
In 2022, Hampshire Constabulary’s chief constable proudly stated: “Being anti-racist, ethical and inclusive is top of our agenda.” The county’s residents might have expected catching criminals or preventing crime to be top of the force’s agenda – but major changes were afoot on the other side of the thin blue line. The murder of George Floyd, a black truck driver, in the US in 2020 was, according to the force’s leaders, “a pivotal moment for policing in the UK”, even though it happened 4,000 miles away in a completely different policing environment.