Torbay Council and Devon and Cornwall Police will be holding a joint meeting as part of Torbay’s ongoing review into tackling racism.

On Wednesday 25th November at 6pm Torbay Council’s Review Panel into How do we make Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic Lives Matter in Torbay will be meeting with Senior Policing representatives on their key line of enquiry: How do we make Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic lives matter at Torbay’s public organisations?

It’s part of the comprehensive review launched in September in response to the death of George Floyd and the Black Lives Matter movement, and will continue with a series of panels with partners including education, culture, NHS and local business sectors, with a final report and recommendations to be presented in 2021.

Protests around the world started after George Floyd died at the hands of a police officer in Minneapolis, USA in May, including mass demonstrations in London and Bristol, and this has prompted Torbay to launch a local review.

Councillor Jermaine Atiya-Alla, Torbay’s first elected black councillor who is leading the local review, said: “We are looking forward to discussing with local police representatives the issues affecting Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic people in Torbay and what we can do together to improve things.

“We would like to invite members of the public to watch the meeting and also submit questions in advance, plus of course we are still keen for people to get in touch and share their experiences and ideas with us.”

Steve Darling, Leader of Torbay Council, said: “As a Council we are absolutely committed to respecting equality and diversity and we want to understand more about how some of our communities here are disadvantaged, and what we can do to improve things here in the Bay. It’s a global issue but we can all play our own part, however small, to make the world a better and more equitable place.”

Chief Superintendent Nikki Leaper said: “The public interest in the Black Lives Matter movement this year has put the issues of equality, diversity, inclusion and fairness under greater scrutiny, including in relation to policing.

“This is a much wider problem which affects society as a whole and not one that we can solve alone.

“Devon and Cornwall Police welcomes this opportunity for a discussion with Torbay Council, partners and the public.

“The Force has engaged with Black, Asian and minority ethnic groups this year in order to better understand their perceptions of policing.

“We have also committed to publishing our data on disproportionality in areas such as stop and search and we are determined to work with our communities and other agencies to address the underlying causes of any disparity.

“This event provides another chance for us to share our work and also to listen to the lived experiences of our community so we can all work together.”

How you can get involved

• You will be able to watch the meeting via zoom – Find out more on our website. 
• If you would like to ask the panel a question at the meeting, please register in advance by emailing equality@torbay.gov.uk
• You can also read the minutes and view the video from previous meetings here.
• You can watch Councillor Jermaine Atiya-Alla's video on Black History Month with Torquay Museum here, where he also discusses Torbay's review.

Other upcoming events

Virtual Focus Groups 24th - 28th November

As part of the How do we make Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic lives matter in Torbay Review, we have joined with NHS Devon Sustainability and Transformation Partnership (STP) to hold some virtual focus group sessions. The sessions are being carried out by Nous (an external consultancy) to explore the experiences of local BAME communities.

We are looking for individuals from BAME communities to take part, to talk about their experiences in Torbay and when accessing health and care services in Devon.

We will be running three sessions which will run for roughly 90 minutes on:

Tuesday 24^th November at 4.30pm

Wednesday 25^th November at 12:30pm

Saturday 28^th November at 11am

To sign up, please email Amatey Doku (Amatey.doku@nousgroup.com) by Sunday 22^nd November.