The National Black Police Association (NBPA) plans to march through London on Nov. 17 to protest the handling of racism allegations within the force.
The NBPA says it has several outstanding cases that it wants resolved, but the immediate cause of the boycott was the breakdown of talks regarding the case of Superintendent Ali Dizaei.
Dizaei was the subject of a two-year corruption investigation, during which he was accused of involvement in drugs, pornography and theft. Prosecutors dropped all charges against him last month, although he still faces internal disciplinary proceedings.
The NBPA said earlier this week that talks between the group and Met Police officials over Dizaei's potential reinstatement have broken down. The association has called for the suspension of the officers in charge of the investigation into Dizaei.
A police spokesman said the force was "extremely concerned" by the boycott call, while British government officials have criticized the move.
The Home Office, the government department ultimately responsible for policing and justice matters, called the boycott "a backward step that runs counter to the important work the Met and NBPA have been doing."
"It is vital that police forces represent the communities they serve. Any suggestion that minority ethnic people should boycott the Met Police is incredibly damaging both to Londoners and the police force as a whole," the Home Office said in a statement.
The boycott has also been criticized by London Mayor Ken Livingstone and the Metropolitan Police Sikh Association (MPSA).
Raj Kohli, the MPSA's deputy chairman, said that while the group supports the ideals the NBPA is striving for, they disagree with the group's tactics.
"What we need to do is to have people talking and listening to each other," he said Friday.
"This situation has reached an impasse where it looks like the two sides came away from the table with different impressions. The Met Police came away with one understanding whereas the black police association came away with a different one."
Kohli said his group is asking its 100 members, representing about 20 percent of London's Sikh police officers, if they support incremental action to express displeasure with the department's handling of racism complaints. Such action could include refusal to participate in job fairs, but an out-and-out boycott could hurt the long-terms goals of the NBPA and similar organizations, he said.
"Recruitment is not a tap you turn on or off, it takes time to build it up," Kohli said.
See previous story:
Black Police Recruits Asked To Boycott London Force (10/8/2003)
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