Photo credit: Maria Veraj
The Institute for Inclusive Communities and Environments welcomed Dr Angela Herbert MBE on 15 June 2026 for a public lecture on embedding racial equity across blue light and associated services. The event, co-hosted with the Institute for Life Course Development, drew a strong turnout of staff, students, and external partners from across the justice, education, and community sectors.
Blue light services, police, fire and rescue, and ambulance services, sit within a much wider system that includes courts, legal services, prisons and probation, health and social care, housing, education, and community organisations. Dr Herbert's lecture explored how persistent racial inequities across these services are shaped not by individual actions but by structures, governance, policies, and institutional culture, and how collaborative leadership, inclusive governance, workforce development, and cross-sector partnership can begin to address them.
A central theme of the lecture was the role of education and training institutions as an entry point for practitioners, shaping professional values and leadership approaches long before individuals reach the frontline. Dr Herbert argued that this makes universities and training providers pivotal to long-term system change.
The session itself was far from a one-way lecture: Dr Herbert used live Mentimeter polling throughout to draw out the audience's own experiences of inclusive practice, turning the room's responses into talking points in real time. This was followed by an extended and lively Q&A, chaired by Banji Adewumi MBE, Director of Equality, Diversity and Inclusion, with attendees pressing Dr Herbert on how the principles she set out could be applied within their own organisations and services. The evening closed with a drinks reception.
"[Inclusive design] is like baking a cake," she told attendees. "It needs to be folded in, not added on at the end." The analogy echoed the lecture's wider argument: that racial equity cannot be treated as an afterthought bolted onto existing structures, but has to be built into governance, leadership, and workforce development from the outset if it is to have any lasting effect.
Dr Herbert closed by calling on attendees to treat the session as a starting point rather than a conclusion, encouraging everyone in the room to commit to practical, sustained action within their own services and institutions.
About the Speaker
Dr Angela Herbert MBE is a public sector leader, educator, and organisational change specialist with over 40 years of experience across the justice and regulatory landscape, including senior roles at the Ministry of Justice and within the prison service. She is Chair of the Brent Police Independent Advisory Group and sits on several influential boards, including the London Police Race Action Plan Strategic Community Reference Group and the Independent Office for Police Conduct Stakeholder Panel.
She was awarded an MBE in 2008 for services to the Prison Service and crime prevention in London, and received an Honorary Doctorate of Law from the University of Greenwich in 2023 in recognition of her contribution to justice and public service.
About the Institute for Inclusive Communities and Environments
The Institute for Inclusive Communities and Environments at the University of Greenwich fosters interdisciplinary research that enriches lives, empowers communities and improves the world. Drawing on expertise across the arts, humanities and social sciences, the Institute works collaboratively with communities, organisations and policymakers in the UK and internationally to address the social and environmental challenges of our time, from inequality and social justice to sustainable cities, health and wellbeing, and the protection of natural ecosystems. The Institute is home to six research centres each bringing together researchers from different disciplines to tackle complex real-world problems. For more information, visit www.gre.ac.uk/las/ice.
