Spy camera used on police after racism allegation

POLICE OFFICERS were secretly filmed with a spy camera by members of their own force investigating allegations of racism, it was revealed yesterday.

The officers, from West Midlands Police, reacted with anger to the hidden surveillance equipment which was installed after one was accused of racism towards a black female colleague.

They are "incensed" by the tactics of the West Midlands complaints department officers who installed a tiny lens and microphone inside a television set to monitor police at Birmingham International airport.

Posing as electricians the special unit swapped an existing television set in the police rest-room for a new one in which the surveillance equipment was concealed. Private conversations were recorded and viewed by investigators from the special police department over a seven-day period. A similar procedure was used to gather evidence against the alleged murderers of black teenager Stephen Lawrence.

The Macpherson inquiry into the Lawrence case accused the Metropolitan Police of "institutional racism" - an allegation that other police chiefs conceded could legitimately be levelled against their forces.

The West Midlands force has a relatively good record with regard to recruiting ethnic minorities. Some 320 officers in the area are black or of Asian origin - second only to the Met.

The surveillance of 40 officers at Birmingham was prompted by a complaint from a colleague attached to the airport unit who claimed she had been exposed to racist comments and that offensive posters had been pinned to a noticeboard.

Airport officers were furious, however, over what they regarded as an invasion of privacy. One uniformed policeman, who wished to remain anonymous, said: "It's entrapment and an absolute disgrace. Innocent police officers and support workers have had their private conversations taped and analysed on the basis of one complaint. We all feel cheated by the force.

"When you are in the social room you are trying to relax and unwind. As such, you talk about all sorts of things, including relationships and perhaps even marital problems."