Abimbola Johnson Appointed to Oversee the Police's Race Strategy

Abi Johnson has been appointed as an independent scrutineer of the police’s race strategy, developed by chief constables in the wake of the Black Lives Matter movement. The race strategy aims to produce initiatives to address disparities in the use of force and improve recruitment of ethnic minorities.

Abi has previously outlined systemic problems with police interactions with the Black community and has stated that Black people had been disproportionately affected by policing for decades and many had had “unsatisfactory, unfair or even harmful experiences”. Speaking about her appointment as an independent scrutineer, Abi stated “I hope the creation of an action plan and a parallel independent board to inform, oversee and scrutinise that plan marks a recognition by the police that the onus is on them to look inwards.”

As noted by the National Police Chiefs' Council, Abi, as chair of the independent scrutiny and oversight board, will help to deliver “robust external oversight” to check and challenge the strategy.