In a move sparking controversy, Britain’s second-largest police force, West Midlands Police, faces accusations of discriminating against white men through the implementation of recruitment and promotion targets favoring black and female officers. Police chiefs have committed to increasing the percentage of new recruits from “black or minority ethnic” backgrounds to 12% and women to 42%. These targets are set to escalate by two percent annually until 2012, a decision met with criticism.
Former West Midlands police superintendent and city councillor John Mellor, with 34 years of law enforcement experience, condemned the move, asserting that promotions should be based on merit, irrespective of the candidates’ skin color. Mellor emphasized the importance of competence over predetermined quotas, stating, “We don’t want targets, we want people who can do the job and do it properly.”
The controversial recruitment strategies emerged in the aftermath of the 1999 Macpherson Report, which branded the police institutionally racist following the murder of black teenager Stephen Lawrence. In response, forces nationwide were directed to recruit ethnic minority officers proportionate to their community makeup. Despite progress, the number of ethnic minority officers remains around four percent, lagging behind the seven percent representation in the overall population.
The history of these initiatives is marked by legal challenges, with some forces facing accusations of racial discrimination from white applicants. In 2006, Gloucestershire Police had to compensate white victims of its recruitment strategy, while Avon and Somerset’s chief constable Colin Port had to offer excluded applicants the chance to reapply.
West Midlands Police, however, defends its decision, with Jean McEntire, chairman of the police authority personnel committee, highlighting the region’s diversity and emphasizing the importance of mirroring the communities they serve. The move, though aligned with the post-Macpherson directives, raises concerns about the potential legal and societal consequences of prioritizing targets over merit in the pursuit of diversity.
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