UEL hosts Stephen Lawrence Day Conference
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Published
23 April 2024
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The University of East London hosted the Stephen Lawrence Day Conference, on the 31st anniversary of Stephen Lawrence's killing. It was organised by the National Black Police Association (NBPA) and supported by the Stephen Lawrence Day Foundation, to examine the role of black police officers, ways of improving their working conditions and how education could help improve policing.
The conference heard from a number of prominent speakers, among them the NBPA’s Andy George, the former chair of the Metropolitan Black Police Association, Janet Hills MBE, and the former Detective Chief Inspector who finally secured two convictions for Stephen’s murder, Clive Driscoll.
During the conference, held at the University’s Royal Docks School of Business and Law (RDSBL), the University and the NBPA also signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) to symbolise a shared vision, a commitment to partnership, and a dedication to effecting real change.
The Dean of the RDSBL, Professor Fatima Annan-Diab said, “At its core, this MoU embodies a set of principles that we, as partners, have agreed upon. It encapsulates our shared aspirations for collaboration and partnership, locally and globally. It reflects our mutual pursuit of a society that is not only just and fair but also inclusive and diverse.”
Another of the UEL academics participating in the conference, Deputy Cluster Lead Dr Nadia Habashi said,
Our view is very simple, if we want to see transformation in policing, we need to be committed to transformative leadership and education is a key feature of this, of which we at UEL are an integral part.
The tragic murder of Stephen Lawrence in 1993 exposed deep-rooted issues of institutional racism within British law enforcement, issues that persist despite decades of inquiries and reports. The Stephen Lawrence Day Conference has been set up to serve as a platform to confront the enduring challenges of racism and discrimination.
In a mark of the continuing impact of Stephen’s death, on the day of the conference itself, the Metropolitan Police Commissioner Sir Mark Rowley apologised to Doreen Lawrence, for not fulfilling a promise to explain why his force failed to properly handle evidence against one of the suspects in her son’s murder.
UEL's Policing, Innovation, Enterprise and Learning Centre (PIEL) collaborated on the event at the University. For more info please see the PIEL Centre.