Stephen Lawrence Murder Case Study

Introduction

Stephen Lawrence murder took place on 22 April 1993; the victim was a black teenager who was waiting for a bus in southeast London when he was murdered (Cathcart, 2012). The murder was reportedly carried out by a gang of white teenagers and was a racially targeted attack against the victim (Cathcart, 2012). Two of the perpetrators of the attack were finally convicted of murder in 2012 (Holohan, 2017). The case is important not only for the cultural and legal changes that took place in the aftermath of this case, but also for demonstrating the problems in the police investigation at the time, which exposed the Metropolitan Police Service to censure in the seminal Stephen Lawrence Inquiry report or the Report of the Inquiry into the Matters into the Death of Stephen Lawrence under the chairmanship of Sir William Macpherson (Macpherson, 1999). The core issues involved in this case study are whether the failure of the police to respond to early witnesses and anonymous letters and the failure to arrest suspects early on, marks instances of incompetence in the investigation of Stephen Lawrence’s murder and whether the lapses on the part of the police were due to institutionally racist nature of the force at the time. In this essay, critical engagement is conducted with the case study of Stephen Lawrence murder investigation. The principal recommendation of this report is that the police should continue to develop sensitive approach to cases involving victims of black and minority communities.

The investigation and its gaps

One of the crucial lapses in the investigation into the Stephen Lawrence murder relates to the failure of the detectives to address the leads given to them by an informant who came to the police with the information on the perpetrators of the murder, but was not seen by the detectives (Pallister, 1998). As per the reports that were also later part of the Stephen Lawrence inquiry, the informant was seen by a sergeant, and the detectives failed to see and question the informant. Furthermore, there were anonymous letters and leads that also clearly provided information against the suspects, but this was not taken with immediate seriousness (Pallister, 1998). The first of the anonymous letters arrived the very next day of the murder on 23 April 1993, but the surveillance of the suspects home only began on 26 April 1993 (Norton-Taylor, 2012).

Another important lapse in the case investigation was the failure of the police to arrest the suspects on the basis of reasonable suspicion (Macpherson, 1999). The problem with this was that the principle is part of fundamental criminal law that police officers are expected to be aware of and in this case, the officer was questioned on this account before the inquiry (Macpherson, 1999). A third crucial lapse in the investigation was the lack of coordination between the investigating officers; in particular, there was lack of information sharing by one of the investigating officers with his senior regarding the former’s interviews with one of the witnesses, whose identity was known to the former but not to the latter (Pallister, 1998; Macpherson, 1999). These are three of the important lapses that were noted in the inquiry into the investigation.

It is important to understand the actions of the police in the Stephen Lawrence investigation against the notions of ethics. In this context, one of the important principles of policing is that stewardship, which is defined as having two ethical tracks. The first track is obedience to the community’s needs and the law and is linked to ethics of duty while the second track is explanation and cooperation and is linked to the ethics of care as this signifies the partnership between the police and the community (Neyroud & Beckley, 2001, p. 147). Principle of stewardship is itself related to the principle of accountability, which is managerialist, radical, and interactionist. This is especially related to the case study of Stephen Lawrence investigation. The failures of the police to give due attention to the members of the community who sought to give information to the police about a white gang that was out to commit racist attacks and who also killed Stephen Lawrence, all indicate the failure of the police to meet the standards of stewardship and accountability. With regard to the accountability principle, the police acted without efficiency when they were not able to arrest the suspects on the basis of reasonable suspicion, which is a breach of managerialist accountability.

