evidence to reopen the case and bring in new evidence. However, later in the year Neil Acourt and Luke Knight are cause on camera using violent and racist language ("Stephen’s story | Stephen Lawrence Charitable Trust", n.d.). In March 1997 there has been launched a Police Complains Authority investigation, in order to highlight any weaknesses, omissions and lost opportunities within the police investigation of the case, yet any sings of racist conduct are ruled out. In February 1999, the Macpherson report is published, which accuses the Metropolitan Police of institutional racism (racial discrimination that has become normal behaviour within a society or institution) and expresses 70 recommendations aimed at the police attitude towards racism and proposes attitude improvements when dealing with victims of different racial background as well as reviewing the Race Relations Act in order to prevent discrimination ("Stephen Lawrence murder: A timeline of how the story unfolded", 2018). More than 10 years later, in May 2011, Gary Dobson and David Norris are being accused of Stephen Lawrence’s death following a review of the forensic evidence already in custody. During the forensic reexamination, the victim’s DNA as well as other forms of physical evidence (such as fibers), are found on the attackers’ clothes, more specific on Dobson and Norris’s clothes, fact that is made know to the jury during the trial. In January 2012, both defendants are found guilty of Stephen Lawrence’s murder and receive life sentences: Dobson is jailed for a minimum of 15 years and Norris for 14 years ("Stephen Lawrence murder: A timeline of how the story unfolded", 2018). However, it is worth mentioning the forensic evidence was poorly examined at the initial crime scene recovery and examination. Both Neville and Doreen Lawrence, Stephen’s parents, have attended all the court hearings throughout the trials, with courtesy and dignity. In the Stephen Lawrence inquiry placed in February 1999 reviewing the entire case, there can be found passages of both Neville and Doreen’s interviews, showing how they encountered racism coming from police officers, yet they tried to visualise the poor investigation of their son’s murder as beneficial for future officers and as an example of how racism can affect lives. This can be considered the crime that had the biggest impact on the contemporary policing, due to the reforms and reviews that brought with it. After underlining the issues and the mistakes that occurred while investigating the case, the reviews have been taken into consideration in order to offer better police conduct in future investigations.

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Managing Investigations – Artefact 2 ii.

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Critical evaluation

The murder of Stephen Lawrence has increased the public’s attention on racial differences as well as it provided a lot of awareness of the problems within the British Police in terms of racism and minorities. In the Macpherson inquiry it is described how the Chief Constable Burden of South Wales Police was highly impressed of the level of racism that existed at the time within institutions and governmental organisations, interfering with the community as well. Statistically, ‘Recent research in Cardiff showed that 50% of the racist incidents considered by the Race Equality Council involved young people under 16 years old, and 25% of these incidents involved children between the ages of six and 10 years’ (Macpherson, 1999). The research made by Janet Foster, Tim Newburn and Anna Souhami, under the name of ‘Assessing the impact of the Stephen Lawrence Inquiry’ was intended to show the failures within the police investigation of Stephen Lawrence’s murder by enhancing the issues after the suggestions made in the report led by Sir William Macpherson were considered. The Home Secretary published an action plan after the Macpherson’s inquiry for implementing the suggestions. On the same note, the Lawrence Steering Group, LSG, was implemented, which consisted of independent members, police officers and other agencies, with the aim of supporting the delivery of the action plan designed and overseeing its implementations (Foster, Newburn & Souhami, 2005). The report resulting from the research carried out by the Mannheim Centre for Criminology, London School of Economics, detailed that the research was highly extensive, involving a large national survey of police officers and approximately 2,000 hours of observations. The study identifies issues that occur on a daily basis in policing; as results, it identifies the points that need reformed in order to match all the social groups within the community without any discrimination (Foster, Newburn & Souhami, 2005).

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Managing Investigations – Artefact 2 iii.

