By Peter Burdin, Ubuntu Roundtables, Former Africa Bureau Chief at the BBC.
At the two Ubuntu Round Tables I attended the young people clearly enjoyed their Round Table experience:
“Fun, Interactive, Marvellous, Empowering, Amazing, Joyful, Magnificent” – these are just some of the words Year Nine students used to describe their encounters with the Police, while the Police also enjoyed the day and the opportunity to explain their work.
About sixty young people took part in the two sessions I attended at a school in north London, funded by the City Academy Trust. They were excited to see a dozen police officers at their school. In the spirit of the Round Tables the police don’t wear their uniforms, so one potential barrier between them and the young people was immediately broken down.
After a few group games to break the ice, discussions began in earnest. Both young people and the police discussed how they felt on the streets. One young boy told the story about how he was chased by a gang, so now he never feels safe. The police officers explained the pressures and fears they sometimes felt when they encountered groups of young people in the streets.
Chief Inspector Tom Beavon is leading the Metropolitan Police’s engagement with the Ubuntu Round Tables. He feels that the Round Tables are a tremendous idea:
“When we talk to officers after they’ve taken part in the Round Tables, they often say they found the experience eye-opening and rewarding. When they enter the Round Table, they see young people who are initially very apprehensive about being in the same room as a police officer, never mind talking to the police. Then they see them opening up and discussing things, and by the end, having very open conversations flowing in both directions. That’s deeply satisfying.”
One of the thorniest issues examined by both the students and the police was the controversial “stop and search” system where the police identify a young person and search them to check if they have anything illegal in their possession, such as drugs or knives. While the police see this as crime prevention, the young people often see it as a form of persecution, singling some people out and victimising them.
“We don’t just pick a random person to search”, explained one officer, “everything we do we have to justify and provide legitimate reasons why we decided to stop someone. If we find the person is carrying a knife, it’s particularly scary.”
They then took part in reconstructions of real life scenarios, only this time with the police playing the role of the young people in the street and the young people acting as the police officers. This enabled both police and young people to follow the Ubuntu principles of walking in each other’s shoes. It proved an eye opener for many of the young people as they started to see the police in a new light:
"It has helped me get a better understanding of the police and to think of them as humans, to see them as normal people who live their lives and have families. They are different people without the uniform”.
Another young person added:
“They were willing to share stories about their real lives. By the end of the day they were our friends, not just police officers. It was nice to speak with them about more than their day jobs."
One of the youths summed up what many in their group felt about the Round Table: “I learned that not all police are bad or against you. Police aren’t as bad as people say, they help people. I learned how police are not always aggressive.”
For their part, some of the police were concerned that the young people saw them as enforcers who go around arresting and handcuffing people rather than as people who are simply trying to help people:
“They are just young people trying to get their footing in the world. They are fascinated by the gadgets we police officers carry. I had to explain to them that policing isn’t just about Tasers and Truncheons, we have to assess every situation and make decisions on how to respond to protect ourselves and the public."
“Communication is key. Our strongest weapon isn’t a gun or a taser, it’s our voice and the way we speak and the body language we use. I’m not trained to use a Taser, but I’m trained to speak, so communication is often the best weapon.”
Overall, the police officers took away some positive reactions to the session:
“The Ubuntu project is a great idea, the idea of Round Table discussions where everyone is equal and everyone has a similar voice”, said one officer, “I believe that idea eliminates the main concern that young people have about dealing with and talking to the police.”
“Ubuntu aligns perfectly with our values 100%”, her colleague added, “It has a big role in policing. I do my police job with kindness, that’s my core value. Compassion in this job is very important. I’d love to see more Ubuntu in my organisation.”
Another officer felt she’d made a real difference to young people’s lives during the Round Table:
“I felt very connected to some of the youth, and they shared with me some of the things that were bothering them at school or at home. I think we were able to show them the human side of being police officers."
One police officer said this had made the day worthwhile:
“What I’ve learned today is that the more they got to see us, the more they realised that police officers are just like them. Because we were honest and frank with each other, we were able to make massive breakthroughs. At the end of the session, most of them said they would trust the police. So for me, that was a breakthrough."
Chief Inspector Tom Beavon feels the Round Tables align well with the police’s objectives for engaging with young people:
“In the Round Tables, there is always that moment when the magic happens and you see a bond forming between the young people and the police officers. And that usually comes when one of the officers reveals their vulnerability, and the young people realise that the police are only human and that they have their best interests at heart and are there to protect them and look after them. That really builds trust and a better understanding between the young people and the police."
“For their part, the police start to see things from a young person’s perspective. They gain a better understanding of things they might do that can exacerbate a situation”, as Chief Inspector Tom Beavon explained:
“For instance, police officers look around and make eye contact on a regular basis when out on patrol in order to take in their surroundings and work out what people are up to. But one young person informed us that in their culture, maintaining eye contact is seen as threatening. So there are things police do that can antagonise people without realising it. There are things young people can learn from the police’s perspective and how the police can also be fearful in conflict situations. There are things to be learned on both sides”.
According to Tom, these lessons are carried forward by the officers when they return to their day jobs:
“This greater level of trust is something we can build upon to create proper relationships and better understanding. That way, the young people are more likely to realise that we’re on their side and to call on us to help them, whereas previously they may have shunned making contact, often trying to sort issues themselves, which can put them at much greater risk."
Round Tables have now been held in several London boroughs, with more planned in the months ahead. They have already engaged hundreds of police and young people. One core part of the Round Tables' success is that they are led by the youth. Twelve student facilitators from Year 9 were trained for this most recent Round Table. They have now gone on to lead their own Living Ubuntu projects at their schools.
Issy Crocker and her Youth Futures team design and deliver the Round Tables. Sarah Boulton is the project manager and lead:
“By bringing people together, we aim to foster understanding, dignity and shared responsibility, values that sit at the heart of our work…our approach remains rooted in Ubuntu, the understanding that our humanity is bound up with one another."
Certainly, the students’ teachers see the benefits. As one of the Year 9 course leaders explained:
“Living Ubuntu isn’t just what happens on the day of the workshop, it’s what happens afterwards, and many students want to keep the Ubuntu lessons going and work on the next steps. It’s all about taking a few steps up the mountain. Some of our kids will never get another chance to interact with police officers like this, it removes their anxieties, and now they can start to build better relationships."
“Some of our students are from families whose interactions with the police haven’t always been positive. This is an opportunity for them to see the police in a more positive light. We believe that a programme like this, where they get to interact with the police, is very rewarding to see, and very rewarding to see the positive impact it has on our students. I’ve seen the benefits of that, and I’m really proud of that."
My own impressions of the Round Tables were that it was an exhilarating experience to see both police and youth working together on common ground. One session can’t resolve all the divisions, but projects like the Ubuntu Round Tables have to be a step forward in breaking down some of these barriers.
