Police need to recruit more BME officers

The police will have to recruit 17,000 black and minority officers in the next decade to reflect the society that it serves. That’s according to figures from the College of Policing.

A review published by the College of Policing suggests that the police have a long way to go before the police staff accurately represents society.

Black and ethnic minorities are expected to be 16% of the population in England and Wales by 2026. The report shows.

The review estimates that the police service would have to recruit 17,000 officers from black and ethnic minorities in the upcoming decade to accurately reflect the community it serves.

Today, only 6,500 of the 130,000 full time police officers in England and Wales are from an ethnic minority.

The police also face a diversity issue amongst its senior roles, The Telegraph reports.

It has been suggested that older white officers could be pensioned off in order to make place for younger recruits from other ethnic backgrounds.

The Police Service in Northern Ireland has done just that. It has spent £200 million offering early retirement to long serving officers in order to increase the number of Roman Catholics in the force, The Telegraph reports.

The police are also reported to be considering scrapping some ranks such as Inspector and Superintendent. Ranks which have been used since the Metropolitan Police force was founded in 1829.

Chief Constable Alex Marshall is the CEO of the College of policing.

Speaking with The Telegraph, he said: “The Leadership Review was designed to make sure everybody in policing is equipped to meet the challenges of the future.

“Only by investing in and valuing the people who work in policing will we succeed in overcoming the tough challenges in the next few years.”

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