Force appoints two new BME ambassadors

TWO MORE people have been appointed as “ambassadors” to promote the police service in West Yorkshire as a career option to underrepresented groups.

Sophia Ghafoor and Junier Browne will join PC Liz Rook, who was appointed as West Yorkshire Police’s “positive action” coordinator in February.

Ms Ghafoor, who has worked as a financial investigator for the force since 2005, said the force was making “positive and proactive steps to make us a diverse employer”.

She said: “As an Asian woman, the police wasn’t a natural choice of career for me. However, when I saw the job advert and remember being surprised that a role like this existed in the police and working in accountancy, I had the skills that were transferable into the role and didn’t hesitate in applying.”

Figures published by the Home Office last month showed the force has a disproportionately low number of black and ethnic minority (BME) officers, compared with the population it represents.

In March this year, the equivalent of 286 full-time BME officers were employed by West Yorkshire Police – 218 men and 68 women. There were six senior officers.

They make up 5.7 per cent of the total number of officers, compared to 18.2 per cent of West Yorkshire’s total population.