"Stephen Lawrence Inquiry: Does It Reflect an Isolated Incident or Illuminate Widespread Institutional Racism in Britain?"

TITLE Your Name Subject and Section Professor’s Name Date The Stephen Lawrence Inquiry was the most crucial part of British history, which had revealed a structural problem of racism in the Metropolitan Police. Not only does the investigation reveal the extent of the racism problem in British policing though, obviously, the influence of the structure of racism is seen throughout different sectors of British society. This piece of writing aims at revealing and exploring the multilayered nature of institutional racism as exposed by Stephen Lawrence Inquiry with additional inputs from secondary sources. Through a detailed examination of the major findings and a cultural importance, this paper’s goal is to show how system rifle institutional racism exists in Britain. The Stephen Lawrence Inquiry is memorialized in Macpherson Report. It was the turning point of the British history as it engaged the deeply embedded problem of institutional racism within the Metropolitan Police, that corrupted the police force. The findings of the report were an outcry against the systemic failures of the police force, with special focus on the biased way such crimes are dealt with and the way minorities are treated. Stewart Macpherson found it most appropriate to highlight systemic racism as the root of the problem. It exposed deep-seated inefficiencies in the investigation of hate-motivated offenses, highlighting situations of the police having not done enough to relentlessly pursue justice for such hate-motivated crime victims with minority backgrounds. The report exposed a dysfunction of neglect, incompetence, and even indifference within law enforcement in the chain of racist violence and discrimination. This system entails perpetual impunity for offenders. On the other hand, the Macpherson Report showed that the minority about the police regarding racial discrimination. Among other things, it documented many cases of the racial profiling, mistreatment and the unreasonable use of strong-arm tactics aiming the black and other ethnic minority individuals. This very fact exposed the race discrimination suffered among the minorities perpetrated by the police whose primary duty was to protect and serve the public (Lea, 2000; Macpherson et al., 1999). The influence of Macpherson Report was however not limited to the mere documentation of police misbehavior even though in fine it laid bare the structural inequalities that existed largely in law enforcement at the time. For the first time in history, the report unveiled the institutionalized racism that was occurring within the Metropolitan Police throughout the years. The report therefore resulted in calls for systemic reform and preventive measures that addressed the root causes of bias and discrimination. It brought into question the effectiveness of the existing practices of the police, and stressing on cultural sensitivity, diversity in training, and involvement of the community to foster trust and publicity. Hence, the Macpherson Report was a siren to the leaders meant to made them realize the deep-rooted injustices which had been for many years buried under the cover (Lea, 2000; Macpherson et al., 1999). Moreover, Cole (2004) showcased the intensive and pervasive character of racism in the Britain educational system. These outlets give a broad overview of the historical and modern aspects of racism and inequality as regards the educational system. Additionally, they throw a perceptive on the multifaceted nature of the difficulties that minority students are plagued with. The school discipline question, one of the core themes covered by these resources, appears to focus particularly...