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Reviews:

Macpherson reviewed every single step of the investigation, starting from the scene, the evidence, ambulance crew, police officers, witnesses, surveillance, allegations, and other informative pieces of evidence, as well as, the lack of them. Within his review, he details recommendations within different sections, such as family liaison, victims and witnesses, police officers and their work ethics, etc. Some of these important proposals are as follows: Openness, accountability and the restoration of confidence



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Definition of racist incident

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Reporting and recording of racist incidents and crimes

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Police Practice and the Investigation of racist crime

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Family liaison

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Victims and witnesses

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Prosecution of racist crimes

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Training - racism awareness and valuing cultural

 

That principles and standards similar to those of the Office for Standards in Education (OFSTED) be applied to inspections of Police Services, in order to improve standards of achievement and quality of policing through regular inspection, public reporting, and informed independent advice. That HMIC shall be empowered to recruit and to use lay inspectors in order to conduct examination and inspection of Police Services particularly in connection with performance in the area of investigation of racist crime. The definition of racist incident to be: ‘A racist incident is any incident which is perceived to be racist by the victim or any other person’. That there should be close co-operation between Police Services and local Government and other agencies, including in particular Housing and Education Departments, to ensure that all information as to racist incidents and crimes is shared and is readily available to all agencies. That ACPO, in consultation with local Government and other relevant agencies, should review its Good Practice Guide for Police Response to Racial Incidents in the light of this Report and our Recommendations. Consideration should be given to the production by ACPO of a manual or model for such investigation, to complement their current Manual of Murder Investigation. That Family Liaison Officers shall, where appointed, be dedicated primarily, if not exclusively, to that task. That Police Services ensure the provision of training and the availability of victim/witness liaison officers, and ensure their use in appropriate areas particularly in the field of racist incidents and crimes, where the need for a sensitive approach to young and vulnerable victims and witnesses is paramount. That the CPS ensure that all decisions to discontinue any prosecution should be carefully and fully recorded in writing, and that save in exceptional circumstances, such written decisions should be disclosed to a victim or a victim's family That all police officers, including CID and civilian staff, should be trained in racism awareness and valuing cultural diversity. That the Home Office together with Police Services should 6

Managing Investigations – Artefact 2 diversity

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publish recognised standards of training aims and objectives in the field of racism awareness and valuing cultural diversity. (Macpherson, 1999)

These are just a few recommendations made in the Macpherson’s Inquiry by Sir William Macpherson. Furthermore, its aim is the elimination of racist prejudice and promoting equality. Foster, Newburn and Souhami’s report aimed at evaluating Macpherson’s inquiry’s impact on the British Police, and it focused on the period between 2002 and 2004, essentially 10 years after Stephen Lawrence’s murder and 3-5 years after Macpherson’s inquiry. During their research, they conducted 1,267 face-to-face interviews with police officers, a postal survey of 98 ACPO (Association of Chief Police Officers) officers and staff and a postal survey of 133 police authority members and staff over a period of 18 months. The research outlines the identification of many positive changes that occurred within the British Police since the implementation of the Lawrence’s Inquiry. The main impact was noticed to be concerning police officer’s perception of racism and minority communities (Foster, Newburn & Souhami, 2005). However, it was believed that the changes were rather ‘cosmetic’ than genuine. Women, some ethnic minorities and LGBT officers continued to feel excluded and discriminated against, facts that were observed during the research – this is just one of the many areas where the reforms did not work as expected and need further analysis. The research concludes that by upholding a better understanding of the institutional racism, the remained issues could be targeted easier in order to improve the service and understand that the purpose of policing should not differ according to culture, ethnic origin or religion of the victim (Foster, Newburn & Souhami, 2005). At the time of the inquiry, a black person was six times more likely to be stopped and searched under Section 1 of the Police and Criminal Evidence Act 1984; unfortunately, in 2006/7, more than 6 years from Macpherson’s inquiry, is was seven times. The National DNA Database (NDNAD) is considered to be highly discriminatory, as, according to the study, in terms of retaining DNA samples from arrests, 30% of all the kept samples belong to black men, compared to 10% of all Asian men and 10% of all white men (House of Commons, 2009).

