There is no verifiable evidence supporting claims of a “two-tier” policing system in the UK that disadvantages white people, experts say. While official statistics on anti-white bias in operational policing are not available, data consistently highlight longstanding racial disparities affecting ethnic minorities, particularly Black individuals.

Research indicates that the use of force—including Taser deployment—and coercive measures such as stop and search are applied more frequently to Black people than to their white counterparts. Police authorities have been unable to provide clear explanations for these disparities. Following the murder of George Floyd in the United States, a police race action plan was introduced in the UK aiming to address persistent racial issues within law enforcement. However, observers note this initiative has yielded limited progress.

Independent investigations into race and policing across decades—including reports by Lord Scarman in the 1980s, the Macpherson Inquiry in 1999, and more recently Louise Casey’s review in 2023—have all underscored failures by police forces to adequately tackle racial bias. Commentators such as Basu argue that despite ongoing promises by police leadership, meaningful improvement remains elusive. He dismissed suggestions that police may have overcorrected by displaying bias toward white people as unfounded given the minimal response to previous findings of anti-Black bias.

Police officers follow the national decision-making model when responding to incidents, a framework designed to guide judgements amid often complex, rapidly evolving situations that may involve incomplete or misleading information. Though this model seeks to justify use or restraint of police powers, it cannot prevent errors in individual cases, a point illustrated by the recent Henry Nowak case.

In that matter, the trial judge concluded that officers were unaware, for too long, of a serious chest wound Nowak had sustained. Video footage and court observations noted that no visible bleeding was apparent initially, partly because of the dark clothing worn by Nowak and low-light conditions at the scene. The judge explained that the wound caused internal bleeding into the chest cavity, which was not immediately evident to responding officers.

Hampshire’s Conservative Police and Crime Commissioner, Donna Jones, has requested an independent review by the policing inspectorate to examine these circumstances and assess how officers are trained to manage competing accounts during violent incidents. Multiple current and former police sources have criticized the response displayed on video, describing a lack of the “professional curiosity” needed in such scenarios and questioning the decision to handcuff Nowak.

This case has renewed discussions about police decision-making under pressure and highlighted the challenges in balancing rapid assessment with thorough investigation, rather than focusing solely on racial motivations as the driving factor behind officers’ actions.