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Why diversity in Britain's police force isn't just a PC matter Why diversity in Britain's police force isn't just a PC matter
(about 1 hour later)
The 1970s. John was tall and thin and sported the afro symbolic of the time. He was a family friend of sorts. My late mother knew him through the church. He wanted a good career and he decided to join the police force; a decision greeted with a mix of sadness and incredulity. He's going to join the police force – poor John.The 1970s. John was tall and thin and sported the afro symbolic of the time. He was a family friend of sorts. My late mother knew him through the church. He wanted a good career and he decided to join the police force; a decision greeted with a mix of sadness and incredulity. He's going to join the police force – poor John.
And poor he was; for when he wasn't being ridiculed on the street, John's role seemed to be that of forward police raid operative. He would inveigle his way into house parties and boisterous, overpopulated reggae sound system events; find out where the weed was being smoked and signal to his colleagues outside when the best time to pile in was. This worked for a while, but before long, John became known. Each time he was spotted, the party would stop, the lights would come on and John would be shown the door.And poor he was; for when he wasn't being ridiculed on the street, John's role seemed to be that of forward police raid operative. He would inveigle his way into house parties and boisterous, overpopulated reggae sound system events; find out where the weed was being smoked and signal to his colleagues outside when the best time to pile in was. This worked for a while, but before long, John became known. Each time he was spotted, the party would stop, the lights would come on and John would be shown the door.
He gave up on a police career. The cost outweighed the benefits.He gave up on a police career. The cost outweighed the benefits.
Things have improved since John's day, but being a minority officer is still a tough gig. Recruitment is not at the level that anyone at the Home Office would wish, but the bigger problem is retention and progression. There are just 48 black and minority ethnic superintendents and chief superintendents in the whole of England and Wales – 3% of the total – and with the cuts in police numbers and the shaving of middle management, the projection is that things will get worse. Things have improved since John's day, but being a minority officer is still a tough gig. Recruitment is not at the level that anyone at the Home Office would wish, but the bigger problem is retention and progression. There are8 black and minority ethnic superintendents and chief superintendents in the whole of England and Wales and six chief officers – making up just 3% of the total – and with the cuts in police numbers and the shaving of middle management, the projection is that things will get worse.
Sir Peter Fahy, chief constable of Greater Manchester and lead spokesman on workforce development for the Association of Chief Police Officers indicates that the paucity of minority officers in senior ranks has reached crisis point. He makes two points:Sir Peter Fahy, chief constable of Greater Manchester and lead spokesman on workforce development for the Association of Chief Police Officers indicates that the paucity of minority officers in senior ranks has reached crisis point. He makes two points:
"This is not about targets or political correctness – it is about operational need. Policing is unique. We need to be legitimate within the community because of the exercise of power. Often we are out there resolving disputes between communities and we need officers that understand different communities and different backgrounds.

Then there is the practical stuff about surveillance and undercover officers. We need to be a more diverse police service. The operational need is great."
"This is not about targets or political correctness – it is about operational need. Policing is unique. We need to be legitimate within the community because of the exercise of power. Often we are out there resolving disputes between communities and we need officers that understand different communities and different backgrounds.

Then there is the practical stuff about surveillance and undercover officers. We need to be a more diverse police service. The operational need is great."
Leave aside the moral case for constructing a police force that will be respected by multi-racial, multi-ethnic Britain – an imperative some deride as "political correctness". What Fahy highlights is the connection between minority communities and the police that can be forged when the police service seems credible – of the people and for the people. That is a prerequisite for problem solving disputes "between communities", but also for the receipt of information that can help to solve everyday crimes that blight whole communities.Leave aside the moral case for constructing a police force that will be respected by multi-racial, multi-ethnic Britain – an imperative some deride as "political correctness". What Fahy highlights is the connection between minority communities and the police that can be forged when the police service seems credible – of the people and for the people. That is a prerequisite for problem solving disputes "between communities", but also for the receipt of information that can help to solve everyday crimes that blight whole communities.
Then there is the practical stuff he mentions. How will the police deal with the most difficult investigations they sometimes face: terror threats, gang crimes, for example, without the ability to deploy officers who can gather information – sometime surreptitiously – to arrest criminality and bring those cases to court?Then there is the practical stuff he mentions. How will the police deal with the most difficult investigations they sometimes face: terror threats, gang crimes, for example, without the ability to deploy officers who can gather information – sometime surreptitiously – to arrest criminality and bring those cases to court?
The two points coincide. And this is where John comes in. For John was being forced to operate in an atmosphere where there was no credible relationship or connection between the police and minority communities. He was seen as part of a predatory police force rather than of a police service. It meant that the role he played as an undercover officer identifying crime was resented to the point that he no longer felt able to play that role and thus he ceased to be of any value in the maintenance of law and order.The two points coincide. And this is where John comes in. For John was being forced to operate in an atmosphere where there was no credible relationship or connection between the police and minority communities. He was seen as part of a predatory police force rather than of a police service. It meant that the role he played as an undercover officer identifying crime was resented to the point that he no longer felt able to play that role and thus he ceased to be of any value in the maintenance of law and order.
So Fahy is right to make both points. One follows from the other. The soft skills of community engagement allow the police service to undertake the hard graft of crimefighting and the trickier stuff such as undercover work and intelligence. And that necessary engagement is better achieved with a diverse workforce. But that needs fashioning.So Fahy is right to make both points. One follows from the other. The soft skills of community engagement allow the police service to undertake the hard graft of crimefighting and the trickier stuff such as undercover work and intelligence. And that necessary engagement is better achieved with a diverse workforce. But that needs fashioning.
The one thing we've learned is that won't happen by itself.The one thing we've learned is that won't happen by itself.