Police and Prime Ministers: what to do when those in authority let us down
Fleur Boya
Tuesday 21st March was an eventful day. It marked the 63nd International Day for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination - a day dedicated to encouraging anti-racism and the discrimination of ethnic minorities from all over the world. It also marked the 14th International Day year of Down Syndrome Awareness – a day that raises global awareness for the rights and opportunities of people with Down Syndrome across the globe.
On the same Tuesday, the Baroness Casey review was released. Recognising grave levels of public concern following the kidnap, rape and murder of Sarah Everard by a serving Met officer in 2021 and other deeply troubling incidents, the Metropolitan Police Service appointed Baroness Louise Casey to lead an independent review of its culture and standards of behaviour.
The results of the review were scathing. The 363-page report details disturbing stories of sexual assaults, usually covered up or downplayed, with 12% of women in the Met saying they had been harassed or attacked at work, and one-third experiencing sexism. The report found that the Met – which stops more people per head of population than any other force - had been employing its stop and search powers to excessive degrees against black people. Ultimately, it concluded that the internal culture of the Met Police is inherently misogynistic, homophobic, and institutionally racist.
It was within a toxic culture like this that convicted rapists like David Carrick and Wayne Couzens were able to thrive and use their power and authority to cause harm to the very people they were supposed to protect.
The Metropolitan Police was established as an institution to serve and protect the rights of the public and ensure their safety: what this review has revealed is that because of toxic internal culture, lack of adequate vetting and training, and the protection of officers that should not be in uniform, there is now a rapid decline of public trust towards them.
The next day, on Wednesday 22nd March, former Prime Minister Boris Johnson faced intense questioning from MPs over accusations that he deliberately or recklessly misled Parliament over what he knew about Partygate. During the questioning, he insisted that he did not lie about rules and guidance being broken in Downing Street, claiming that the statements he made to the Commons were made in "good faith" and were based on assurances from senior staff. He also defended gatherings that he attended - five in total - claiming leaving dos and thanking staff were "absolutely essential for work purposes".
We have an expectation that those in positions of authority are to be more morally upstanding than the average person, simply because they are appointed to be the protectors, defenders, and representatives of the interests of the general public that are entrusted to them.
Throughout scripture, Christians are encouraged to submit to authority – be it governing bodies, elders, leaders, mentors, or monarchs.
“Let every person be subject to the governing authorities. For there is no authority except from God, and those that exist have been instituted by God. Therefore whoever resists the authorities resists what God has appointed, and those who resist will incur judgment. For rulers are not a terror to good conduct, but to bad. Would you have no fear of the one who is in authority? Then do what is good, and you will receive his approval, for he is God's servant for your good. But if you do wrong, be afraid, for he does not bear the sword in vain. For he is the servant of God, an avenger who carries out God's wrath on the wrongdoer.”
Romans 13 reminds us that governing authorities are appointed by God and that we are to honuor them and to avoid any wrong-doing so that we are not punished by these authorities but rather approved by them. So, what do we do if people who have been appointed by God to be in positions of authority are then exposed for wrongdoing? How are we as believers expected to respond to this?
I believe that there are three main principles which ought to guide us as Christians.
1. Be gracious
Christians are to be gracious and remember that, regardless of whatever premium moral standard we subconsciously apply to those in positions of power, our leaders are still human. We know from Scripture, history and our own day to day lives that humans – all humans – are deeply flawed.
But Jesus bent down and started to write on the ground with his finger. When they kept on questioning him, he straightened up and said to them, “Let any one of you who is without sin be the first to throw a stone at her.” Again he stooped down and wrote on the ground. At this, those who heard began to go away one at a time, the older ones first, until only Jesus was left, with the woman still standing there.
Knowing that no one is without their flaws, and that we have all sinned, coupled with knowing that there is no-one perfect than God, we ought to prayerfully extend grace to those around us, especially those who have the weight of authority on their shoulders. We ought to leave the judgement to God, who alone is morally perfect, and focus on remembering that we all have fallen short of the glory of God.
2. Remember that God is the highest authority
Secondly, we should remember that God has been, is and always will be, sovereign. As we extend grace to a potentially less than honest former Prime Minster and a deeply broken Metropolitan Police force, we are to remember to God is sovereign always. This means that above a humanly flawed authority, there is a morally perfect, sovereign king that we are to submit ourselves to above anyone else. We may struggle to trust our elected representatives and those appointed to keep us safe – but we have an assurance knowing that in God’s perfection, He will never abuse our trust or let us down.
“He is the Rock, his works are perfect, and all his ways are just. A faithful God who does no wrong, upright and just is he."
We cannot and should not demand a faithfulness from the police and Prime Ministers that only God can provide. Only God is perfect in his works and just in all his ways, and should His word contradict that of man, we follow God. However, that does not mean that we disregard those in authority, but we pray that God would give our leaders wisdom to govern faithfully, and that he might grant us the wisdom to honour them whilst first and foremost submitting ourselves to Him.
"Show proper respect to everyone, love the family of believers, fear God, honor the emperor."
3. Examine your own life
Finally, when we see that Prime Ministers and police officers are falling short in their duties and obligations, and they are exposed for actively engaging in wrongdoing – we are not obliged to follow their example. Rather, we are to examine ourselves and our own lives, and live according to the standards that we expect from them.
"Learn to do good; seek justice, correct oppression; bring justice to the fatherless, plead the widow's cause."
In our daily lives and through the power and guidance of the Holy Spirit, we are able to make an active effort to demonstrate love and care to those that are most in need in our society today. We can take it upon ourselves to stand against racism, misogyny, homophobia, ableism and discrimination wherever we may see it happening. It is important that we remain advocates for those that are oppressed regardless of whether the authorities that rule us are doing the same or not. Through strength and by the grace of God, we must pursue justice and help protect each other’s rights. We are to hold ourselves to an even higher standard than we would anyone else because we know that we will be held accountable by God for our own actions.
A week that was supposed to draw attention to the global awareness of anti-racism and the rights and empowerment of the global Down syndrome community, became a week where a culture of racism and discrimination was exposed in the Metropolitan police, and where a former prime minister dominated the headlines for being under investigation for breaking the laws he set while being in office.
Though this week has understandably been very discouraging, let us pray that it would be catalyst for change within the Police and within Parliament, and that those in power would begin work to regain the public’s trust once again; and let us also pray that we ourselves would be vessels of positive change in the public square.