Furthermore, because the victim in this case was a black teenager, the police officers who were investigating this case can be said to have not acted as per the principle of partnership between the police and minority communities. As noted, “ethical policing of diversity requires, therefore, active leadership, intent that is turned into practice, analysis of results, and a preparedness to change rather than defend discriminatory outcomes, all of which needs to be done […] in the open” (Neyroud & Beckley, 2001, p. 161). It may be noted here that in the Stephen Lawrence case, the police failed to investigate the matter with professionalism and this was a travesty of justice with regard to the victim and his family. That the victim was black, added to the perception that the police failed to do its job properly because of institutional racism. In other words, there is a possibility that the police failed to act in an equitable manner towards the victim and his family. At this point, it may be recalled that the notion of equity which was posited in Scarman report was summarised as follows: “good policing is about delivering the same service to everyone” (Neyroud & Beckley, 2001, p. 164). This would mean that equity requires that colour blind practice by the police. However, it can be argued that the police did not achieve colour blind practice in the Stephen Lawrence case. It may also be noted that this notion of good policing underwent a shift in the Macpherson report, under which equity can be summarised as follows: “treat others as they would want to be treated” (Neyroud & Beckley, 2001, p. 164). This would require that the police respond to minorities in a more sensitive way.

The Stephen Lawrence inquiry also found that there was a lack of transparency and accountability in the way the police functioned (Macpherson, 1999). This also related to the way the police addressed the complaints by the members of the public; when the police itself investigated the complaints against their own colleagues, it does not inspire confidence in the mind of the public (Macpherson, 1999). In this case, the Lawrence family registered a formal complain against the officers in charge of the investigation in 1997 before the Police Complaints Authority, but the officers were exonerated of allegations of racism (BBC News , 1999). Detective Inspector Ben Bullock, who was the second in command of the inquiry was the only one who was ordered to face disciplinary charges for neglect of duty but he retired the day after the verdict was given against him and was only punished with a caution (BBC News , 1999). The ethical problem in this context is that of allowing the force to investigate itself. The ethical concern here relates to the presence of what is called as ‘blue code’, which is a silent code that sees police officers feeling themselves bound by an unwritten set of cultural rules demanding loyalty to each other (Westmarland & Rowe, 2016). The blue code demands solidarity and may prevent police officers from reporting unlawful or unethical behaviour for fear of attracting censure and stigma as ‘snitch’ (Westmarland & Rowe, 2016). When there is some evidence that suggests that police officers may feel themselves bound to not report each other, it may be expected that the police is not the appropriate body to investigate itself in cases where police officers are found wanting in application of proper standards in their work (Westmarland & Rowe, 2016).

An important question raised in the light of the Stephen Lawrence case is whether the officers investigating the case would be acting in a racist manner only if they deliberately discriminated against black and other minorities (Holdaway, 1999). This argument was also presented in the Macpherson inquiry on the officers involved in the case’s investigation and was based on the way the Scarman report defined institutional racism (Scarman, 1981). The Commissioner of Metropolitan Police stated the following before the Macpherson inquiry:

“I recognise that individual officers can be, and are, overtly racist. I acknowledge that officers stereotype, and differential outcomes occur for Londoners. Racism in the police is much more than 'bad apples'. Racism, as you have pointed out, can occur through a lack of care and lack of understanding. The debate about defining this evil, promoted by the Inquiry, is cathartic in leading us to recognise that it can occur almost unknowingly, as a matter of neglect, in an institution. I acknowledge the danger of institutionalisation of racism. However, labels can cause more problems than they solve” (Macpherson, 1999, p. 24). z

The problem with the above approach, which may now be thought to have also coloured the way some officers may have carried out their investigation in the Stephen Lawrence investigation, is that there is a lack of understanding on how covert racism may also lead to perverse outcomes like in the case of Stephen Lawrence when the police failed to respond to leads, anonymous letters and even failed to arrest the suspects on the basis of reasonable suspicion (Holdaway, 1999). It is important to note that the Macpherson inquiry rejected the argument that institutional racism can only be defined in overt terms and instead formulated the following definition of institutional racism:

“the collective failure of an organisation to provide an appropriate and professional service to people because of their colour, culture or ethnic origin. It can be seen or detected in processes, attitudes and behaviour which amount to discrimination through unwitting prejudice, ignorance thoughtlessness and racist stereotyping which disadvantage minority ethnic people” (Macpherson, 1999, p. para 6.34).

