‘A chance of a lifetime missed’
THE president of the National Black Police Association (NBPA) has criticised the way forces across England and Wales have recruited new officers as a “once-in-a-lifetime opportunity missed”.
Speaking exclusively to Eastern Eye, Inspector Andy George said the NBPA was “very concerned” that not one single police force was representative of the communities it protected and served.
The figures were obtained under freedom of information and publicly available national data.
“This was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to restructure and get the demographics of our workforce right,” said George. “It’s so important that we have police forces and police services that are representative of the communities.
“It’s not just around diversity gone mad or virtue signalling, this is about an operational necessity to get things right. To have officers and staff members in place who understand all the communities that have contacts with them, because what you have to remember is every person you see from a black or Asian background and uniform is a community member, as well as a police officer.”
These officers, said the NBPA president, are the difference between a positive or negative experience faced by minority groups.
“They’re a valuable resource for what we have internally now. We need to have more of those people from those backgrounds in key decisionmaking areas, so we can actually understand what emerging crime trends are, what community needs are, and put our resources and align our resources to meet those needs.”
Both the Home Office and the National Police Chief’s Council (NPCC) told Eastern Eye that they want forces to do more in tackling the lack of diversity in the police.
“We know there is more to do,” said a Home Office spokesperson.
Despite forces trying to improve the diversity of their workforce and a government scheme to boost recruitment, the figures show a worrying picture.
Data is published annually, breaking down each force by ethnicity. All forces are below the percentage of Black, Asian, and Minority Ethnic (BAME) officers compared to the population of BAME residents in the area they serve.
The force with the biggest difference was the Metropolitan Police. The area the Met represents has a BAME population of 40 per cent. However, as of June 2021, black, Asian and mixed race full-time, serving officers make up only 14 per cent of the force. This excludes part-time officers and specials.
A spokesperson from the Met said, “We want to make real progress as quickly as possible, which is why we are constantly striving across multiple fronts to work towards achieving this aspiration.
“While progress has been made, if we are truly to reflect London in our workforce, we have much further to go,” they added.
“We recognise that trust in the Met is still low in some communities, and one of the top priorities is to increase public confidence, particularly among Black, Asian and multiple ethnic communities.
“A wide range of activities has already been carried out to build stronger relationships with all diverse communities and understand their concerns, and these continue at pace.”
As of July 2021, the Met has slightly increased BAME representation. More than 5,220 officers are from under-represented communities who make up 16 per cent of all front-line staff.
Another force struggling with diversity is the Leicestershire Constabulary. Like the Met, the number of ethnic minority officers do not reflect the community they serve.
Non-white residents make up 21 per cent of the force area, yet just eight per cent of the full-term serving officers are from ethnic minority communities.
A spokesperson from Leicestershire Police said, “It is undeniable that we need to be more representative within our force and reflect the communities that we serve. We are working hard to understand our workforce, creating an inclusive culture and environment where staff can develop.
“In the past, many ethnic minority communities have not seen the police as a career they want to go into. This may be due to a general distrust of policing or some of the negative experiences BAME staff have had.”
“It is our objective to recruit a force, fully utilising positive action measures, which is as diverse as the communities that we serve in Leicester, Leicestershire and Rutland.”
Dal Babu is a former chief superintendent and founder of the Met’s Muslim Association. Having a workforce that represents the community is something he campaigned for during his time in the service.
“The police have never actually represented the public,” said Babu.
“When it comes to south Asian and black people, we remain hugely under-represented.
“I do not think there is a lack of recruits either. So, we need to look at the procedures, how officers are treated, and what opportunities they get once they are in the organisation. There needs to be a big shake-up.”
In September 2019, prime minister Boris Johnson announced a new government scheme to recruit 20,000 new police officers. Called Operation Uplift, forces were set targets to bring in a certain number of recruits.
At the time, home secretary Priti Patel said, “This is the people’s priority, and it is exactly what the government is delivering.” The total number of police officers has increased since the announcement of the scheme. However, freedom of information requests show that several police forces are not recruiting enough officers from minority communities through the process.
A Home Office spokesperson said, “The policing minister wrote to all 43 police forces earlier this year, urging them to ensure that they seize the opportunity presented by Uplift to recruit officers from a wide range of
backgrounds.”