Home Office bi-annual Police Workforce statistics
APCC Workforce Lead, Kim McGuinness and Equalities, Diversity and Human Rights Lead, Hardyal Dhindsa said:
“We welcome the figures announced by the Home Office today, showing growth in both the police officer workforce and the increased proportion of officers that are Black, Asian, or Minority Ethnic (BAME).
In terms of ethnicity, the police workforce is now the most diverse it has ever been and we are also seeing a gradual improvement in the proportion of promotions where the officer promoted is BAME, currently at its highest level since 2009/10. This reflects how PCCs and CCs are driving progress on their commitments in the Policing Vision 2025, to make the Police Service more representative of the communities it serves.
There is still further to go, and recruitment is only part of the picture. More needs to be done to foster a culture that not only recruits officers and staff that are more representative of their communities, but enables and encourages their retention and progression within the service.
We are committed to working with Chief Constables to deliver against the important commitments set out within the NPCC Equality, Diversity and Inclusion Strategy, and ensure that forces are able to recruit and retain more officers and staff from diverse backgrounds so that they can realise the organisational benefits of increased diversity and inclusion.”