Figure 1 – Stop and searches by ethnicity in England and Wales 7

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(BBC, 2019)

Overall, it can be said that Macpherson’s recommendations were highly taken into consideration, however not all members of all organisations and communities have managed to follow its implications. Hence, social racism as well as institutional racism still exist and persist, to the date of the study. In the recent years, the Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC) is reopening the Stephen Lawrence’s murder case, investigation undertaken by the National Crime Agency (NCA). Since its reopening, the officers in charge of the investigation have gathered and analysed several million pages of information, including sources from the original murder investigation, the Stephen Lawrence Inquiry and over 100 Metropolitan Police historic counter corruption investigations (Independent Office for Police Conduct, 2018).

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IV. Impact on contemporary policing After the murder of Stephen Lawrence and the case’ poor investigation, the Metropolitan Police has lost public’s trust and respect. In order for the police to regain the people’s trust, reforms had to happen. Two main laws in United Kingdom have changed:  The Race Relations Amendment Act 2000 has been changed in favour of promoting equality.  The Criminal Justice Act 2003 has abolished the double jeopardy principle, under which a person cannot be tried twice for the same crime after being found innocent at the first hearing. After these Acts of Parliament have been implemented, combined with public campaigning have increased awareness among the British public over the changes that are happening and the highlights of enhancing the idea of equality. On the same note, over the last few years the National Crime Agency, under the direction of IOPC have reopened the investigation; the reason behind analysing all the gathered information over the last 25 years since the death of Stephen Lawrence is to find out whether there was evidence of corruption during the entire investigation of the case or not. This investigation has commenced in March 2015 (Independent Office for Police Conduct, 2018). The contemporary policing have suffered massive changes ever since the death of Stephen Lawrence, promoting the racial diversity and equality and, in the same time, respecting and supporting the victims and their family regardless of their social and racial background. However, during the last 25 years, since the death of Stephen Lawrence, there has been observed a decline in racially motivated attacks. Figure 2 – Racist Incidents reported by individuals in England and Wales

(BBC, 2019) 9

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V. Conclusion The death of Stephen Lawrence is considered a critical incident that has highly impact on the last 25 years of policing within the society. The Metropolitan Police Service has investigated the murder, however they have acknowledged to have encountered internal incidents that lead to different miscarriages. Sir William Macpherson has initiated the Lawrence Inquiry in order to tackle all the problems encountered within the investigation, mainly the racism and racial diversity issues. After making 70 recommendations within an article comprising of over 40 chapters, a few changes have happened, however not enough. Foster, Newburn and Souhami have reviewed the inquiry after their research proved that many recommendations have not been implemented regardless of the existence of the Lawrence Steering Group, which has its aim to implement the Lawrence Inquiry’s recommendations. By the end of their study, more suggestions have been made, tackling racism and racial differences within communities and the society. During the last 25 years, the policing methods have been adjusted according to reviews made. However, it is worth considering that all these changes are happening very slowly, meanwhile the racism cases are dropping as well. The diversity within England and Wales has developed over the last 25 years, hence initiatives of promoting racial diversity help and support both the public and the police officers, in order to keep an open mind when dealing with cases and reinforce relationships with local minorities within the community (Bhugowandeen, 2013).

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VI. References

Bhugowandeen, B. (2013). Diversity in the British police : adapting to a multicultural society. Mémoire(S), Identité(S), Marginalité(S) Dans Le Monde Occidental Contemporain, (10). doi: 10.4000/mimmoc.1340 Foster, J., Newburn, T., & Souhami, A. (2005). Assessing the impact of the Stephen Lawrence Inquiry. Home Office Research, Development and Statistics Directorate. House of Commons. (2009). The Macpherson Report—Ten Years On. House of Commons. How

have police attitudes to race https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-47161480

changed?.

(2019).

Retrieved

from

Macpherson, W. (1999). The Stephen Lawrence inquiry. London: Home Department by Command of Her Majesty. Stephen Lawrence corruption investigation enters new phase | Independent Office for Police Conduct. (2018). Retrieved from https://www.policeconduct.gov.uk/news/stephenlawrence-corruption-investigation-enters-new-phase Stephen Lawrence murder: A timeline of how the story unfolded. (2018). Retrieved from https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-26465916 Stephen’s story | Stephen Lawrence Charitable Trust. Retrieved from https://www.stephenlawrence.org.uk/stephen-lawrence-day/stephens-story/

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