Therefore, it is important to note that the actions of the police officers in the Stephen Lawrence investigation could not be said to be not racist simply because they did not deliberately discriminate against the victim or the family based on their race but also because of ‘unwitting prejudice and ignorance’. This can be seen in the context of the unwillingness or the lapse of the police as well as the Crown Prosecution Service to take the evidence of one of the prime witnesses in the case, Duwayne Brooks, with seriousness.

An important question in the context of investigation is when the officers perceived or became aware that the assailant could have committed the crime with a racial motive (Holdaway, 1999). In this case, an important witness, Duwayne Brooks, who was with Stephen Lawrence when he was killed, had stated that the assailants called Stephen a 'nigger' when they attacked him, but that the officers were reluctant to accept his statement (Holdaway, 1999). More importantly, even the Crown Prosecution Service refused to consider this evidence of Duwayne Brooks when they dropped the prosecution against the assailants in July (Norton-Taylor, 2012). Therefore, the findings of the Stephen Lawrence inquiry found that the actions of the police was not as per the required standard (Cohen, 2019). The report noted:

“Mere incompetence cannot of itself account for the whole catalogue of failures, mistakes, misjudgements, and lack of direction and control which bedevilled the Stephen Lawrence investigation” (Macpherson, 1999, paragraph 6.44).

Some of the problems in the investigation stem from the lack of responsiveness of the officers to the witnesses and letters that pointed out the connection between the crime and the perpetrators early on; the detectives even failed to meet one of the witnesses who had come to the police with information at an early stage (Pallister, 1998). Another problem was the lack of sensitivity towards the family and community. The Code of Ethics also provides that the “police service operates on the basis of openness and transparency” which is “essential to maintaining and enhancing a positive relationship between the policing profession and the community” (College of Policing, 2014, p. 5). The police failed to act with openness and transparency even within themselves, with lack of information sharing between the officers especially with regard to witness interviews. With regard to the openness and transparency with the community, the lapses on the part of the police and the Crown Prosecution Service can be pointed out because not only did they fail to respond appropriately to the witnesses, they did not take appropriate action against their own officers when complaints were made by the Lawrence family. Literature has emphasised on the need for trust and confidence in the police by the members of the community (Bowling & Marks, 2015; Watson, et al., 1998); however, the police in this case failed to act in a manner that would inspire a level of confidence in their efficiency when they even failed to arrest someone on reasonable suspicion, which meant that they were not aware of, or deliberately disregarded a fundamental principle of criminal law that they are expected to know and act on.

Based on the discussion in this section, it is clear that there were many lapses on the part of the investigating officers, the Metropolitan Police Service, and even the Crown Prosecution Service in the investigation of Stephen Lawrence murder and the complaints of misconduct against the officers. These lapses were pointed out clearly in the Stephen Lawrence inquiry (Macpherson, 1999).

The Stephen Lawrence Inquiry Report

The Stephen Lawrence inquiry has been considered to be instrumental in bringing cultural and legal changes with regards to policing and race and criminal justice system (Neal, 2003). The Stephen Lawrence inquiry specifically delved into the areas where the police investigation fell short of standard and also delved into the problem of institutional racism in the Metropolitan Police Service.

With respect to the police investigation into the Stephen Lawrence murder, the inquiry found that there were several lapses in the handling of the investigation by the detectives on the case (Macpherson, 1999). Such lapses were also reported in some investigative media reports, which had found that in the early days of the investigation, the detectives failed to investigate some early leads that they had received from different sources (Pallister, 1998).

