Crown Prosecution Service North East BAME Community Forum

People all across the world have been impacted by the tragic killing of George Floyd and the powerful messages coming from the Black Lives Matter movement, but we are acutely aware that our Black Asian Minority Ethnic (BAME) communities have been particularly distressed and affected by the challenging and emotive nature of the issue and recent events.

At the same time, we’ve heard from our own colleagues that the additional stress of the Coronavirus pandemic and the disproportionate impact on BAME communities has compounded already heightened levels of anxiety.

Talking about race and racism is not an easy or comfortable conversation for anyone to have and we are aware it causes some people to relive trauma by sharing their experiences. But as long as you are comfortable, we would like to have that conversation and hear directly from you, in a safe space which is dedicated to our BAME community members, so you can speak freely and openly. We do not want this to be an isolated conversation; we expect follow-up conversations to ensure we continue to listen.

What we would like to focus the session on is how recent events have impacted you, your family and your community in terms of how you view the Criminal Justice System and, more specifically, the CPS as the public prosecution service. How are we doing? Are we are getting it right? And if not, what more we can do? We genuinely want to hear your views, including any concerns, and respond to them as best we can. We will also ensure that your insights feed into our on-going Covid-19 recovery planning and build our understanding of where we need to focus our attention to increase public confidence.

Jan Lamping, Chief Crown Prosecutor for CPS North East, would like to hold a virtual Community Forum for those in the BAME communities to gain a better understanding of the experiences you have had. This will be held on the 1st September 2020 via Microsoft Teams from 14.30-16:00pm.

If you would like the opportunity to be a part of the BAME Community Forum, please contact Becky Croser, Inclusion and Community Engagement Manager, at [email protected].