Existence of White Privilege

Freedom of information request reference no: 01.FOI.22.023381

I note you seek access to the following information:

a) Does the Metropolitan Police accept that 'White Privilege' exists
b) What does the Metropolitan Police teach its officers, students and volunteers about 'White Privilege'

Decision

I have today decided to disclose the located information to you in full.

Please find below information pursuant to your request above.

White privilege is covered in the PEQF (Police Educational Qualifications Framework) materials within the ‘Engagement and Inclusion’ inputs.

The same input is delivered on the IPLDP+ (Initial Police Learning Development Programme.

All student police officers will cover this learning. Their understanding of the term white privilege is gauged using the questions below:

Understanding white privilege
• Ask the group who has been stopped and searched.
• How could that stop and search been better conducted?
• Were they respectful towards you?
• Ask the group to define white privilege.
• Ask the student police officers if they have ever felt guilty about being white or having privilege?
• Follow up the question by asking whether they think any other visible ethnicity have privilege or is it just white people?
• Finally, discuss whether white privilege varies from one country to another?

Examples of white privilege are also highlighted to them as below:

• Being born with an advantage.
• Having a good relationship with the police.
• Learning about own race at school.
• Having own skin colour represented in children’s book.
• No need to ‘whiten’ name.
• No need to justify membership of country of birth.