The West Midlands Police force has been criticised for lack ethnic minority officers, making It unrepresentative of the public it serves.
Figures released to The Guardian under the Freedom of Information Act revealed that the force was one of the least representatives of black, Asian and ethnic minorities in the country.
Less than nine percent of the West Midlands Police force is comprised of ethnic minorities, despite the fact that eighteen percent of applications received between 2006 and 2014 were from a minority group.
Only thirteen percent of overall recruits taken on, in 2014 to 2015 were from minority backgrounds, compared to almost 30 per cent of the population.
This isn’t the first time the force has come under fire for unrepresentative figures.
Last April, the police force was criticised for recruiting just one black officer out of 162 new recruits.
Crime Commissioner David Jamieson said at the time that the force needed to do more to “look like the public it serves”
He adds:
“West Midlands Police quite rightly only recruits the very best people, but the force clearly needs to do more to engage with communities to ensure that more BME (Black and Minority Ethnic) people apply to be police officers.”
The figures revealed to the Guardian also revealed individuals from BAME background are less inclined to apply to the force
Janet Hills, president of the National Black Police Association, said there was a lack of trust in the police among ethnic minority groups in Britain.
“We find that, where there is no accountability, nothing gets done. It is unfortunate because everyone will talk the talk but, when it comes to the action, that is not so visible,”
Chief Constable Giles York defends the National Police Chiefs’ Council: “Police chiefs have been vocal about the operational need for a workforce that reflects the make-up of our communities because we understand the benefits of a diverse workforce in creating better cohesion with the public that we serve.
“The rate of officer recruitment from black and minority ethnic communities is increasing.
