Panel Six: Organisational Strategies for Change and Regulation

1 The disproportionate use of police powers against black and minority ethnic populations is one of the major fault-lines in police-community relations in Britain and the USA. While various forms of regulation have been attempted the broad thrust of the approach has been rather different in the two jurisdictions. In the US regulation leans towards a conflict model where litigation is common and police forces are subject to legal redress through the courts. The British approach leans more towards a consensus model where litigation is rare and policy provides the primary channel through which regulation is conducted. Both models raise important questions about the ability of organisations to critically reflect on their own practice, to acknowledge their capacity for wrongdoing and to act on such acknowledgement. These issues are explored below, drawing on the British experience. The paper begins by outlining the main developments in the regulation of police stops and