Police-community relations in Leicester, Leicestershire and Rutland (LLR) face ongoing challenges despite strong police efforts in developing consultation mechanisms like the Independent Advisory Groups (IAGs), as complex issues around discrimination and racial disparities in policing require continued attention and innovation (TREC, 2025c). Data shows that Black residents in Leicester experience stop and search rates six-times higher than white residents (TREC, 2022a), while East and Southeast-Asian populations report less than 10% of hate crimes (University of Leicester, 2024). The 2022 Leicester riots highlighted areas where police-community engagement could be strengthened, revealing opportunities to build greater trust and mutual understanding (Buaras, 2025).
The Race Equality Centre (TREC), having participated in IAGs since their inception, suggests that these forums need to evolve beyond consultation spaces to achieve their mandate to "challenge conventional thinking and amplify underrepresented perspectives" (Leicestershire Police, 2024). This research proposes enhancing current approaches by moving towards genuine co-production of solutions, adopting a Solution-Oriented Practice approach that asks communities not just "what's wrong?" but "what does good look like?" (Coxhead et al., 2025).
The Colour of Injustice Conference hosted by TREC called for actions such as empowering youth with knowledge of their rights, developing community-controlled oversight mechanisms, and building trust with police through collaboration rather than performative engagement (TREC, 2021a). Therefore, this study is not about documenting discrimination but rather combatting discrimination at the root level by transforming police engagement forums (such as IAGs) into co-production mechanisms where LLR’s diverse communities become ‘architects’ of their own safety futures rather than simply subjects of policing.鈥�
The project will leverage TREC’s existing community infrastructure such as The Racial Minority Voluntary and Community Sector (VCS) Assembly’ 130 member organizations (TREC, 2025c), to develop a revised IAG model that is grounded in prosocial agency where communities co-produce safety strategies, and where their lived experiences shape policing practice. In so doing, the research addresses TREC’s priority to tackle the structures that enable systematic exclusion of minority voices from decisions affecting their lives (TREC, 2021c). Ultimately, this project recognizes that sustainable community safety naturally emerges from collaborative spaces where communities are treated as equal stakeholders in public safety decision-making.
This project has been co-created with and is supported by researchers from 性吧电台, University of Leicester and partners at The Race Equality Centre. The successful candidate for this project will be enrolled at 性吧电台.鈥�
Project Aims:
- To understand how discrimination and social exclusion shape intelligence-sharing patterns within Leicester, Leicestershire and Rutland's minority communities.
- To develop and evaluate a revised IAG model that shifts from community consultation to co-production of safety futures through protocols that integrate community intelligence into police decision-making.
- To develop measurable accountability frameworks that can lead to reduction in racial disparities, discrimination and social injustice.
- To empower LLR’s young and local communities with knowledge and collaborative spaces to challenge discriminatory practices in how they are policed.
Estimated thesis submission: