Racial profiling by police – targeting individuals for scrutiny based on race or ethnicity – remains a pressing issue in the UK. In 2024, several incidents brought this problem into sharp focus, sparking legal action, public outrage, and calls for reform. Below we explore specific cases, the legal and community responses, oversight investigations, and what officials are (or aren’t) doing to address racial profiling.
High-Profile Incidents of Racial Profiling in 2024
Repeated Stop-and-Search of a Black Teenager
In early 2024, a troubling case emerged involving a 16-year-old Black boy in London who was stopped and searched six times within five months. Between January and May 2023, Metropolitan Police officers stopped the teen multiple times across Tottenham and Stratford – each time releasing him with no further action
itv.com. The stops were ostensibly for reasons like suspicion of drugs, theft, or because the boy supposedly matched descriptions of robbery and knife crime suspects
policeconduct.gov.uk. However, a community watchdog – the Haringey Independent Stop and Search Monitoring Group – filed complaints on behalf of the boy and his mother, alleging these repeated stops lacked sufficient grounds and were driven by racial profiling
The Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC) took the case seriously. In September 2023 the Met referred itself to the IOPC, and by February 2024 the IOPC announced it was investigating eight Metropolitan Police officers involved
itv.com. Early findings were damning: evidence pointed to potential breaches of police professional standards in five of the six stops
itv.com. The complaints included allegations that officers had insufficient justification for the searches, used unreasonable force, failed to consider the boy’s welfare, and did not follow proper procedures
itv.com. Four of the incidents involved the Met’s Territorial Support Group (TSG) and two involved local borough officers
This case has become emblematic of the “driving while Black” or stop-and-search profiling problem. It highlights how a Black youth – not charged with any crime – was subjected to repeated police intrusions into his life. The IOPC’s London director, Charmaine Arbouin, underscored the broader significance, noting that “the concerning allegations… – which include racial profiling of a child and insufficient grounds for stopping and searching them six times in five months – are issues that we know disproportionately affect Black and other minority ethnic communities”
policeconduct.gov.uk. In other words, this was not an isolated anomaly but part of a wider pattern eroding public trust
Wrongful Gun-Raid Arrest of a Black Bank Manager
Another high-profile case reached a resolution in 2024: Dale Semper, a Black bank manager, settled a £1 million racial discrimination lawsuit against the Metropolitan Police. Semper’s ordeal began in August 2017 when he was pulled over while driving his partner to a train station
standard.co.uk. Officers handcuffed him in front of his neighbors and searched his car and home for firearms
standard.co.uk. Over the next two years, police even raided the homes of his partner and mother as part of a gun crime investigation – an investigation that ultimately collapsed with no charges or further action
standard.co.uk. Semper, a high-earning bank executive, was suspended from his job during this period, and he and his family endured two years of stress and anxiety while under suspicion
Convinced that he had been unfairly targeted because of his race, Semper and his relatives sued the Met for false imprisonment, malicious prosecution, and breaches of their human rights. In October 2024, after a seven-year fight, the Met agreed to settle the case out of court
standard.co.uk. As part of the settlement, police issued a formal apology, admitting that “some elements of the investigation were not handled as well as they could have been”
doughtystreet.co.uk. Notably, the Met also agreed to reinvestigate parts of Semper’s complaints that had been initially dismissed or ignored for years
Semper described the outcome as a “bitter-sweet moment.” While he felt some justice was done, he emphasized that his and his family’s lives “have been torn apart by the unjustified actions of the police”
doughtystreet.co.uk. He remains convinced that “the actions taken against me were motivated by racism, both conscious and unconscious”
doughtystreet.co.uk. Semper called on the Met’s leadership to learn from his case, hoping it would serve as an example in Commissioner Sir Mark Rowley’s drive to make the force “truly anti-racist”
doughtystreet.co.uk. This case not only provided a measure of vindication for Semper but also put a spotlight on how baseless, racially biased suspicions can upend an innocent person’s life, leading to major financial and reputational damage to the police when accountability is finally achieved.
Legal and Oversight Actions
Lawsuits and Disciplinary Proceedings: The Dale Semper case is one of the most significant legal actions on racial profiling in recent years, resulting in a reported £1 million settlement and apology from the Met
doughtystreet.co.uk. Such civil lawsuits signal that victims of profiling are increasingly seeking justice through the courts – and occasionally winning. Meanwhile, in the case of the 16-year-old repeatedly stopped in London, the outcome is pending; however, the IOPC has indicated potential gross misconduct charges for seven officers (and misconduct for an eighth) if the allegations are proven
itv.com. This could lead to internal disciplinary hearings and possible firings. It’s worth noting that police misconduct processes can be slow and complicated, often dragging on for years, but public pressure has been mounting to deal firmly with officers found to have engaged in racist conduct.
