Police diversity: Urgent action needed to tackle consistent failure

Monday 23 May 2016 @ 13:20
Parliamentary Committees and Public Enquiries

The Home Affairs Committee says "urgent and radical action" is needed to tackle the gross under-representation of black and minority ethnic people in the police forces of England and Wales, which the police service has "consistently failed to address" over several decades.

The Report

The facts on police diversity are stark:

No police force in England and Wales has a Black or Minority Ethnic (BME) representation which matches its local demographic.
11 forces have no BME officers above the rank of Inspector.
In 1999, 2% of police officers in England and Wales were from a BME background, compared to 6.5% of the population and 9.5% of the UK workforce.
By 2015, 5.5% of police officers were from a BME background, compared to 14% of the population, and 11.4% of the UK workforce.
In the Metropolitan Police Service BME police officer representation is 12.4%, compared to 40.2% of the population.
There are no Chief Constables who are BME.
As of October 2015, 4 police forces—Cheshire, North Yorkshire, Dyfed-Powys and Durham—employ no Black or Black British police officers at all.

The Committee calls for the appointment of a national "Diversity Champion" by the Home Secretary to provide a national lead across the police service, to collect and publish data, promote best practise and oversee a diversity lead in each of the 43 forces.

Key findings

The Committee says practical steps should be taken in each force, against which their performance should be assessed, including:

Introducing coaching and mentoring for BME officers
Selection panels, including for specialist posts, to receive diversity training
More external assessors from BME background to be appointed to selection panels
Units which deal with complaints from officers on personnel matters should receive dedicated training on diversity issues
Establishment of a BME senior leaders' forum, similar to the Association of Senior Women in Policing, to provide support and guidance to BME officers seeking promotion

Chair's comments

Rt Hon Keith Vaz MP, Chair of the Committee, said:

"The lack of black and minority ethnic representation in our police forces is stark and shocking, and no one looking at this picture can believe it promotes effective policing. In order to police by consent in 21st Century Britain, the police service must mirror the communities they represent, in religion, race and ethnicity. If not, they will be unable to deal with the challenges of modern day policing.

If we compare the figures from 1999 and 2015, representation of the population in our police forces has progressed at a snail’s pace. This was unacceptable in 1999 and it's totally unacceptable now. It is as if the Macpherson report was never written. Despite good intentions from senior officers, diversity and representation in police forces has consistently failed to improve, we must take radical action now.

The Home Secretary should appoint a national "Diversity Champion" co-ordinating diversity leads in each of the 43 police forces in England and Wales. We need an immediate 4 step programme of training, mentoring and ongoing assessment at the stages of recruitment and retention, and support for the efforts for BME officers to rise through the chain of command."

Further information

Channel website: http://www.parliament.uk/

Share this article

Latest News from
Parliamentary Committees and Public Enquiries

Still no fines as a result of 2022 Russian sanctions breaches

19/04/2024 16:25:00

No fines for sanctions breaches have been levied as a result of the 2022 sanctions against Russia since its full-scale invasion of Ukraine, correspondence from the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) reveals.

Government rejects Committee’s calls for increased parliamentary scrutiny of treaties

18/04/2024 13:05:00

The Public Administration and Constitutional Affairs Committee (PACAC) today publishes the Government’s response to its report on scrutiny of international treaties.

New select committee proposed to provide scrutiny of highly confidential spending

15/04/2024 13:05:00

The Public Accounts Committee (PAC) today calls for the establishment of a new select committee, to consider sound financial practice and value for money in sensitive areas which are outside the remit of the statutory Intelligence and Security Committee of Parliament.

Government should learn lessons from pandemic to improve communications and counter misinformation

12/04/2024 15:05:00

Scientists working across government should be allowed and encouraged to take on a wider public facing role in the media to combat the spread of misinformation, a report from MPs says today.

MPs call for copyright changes and new champion for freelancers to improve precarious pay and working conditions in creative industries

10/04/2024 13:05:00

Many successful musicians, actors, writers and visual artists are struggling to make a living due to gaps in copyright protection, a lack of support for freelancers and unpredictable returns from music streaming, MPs warn today.

Equity in cricket: ECB must closely monitor Yorkshire to ensure no return to ‘business as usual’, MPs say

05/04/2024 14:05:00

The ECB must closely monitor Yorkshire CCC to ensure there is no return to the ‘business as usual’ that allowed a culture of discrimination to take root and thrive at the club, MPs say today.

Government must clamp down on unregulated canine fertility clinics and unlicensed pet breeders, say MPs

05/04/2024 12:25:00

The EFRA Committee wants the Government to address the fact that more than half of the puppies entering the market come from unlicensed breeders, and is today calling for a list of licensed breeders to be made public, and a change in the licensing regulations so as to include breeders of two or more litters a year, in order to counter low welfare breeding practices and provide assurance to buyers.

Committee urges Government to hold aviation industry accountable for emissions reductions

04/04/2024 14:05:00

The Environmental Audit Committee has urged the Government to hold the aviation industry accountable for its proposed emissions reductions, as it publishes the Government’s response to its report on net zero aviation.

Shared ownership is failing to deliver an affordable route to homeownership, say MPs

28/03/2024 16:05:00

Shared ownership schemes are drastically failing to deliver an affordable route to homeownership for too many people and subject buyers to rising rents, uncapped service charges, and a disproportionate exposure to repair and maintenance costs, says the cross-party Levelling Up, Housing and Communities (LUHC) Committee in a report published today (Thursday).

WIREDGOV