Expect resistance and pushback as you try to change systemic racism in policing, experts warn [Video]

Tackling the systemic racism within the London police service and gaining back the trust of diverse communities will take time and come with pushback, experts say. 

The report, finished in 2021 but made public because of a freedom of information request by CBC News, details the mistreatment Black, Indigenous and people of colour in London face at the hands of police and the closed culture within the ranks that stops diverse officers from feeling included and able to grow their careers. 

Also included in the report were comments from White, male officers who said they felt diverse and female candidates were being hired and promoted at the expense of quality and effectiveness, an opposition to change experts say is common. 

“It will feel terrible for those people who have been benefiting from that power and privilege all along,” said Vanessa Ambtman-Smith, an Indigenous scholar who studies how organizations can push …