Watchdog and Court Oversight: The Independent Office for Police Conduct is playing a crucial role in these 2024 cases. Beyond individual investigations, the IOPC has been examining systemic issues. In November 2024, the IOPC released a report calling for urgent measures to stop the “adultification” of Black children in policing
reuters.com. Adultification refers to a bias where officers perceive Black youth as older or less innocent than they are
reuters.com – leading to harsher treatment during stop-and-search and use-of-force incidents. The IOPC cited instances where Black children under 18 were treated as adults, with safeguards ignored, and highlighted Home Office data: Black boys aged 10–17 had a stop-and-search rate four times higher than their white peers (106.3 per 1,000 vs 27.1 per 1,000)
reuters.com. IOPC Director General Rachel Watson acknowledged some progress in handling discrimination complaints but stressed “a lot more needs to be done”, noting that “too often Black communities feel over-policed as suspects and under-protected”
Oversight also comes from the judiciary and independent inquiries. The court of public opinion via media scrutiny pushed the Met to act in Semper’s case; a trial might have been even more damaging, so the force opted to settle and apologize. Separately, the landmark Casey Review (March 2023) declared the Met Police institutionally racist, a finding that loomed over 2024 and put pressure on police leaders to reform. In January 2024, Gavin Stephens – the chair of the National Police Chiefs’ Council – became the most senior active police leader to openly agree with that assessment, stating that policing is “institutionally racist” and calling for a wholesale redesign of policies and practices to root out discrimination
hnksolicitors.com. This frank admission by a police chief was seen as a legal and moral turning point, adding weight to potential parliamentary or judicial inquiries into police racism.
Public Response and Activism
Community Outrage and Grassroots Action: Each incident of racial profiling in 2024 was met with public anger and community action. In the case of the Black teenager stopped six times, it was a local community group (the Haringey stop-and-search monitoring group) that helped bring the issue to light and filed official complaints
itv.com. Such independent monitoring groups, often composed of local activists and citizens, have been vital in challenging police abuses. They also work with families to navigate the complaints process, demonstrating the critical role of community advocacy in holding police accountable.
On social media and in the streets, outrage was palpable. News of the 16-year-old’s repeated targeting spread on Twitter (X) and other platforms, feeding into ongoing conversations about #DrivingWhileBlack and #StopAndSearch injustices. While this particular case did not spark a large protest, it added to community distrust in the Met and likely to everyday conversations between Black parents and children on how to handle police encounters. In other instances, public protests have erupted when racial bias in policing crosses a line. (For example, in late 2023, protests occurred after the fatal police shooting of Chris Kaba, an unarmed Black man – illustrating broader anger at how Black lives are treated by law enforcement.) Activist coalitions like Black Lives Matter UK and Stand Up To Racism continued in 2024 to rally against systemic racism. In some cities, anti-racism marches explicitly demanded “an end to racist policing” alongside other calls for justice. These groups often cite cases like the teen in Tottenham or Dale Semper’s ordeal as evidence that promises of reform have not yet changed day-to-day policing for Black Britons.
Advocacy Groups and Watchdogs: Established civil rights organizations and NGOs amplified these issues in 2024. Amnesty International UK, for instance, released a report in February 2025 (drawing on 2024 research) that accused UK police of “supercharging racism” through new tech tools
amnesty.org.uk. Amnesty found that predictive policing systems (used by 33 of 43 forces) rely on historically biased data and effectively profile entire communities based on race and postcode, reinforcing discrimination
amnesty.org.uk. “These systems… serve only to supercharge racism,” Amnesty’s chief executive said, warning that treating whole neighborhoods as potential criminals “purely based on the colour of their skin or socio-economic background” has dire human rights implications
amnesty.org.uk. Such reports bolster activists’ arguments that racial profiling isn’t limited to individual bad apples – it can be baked into police strategies and algorithms.
Prominent voices from the Black community also spoke out. After his legal victory, Dale Semper himself became an advocate, using media interviews to highlight the trauma of being racially profiled and urging the Met to truly listen and change
doughtystreet.co.uk. His case was celebrated as a rare win, with commentators on social media calling it a “wake-up call” for the police. Meanwhile, journalists and influencers from minority communities kept a spotlight on everyday incidents – from viral videos of aggressive stop-and-searches to testimonies of young people routinely stopped for “fitting a description.” All this public pressure feeds into the growing demand that police forces reckon with racial bias.
