Thank you for contacting me about diversity and the police.
I am proud of the UK’s approach to policing, with trust and legitimacy vital elements of policing by consent. Figures for England and Wales indicate that 64 per cent of black people aged over 16 said they had confidence in their local police. Moreover, the recent news that women now make up over 50,000 police officers in forces in England and Wales for the first time (34.9 per cent of the overall workforce) is a promising step.
The UK has implemented measures to ensure accountability and transparency across police forces. This includes regular inspections of police engagement with communities, frequent publication of data on police powers, and strengthening the police complaints system. Furthermore, I am encouraged that the police officer workforce is now more diverse than ever before, with latest data showing the highest proportion of Black, Asian, and minority ethnic officers since records began.
You might also be interested to know that in order to improve transparency and promote uptake, the Home Office will identify and seek to remove unnecessary barriers that prevent increased use of Body Worn Video (BMV) and will encourage policing bodies to share guidance and best practice on the use of BMV. In addition, the Home Office will, with policing partners, explore how best to facilitate the sharing of BWV footage with local scrutiny panels, in order to improve the scrutiny of police decision-making and improve the understanding of legitimate police use of powers such as stop and search.
However, more needs to be done to build a more diverse police force. The Police Uplift is a once in a generation opportunity to attract a broad range of talent, cultures, and backgrounds to a career in policing and is a core ambition in the Government’s drive to recruit 20,000 additional police officers. Through the Police Uplift Programme, the Government is supporting all forces with a variety of attraction and recruitment strategies, while delivering a national campaign designed to reach diverse audiences. Sharing best practice, engagement with police staff associations, upskilling recruitment teams and enhanced data capture are just some of the efforts being made to improve police diversity.
You might be interested to know that since April 2020, more than four in ten new recruits (42.5 per cent) were female and 11.4 per cent (who stated their ethnicity) identified as belonging to a Black, Asian, Mixed, or other minority ethnic group.
Thank you again for taking the time to contact me.