In the wake of the killing of George Floyd in Minneapolis in May 2020, the issue of race and policing once again became of the focus of international attention Whether at home or abroad, the Black Live Matter movement provided thousands of people with the impetus to question the way institutions – beyond just the police – treat Black and more broadly BAME people.

The clinic’s Race and Policing Forum invited students to consider race and policing in the UK and the USA. It focused on comparing the legal framework in the two jurisdictions, but also considered the historical parallels and important differences between the legal developments in both countries. The Fourm provided challenging reading materials, presentations by experts and academics whilst also asking the students to form their own view on the issues. The Forum culminated in an essay competition, the winner being awarded £500. Entries were then reviewed by a panel of academics from various partner universities.

The winner of our essay competition was Yewande Okeyan from King’s College London.

You can read Yewande’s work by using the link below, along with the essays of runners up, Keiran Reidy and James Thompson.

We hope to publish the 10 shortlisted essays as a short book in the first half of 2021.