Being Blue: An examination of the lived experience of minority ethnic police officers

Dr Claire Davis, the Centre for Hate Studies Policing Hub lead, has been awarded a grant from the Economic and Social Research Council for a two-year study to examine the lived experience of minority ethnic police officers.

The Being Blue project is the first in-depth study to include police officers from white minority ethnic backgrounds, and the first to include the lived experience of ethnic minority officers in leadership ranks. Through the examination of how police officers from ‘visible’ and ‘non-visible’ ethnic minority backgrounds navigate their work, the study will situate lived experience in policy and practice change to transform the belonging and retention of ethnic minority police officers.

The research

Recent high-profile events have reignited public concern about police legitimacy and the culture, diversity and inclusion in policing. Despite a range of initiatives, police officers from ethnic minority backgrounds are less likely to be promoted, more likely to resign, more likely to be the subject of public complaints and misconduct proceedings. Yet the lived experience of ethnic minority officers has been absent from research and policymaking for over a decade, and without these insights, interventions will not produce sustainable and meaningful reform. 

The study is a platform for change in the belonging, inclusion and retention of minority ethnic police officers. Through the innovative research design and impact activities, the Being Blue project centralises the lived experience of ethnic minority officers in navigating difference. The research will support police organisations in generating lasting and meaningful change in the experience of belonging, and inclusion for ethnic minority officers.

To achieve this, the Being Blue project an innovative methodological approach, including lived experience diaries and action-based workshops, and is supported by a Creative Methods Working Group and a National External Engagement Group (NEEG).

The study will

• Develop an evidence-base that centralises the lived experience of ‘visible’ and ‘non-visible’ minority ethnic officers in navigating racial and ethnic difference in the police.
• Develop innovative, action-based impact activities which support the inclusion, belonging and retention of (visible and non-visible) minority ethnic officers in the police.

The impact

The research findings will inform three innovative impact outputs aimed at empowering the voices of ethnic minority officers to a practitioner and public audience:

1. A short, multi-purpose, accessible film as a training and educational resource.
2. A public exhibition to exhibit visual and audio representations from the research.
3. A non-fiction book as an accessible resource aimed at public and practitioner audience. 

Contact

For any questions or more information about the project, please contact us via our email beingblue@leicester.ac.uk.