Lord Bourne of Aberystwyth – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Bourne of Aberystwyth on 2014-04-02.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what steps they are taking to promote ethnic minority recruitment to the police.

Lord Taylor of Holbeach

Improved diversity in policing is absolutely necessary to cut crime in a modern, diverse society, while building the trust and confidence of local
communities. It is important police forces reflect the communities they serve. While progress has been made to increase diversity of the workforce, the Government has said that there is still more for forces to do.

This Government’s reforms have already made improvements, for example we set up the College of Policing which has embarked on a major programme to improve the recruitment, retention and progression of black and minority ethnic officers. Locally Police and Crime Commissioners will ensure that the public’s priorities on crime and community safety are acted upon.

The Home Office is actively engaged with the College and forces to ensure that this work is given appropriate priority and that learning, best practice and opportunities are identified and shared.