Nottinghamshire police make positive BME move, expert says
29 May 2014
Police in Nottinghamshire have made a positive move by encouraging more black and minority ethics (BME) to join the force, an equality and diversity expert has said.
Thu, 29 May 2014 | Matt Bodimeade
Police in Nottinghamshire have made a positive move by encouraging more black and minority ethnic people (BME) to join the force, an equality and diversity expert has said.
Commenting on reports in The Daily Mail that Nottinghamshire Police had been close to breaking equality laws by informing BME candidates about vacancies for police constables, Anne Tynan, a London-based freelance equality & diversity consultant, told Recruiter that “providing a legitimate selection process follows – with candidates chosen for their ability to do the job – one could say that Nottinghamshire Police have shown initiative rather than favouritism”.
Nottinghamshire Police advertised 20 new police officer roles on its website and intranet in March. It also sent out 57 emails on the day to inform BME candidates held on its database, who were interested in becoming members of the force, that the jobs had come up, the newspaper said.
Although steps to improve equality in the workplace are legal, giving favouring treatment to a any minority group is illegal.
Tory MP Dominic Raab allegedly accused the force of breaking the rules when it comes to the Equality Act 2010 and giving an unfair advantage to those candidates over others.
However, although these claims were reportedly made, Recruiter was unable to reach Raab for comment.
According to Tynan, “In some situations, ‘positive’ or ‘affirmative action’ will be the only way to redress imbalances. For police forces, it is particularly important that they represent the BME community.”
Police officers should be “representative of their local communities”, but this is not currently the case with Nottinghamshire Police force.
Just 4% of the Nottinghamshire Police is BME, compared to 11% of the county’s population. The figure rises to 28% in the city of Nottingham itself.
A police spokesperson said: “For many months we have been working with members of our communities who are interested in pursuing a career in policing.
“Working within the legal boundaries of positive action, we have provided access to training and support and given encouragement and motivation through work with mentors and seminars.”
Police in Nottinghamshire have made a positive move by encouraging more black and minority ethnic people (BME) to join the force, an equality and diversity expert has said.
Commenting on reports in The Daily Mail that Nottinghamshire Police had been close to breaking equality laws by informing BME candidates about vacancies for police constables, Anne Tynan, a London-based freelance equality & diversity consultant, told Recruiter that “providing a legitimate selection process follows – with candidates chosen for their ability to do the job – one could say that Nottinghamshire Police have shown initiative rather than favouritism”.
Nottinghamshire Police advertised 20 new police officer roles on its website and intranet in March. It also sent out 57 emails on the day to inform BME candidates held on its database, who were interested in becoming members of the force, that the jobs had come up, the newspaper said.
Although steps to improve equality in the workplace are legal, giving favouring treatment to a any minority group is illegal.
Tory MP Dominic Raab allegedly accused the force of breaking the rules when it comes to the Equality Act 2010 and giving an unfair advantage to those candidates over others.
However, although these claims were reportedly made, Recruiter was unable to reach Raab for comment.
According to Tynan, “In some situations, ‘positive’ or ‘affirmative action’ will be the only way to redress imbalances. For police forces, it is particularly important that they represent the BME community.”
Police officers should be “representative of their local communities”, but this is not currently the case with Nottinghamshire Police force.
Just 4% of the Nottinghamshire Police is BME, compared to 11% of the county’s population. The figure rises to 28% in the city of Nottingham itself.
A police spokesperson said: “For many months we have been working with members of our communities who are interested in pursuing a career in policing.
“Working within the legal boundaries of positive action, we have provided access to training and support and given encouragement and motivation through work with mentors and seminars.”