Official Inquiries and Policy Changes
Faced with mounting evidence of racial profiling and community discontent, officials have had to respond. Parliamentary and Government Response: In October 2024, a debate on police accountability in Parliament acknowledged “fallen community confidence in policing… with lower confidence among Black communities”
hansard.parliament.uk. Government ministers noted that public trust is fraying and made it a mission to restore confidence
hansard.parliament.uk. There were promises of a “package of reforms” to improve police accountability and misconduct processes, partly in response to Baroness Casey’s findings and other reviews
hansard.parliament.uk. However, critics point out that the Government stopped short of explicitly endorsing the term “institutional racism” – a term the Home Office has been reluctant to use – and activists worry that without naming the problem, reforms may not go far enough. A Home Office spokesperson did, however, support the Police Race Action Plan and stressed that officers must be held to the highest standards, stating that when officers abuse their powers or act unlawfully, “there will be rapid and robust processes in place to hold them to account.”
Police Race Action Plan: In 2024, police leadership highlighted ongoing efforts under the National Police Chiefs’ Council (NPCC) Police Race Action Plan, a nationwide initiative launched to address racism in policing. A progress report showed some concrete steps: for example, police forces have tightened vetting and discipline, resulting in 54 officers and staff being dismissed for discriminatory conduct in 2022/23 – more than double the number two years prior
npcc.police.uk. A new Code of Ethics was introduced to reinforce expected standards
npcc.police.uk. The plan also emphasizes better data collection on race (to identify disparities) and an “explain or reform” approach to any unequal outcomes
npcc.police.uk. Encouragingly, the NPCC reported that the rate of stop and search for Black people has slightly declined each year from 2020/21 to 2022/23, reducing (though not eliminating) the disproportionality
npcc.police.uk. Use of force against Black individuals also reportedly fell each year since 2020
npcc.police.uk. Police training is being revamped as well – with new curriculum content on the history of policing Black communities and anti-racism training developed alongside community advisors
npcc.police.uk. And for the first time, policing bodies have invited independent experts from Black communities to sit on panels providing advice and scrutiny on police policies
Despite these initiatives, many remain skeptical. The Independent Office for Police Conduct itself, in a separate race discrimination review, urged “focused and measurable change” to eliminate racial disparities in stop and search, use of force, and other powers
reuters.com. In other words, lofty promises need to translate into visible culture change on the ground. The Met’s Commissioner Mark Rowley has publicly committed to making the force anti-racist, but he has also expressed discomfort with the term “institutional racism,” reflecting a tension between acknowledgment and action. It’s clear that 2024’s incidents – from a teenager’s repeated harassment to a professional’s life derailed – added pressure on police and government to move beyond rhetoric.
Conclusion
The year 2024 saw the issue of racial profiling by UK police remain in the spotlight through concrete cases and public scrutiny. Individual injustices – whether caught on camera or revealed in court – fueled demands for systemic change. Legal actions like Dale Semper’s case show that victims can prevail, yet they also highlight how protracted and hard-won justice is in these situations. Public responses, from community watchdog groups to national NGOs, are increasingly coordinated in condemning biased policing. Officialdom has started to respond: police leaders now openly talk about racism within the ranks, oversight bodies are pressing for reforms, and new policies are on the table to address disparities.
Still, communities of color in Britain are waiting to see words turn into deeds. The incidents of 2024 underline a fundamental truth: trust in policing cannot be rebuilt until racial profiling is honestly confronted and rooted out. Each stop without cause, each unjustified use of force, carries a human cost and chips away at the legitimacy of law enforcement. As the UK moves forward, the hope is that lessons from these cases will drive meaningful change – so that headlines about racial profiling can become relics of the past rather than continuing reports of the present.
Sources:
- Independent Office for Police Conduct – Investigation into repeated stop-and-search of Black child (Feb 2024)policeconduct.gov.ukpoliceconduct.gov.uk
- ITV News – “Met officers investigated after black teenager stopped and searched six times”itv.comitv.com
- Evening Standard – “Black bank manager who sued Met for £1m over gun arrest settles claim” (Oct 2024)standard.co.ukstandard.co.uk
- Doughty Street Chambers – Press release on Dale Semper case settlement (Oct 2024)doughtystreet.co.ukdoughtystreet.co.uk
- Reuters – “Watchdog calls for measures to stop ‘adultification’ of Black children” (Nov 2024)reuters.comreuters.com
- Amnesty International UK – “Police forces ‘supercharging racism’ with predictive tech” (Feb 2025)amnesty.org.uk
- HNK Solicitors – Summary of NPCC Chair’s interview on institutional racism (Jan 2024)hnksolicitors.com
- Hansard (UK Parliament) – Police accountability debate (Oct 2024)hansard.parliament.ukhansard.parliament.uk
- NPCC Police Race Action Plan – Progress Report (2023–24)npcc.police.uknpcc.police.uk
