According to a released data, the probability that a police applicant in England and Wale, with a black skin would be turned down, is significantly higher than the number of rejections seen among white applicants. They data focused on 181,175 applicants in England and Wales.
In 2019, former Prime Minister Boris Johnson promised to add over 20,000 additional police officers in the coming years, and was confirmed in April by Prime Minister Rishi Sunak that, the goal has been achieved.
According to research conducted by a psychologist Pete Jones, he queried the UK police institution on subconscious bias in hiring black applicants.
He revealed that, black police applicants have a pass percentage of 7.3%, as opposed to 18.72% for white applicants. Also, the pass percentage for Asian applicants was 9.18%, while the pass rate for those of mixed races stood at 14.38%.
“Police Uplift was a once in a generation opportunity for the police service to be representative of the communities it serves, and it has squandered it.
“We can keep on pointing fingers at communities, but at some point we have to turn the mirror on ourselves and say, well, perhaps it’s our systems that have done this.”
Pete Jones.
Jones and his research team claimed that, 34, out of the 43 police forces that received Freedom Of Information requests, responded.
Nine police forces failed to react within the statutory timeframe. Nottinghamshire and Wiltshire police force claimed that, the request demanded enormous time to make the data retrievable, because of how the data have been stored.
According to other research, contrary to public assumptions, minority ethnic groups apply to join the police force, more than their white counterparts.
The data further revealed that, two police forces in London turns to recruit 50% more of white applications as compared to other ethnic minorities.
In a statement to address the research outcome, the National Police Chiefs’ Council stated that, the institution has put in much efforts in recent years to combat the speculations of racial discrimination in police recruitments.
“Much has been done by policing to address racism, and policing is more inclusive, more diverse and more reflective of our communities than we have ever been.
“Data, based on all 43 forces within England and Wales, shows an increase of 15.9% in ethnic minority and 19.3% in black candidates passing the assessment process since May 2020, ensuring we are now better able than ever to represent the communities we are serving. We also now have more women than ever before, with over 53,000 women nationally representing policing.”
National Police Council of Chiefs.
The council added that, it has made strides in recruiting more people from ethnic minorities overall, and have a record number of officers who identify as black, ethnic minorities, or Asian.
The council also added that, it has partnered with other forces, in order to increase forces’ capacity for engagement and promote dialogue with people who might have formerly dismissed the potential of being a police officer.
“Improvements to vetting mean all new police officers are vetted to the highest standards and the Uplift program team have supported forces in managing the increased vetting challenge as a result of additional recruitment. We need more officers but they must be the right people who meet our high standards.
“Every applicant undergoes a number of pre-employment checks including vetting, medical and fitness testing. From over 275,000 applicants, less than 47,000 were successful, which shows just how rigorous the recruitment process is and how focus has remained on standards and quality.”
National Police Council of Chiefs.
