Birmingham Black Policing Charter
Birmingham is the first live implementation of the Alliance for Police Accountability's place-based model. The work is building a locally owned route through which Black communities can define their expectations of policing and sustain scrutiny over time.
The Birmingham process is guided by the Policing Accountability Framework, but its Charter will belong to Birmingham. Its priorities will be established through local evidence, participation and democratic decision-making, not decided nationally in advance.
01
About the Birmingham programme
The Birmingham Black Policing Charter process was publicly launched on Stephen Lawrence Day, 22 April 2026. Birmingham Race Impact Group is the local partner working with the APA to support the process.
The public launch brought community members together with representatives of policing and elected policing governance. It marked the start of the work, not the publication of a finished Charter.
The APA provides the framework, facilitation and shared quality standards. Birmingham's communities provide the knowledge, priorities and democratic mandate that will give the Charter its substance and legitimacy.
02
How the Charter will be developed
01
Listen and learn
The process brings together lived experience, Birmingham's history, rights, official evidence and knowledge of how policing and accountability operate locally.
02
Set community priorities
Community participation and deliberation will identify the issues and standards that Birmingham's Charter should address.
03
Agree the Charter
The priorities will be developed into a clear Charter and agreed through a recognised local democratic process.
04
Maintain scrutiny
Ongoing community-led monitoring will gather evidence, track institutional responses and report back publicly against the agreed Charter.
03
What will guide the work
local ownership of Birmingham's priorities and decisions;
independence from the institutions being scrutinised;
participation that reflects different experiences within Birmingham's Black communities;
accessible, safe and trauma-informed ways to contribute;
careful and transparent use of evidence;
fair scrutiny, including clear questions and an opportunity to respond;
public reporting so commitments and unresolved concerns can be followed over time.
04
Current status
The Birmingham Charter is in development. The initial public launch has taken place and the programme is building the community participation, shared knowledge and evidence needed for the next stages.
Charter priorities will be published once they have been considered and agreed through Birmingham's local process. Until then, draft proposals or programme-wide examples should not be read as the settled position of Birmingham's communities.
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Take part or follow the work
If you are part of Birmingham's Black communities or a local organisation and would like to hear about opportunities to participate, contact the APA. We will add public meetings, updates and the agreed Charter to this page as they become available.
Contact the APA