With respect to institutional racism and policing, several important points made in the Stephen Lawrence report, which are relevant to the discussion on ethics and misconduct by the police forces. Importantly, the Stephen Lawrence inquiry exposed the gap between the police forces and public trust and confidence and noted that police forces often used disproportionate police powers against the members of the police community (Macpherson, 1999). During the course of the inquiry, the Institute of Race Relations provided evidence that 67 per cent people knew someone with experience of physical abuse by a police officer while 40 per cent people personally experienced racial abuse from an officer (Beynon & Kushnick, 2003). Of particular relevance to the present case study was the testimony provided by the Institute of Race Relations that 78 per cent people polled by them believed that police treated a crime in which the victim was white with more gravity than one with a black victim (Beynon & Kushnick, 2003, p. 242). In the Stephen Lawrence murder investigation, the victim being black, one of the questions was whether the police did not investigate the murder per standard, the victim being black and the perpetrators being white. Take a deeper dive into Understanding Cyber Crime: Motivational Factors and Effects with our additional resources.

To summarise the principal findings of the Stephen Lawrence inquiry, the inability and failure of the police to investigate the perpetrators of Stephen Lawrence’s murder and the poor treatment meted out to the victim’s family were highlighted by the report (Macpherson, 1999). Importantly, there were 70 recommendations of which 67 led to specific changes in law and practice (Neal, 2003). The report recommended that openness and accountability across the criminal justice system and tackling institutional racism were two important requirements to ensure that the police does not use their powers in a manner that is not according to the standard of justice and ethics (Bowling & Phillips, 2007).

With regard to victim and public interest focus, the investigation into the Stephen Lawrence murder indicates that the police failed to provide sufficient and appropriate level of duty of care to the victim and his family as well as the wider community. One impact of the Macpherson report was that it was able to reveal the institutional racism within the police service and this led to the passage of the Race Relations (Amendment) Act 2000. After the passage of this law, the police and other public bodies are no longer exempt from the race relations legislation. The law now protects against both direct and indirect discrimination by police.

In the aftermath of the Stephen Lawrence case, there are several changes made to the Code of Ethics, which work to prevent similar outcomes. Thus, the Code of Ethics requires that the police officer “always act in a way that conforms to the public expectations to maintain the highest standards of behaviour” (College of Policing, 2014, p. 13). The police are also expected to abide by the National Decision Model for making decisions that are based on ethical reasoning (College of Policing, 2014). The National Decision Model and the Police (Conduct) Regulations 2014 are also applicable for community policing purposes so that the police forces abide by standards of ‘Authority, Respect and Courtesy’, and ‘Equality and Diversity’. Thus, the police are expected to act in a way that is respectful and fair. In the Stephen Lawrence case, the lapses made in the investigation meant that such fair outcomes were not achieved. It is important to note that where the police are corrupt or in violation of the Code of Conduct and the Code of Ethics, this amounts to misconduct (Prenzler, 2009).

Conclusion

The Stephen Lawrence murder investigation demonstrates how the police should not act and is an example of a careless investigation with a number of lapses that were pointed out in the inquiry that followed. Although the perpetrators were eventually convicted, the convictions came after a long drawn investigation, and even private prosecution, which exposed the lapses in the initial investigation by the police. The Stephen Lawrence investigation also exposed the police to the allegations of racist behaviour as noted in the Macpherson report. The National Decision Model and the Police (Conduct) Regulations 2014, if applicable at the time of this inquiry, the police would have been in violation of standards of ‘Authority, Respect and Courtesy’, and ‘Equality and Diversity’. Although, overt racism by the police officers was not established, the Macpherson report noted that institutional racism need not be manifested in such overt and deliberate acts of discrimination. The case study demonstrates, through critical engagement, how certain ethics of duty of care are also involved in cases where victims may be members of the minority communities as noted by Prenzler (2009) and Neyroud and Beckley (2001). The principal recommendation of this report is that the police should continue to develop sensitive approach to cases involving victims of black and minority communities and train the members of the force in the Code of Ethics and Conduct.

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References

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