NONE of Scotland’s racist police officers has been sacked in the last four years and all are still working for the forces that employed them when the original complaints against them were upheld.

The findings, revealed under freedom of information legislation, also show that only one officer has been suspended because of racially discriminatory behaviour.

News of the discipline figures has prompted opposition politicians to demand a “zero tolerance” approach to racism in the police force and a policy of automatic suspension.

The row was triggered by a request lodged by the Sunday Herald on the punishments handed out to officers who had complaints of a racial nature upheld against them.

Eight officers were judged by their colleagues to have acted improperly between 2001 and 2005, a fraction of the overall number of complaints.

Of these, Strathclyde Police failed to provide details of one of the cases, while another probe in the same force was upheld, but not on racist grounds.

Of the remaining six officers, none were dismissed, one was suspended and all are still serving in the same force.

In Grampian, an officer who was found to have stopped and searched a member of the public simply due to his ethnic origin was “counselled” by his employer.

Another policeman in Strathclyde was found to have used a phrase that was racist in nature, resulting in “formal action” but not suspension.

In Central Scotland, an officer was caught making “inappropriate comments of a racially derogatory nature” at an operational police briefing, while another made racist remarks at an internal course. One was “warned” and the other was docked pay and suspended.

In another case outwith the complaints procedure, an officer in Strathclyde engaged in conversation that was deemed to be racist by another colleague. This employee was subject to “formal action” but not suspended or fired.

The cases come in the wake of rising dissatisfaction with a complaints process that is widely seen as outdated and in need of reform.

Of the 70 people who appealed to Her Majesty’s Inspectorate of Constabulary for Scotland last year about general complaints, only one resulted in the force being asked to rethink its original decision.

In 16 of the cases there was “mild criticism” of a force, while in 28 instances “no action” was deemed necessary.

Substantiated complaints of a racist nature are also low. In 2001 to 2002, only 8.8% of all complaints were upheld, an amount that dropped to 6.8% the following year.

Scottish ministers have responded to criticisms of the system by consulting on the way complaints against the police are handled, with the creation of an independent body the most likely option.

Fears of racism in the police were heightened two years ago when a BBC documentary, The Secret Policeman, uncovered damning evidence of discriminatory attitudes.

Screened in 2003, the programme showed evidence of casual racism among trainee officers, with one man donning a Ku Klux Klan mask and making offensive remarks about the murdered black teenager, Stephen Lawrence.

Doug Keil of the Scottish Police Federation said that every police officer knew that racist behaviour was unacceptable, but warned against one-size-fits-all punishments.

“I cannot comment on these cases but I am confident that each one will have been investigated thoroughly and dealt with appropriately. The Federation does not support automatic suspension or sacking and believes each case must be dealt with on its individual facts and circumstances,” he said.

Scottish Socialist Party leader Colin Fox said he was “extremely worried” that officers with a history of racist behaviour were still working in the police service, and called for stiffer sanctions.

“There has to be independent investigation and police officers facing substantiated accusations of racist behaviour or language should be suspended immediately,” he said.

John Scott of the Scottish Human Rights Centre said the figures showed that the forces were complacent . “In the police force there should be zero tolerance of racism. Given the powers they have, greater responsibility is required. The fact that these officers haven’t been booted out suggests that the police are not taking complaints seriously,” he said.

12 June 2005