British home secretary criticizes lack of black, Asian officers in police force

British Home Secretary, Theresa May, has called for the racial diversity in the country’s law enforcement agencies saying the police in England and Wales do not represent the communities they serve.   

“The proportion of black and Asian officers in the police force is not good enough", May said while addressing a conference of the National Black Police Association in Birmingham.

May pointed to Home Office data that suggests Cheshire, Durham, Dyfed-Powys and North Yorkshire have no black officers.

The number of female officers was another aspect of May’s speech. She said that the women make up just 28% of the police workforce despite representing 51% of the population.

Several top officers have disputed May’s diversity claims but the home secretary seems to have been sending a message that the police force based on ethnic diversity will help boost the public confidence.

"I think police forces need to recognize black talent, because you have got officers who have got the skills, who have got the knowledge, it is just that in the police service they don't get the opportunity to be developed," Franstine Jones, from the National Black Police Association, said while reacting to May’s remarks.

Some critics say it is hard to recruit black and minority ethnic (BME) officers while funds are being cut.

"The police must act, but it is extremely difficult for forces to improve diversity and to carry on protecting communities whilst the Tories continue on their mission to slash police funding and hollow out the police service," Jack Dromey, Labour's shadow police minister said.

‘Stop and search’

The home secretary, during her speech on Thursday, was also critical to claims that the rise in knife crime was linked to fall in stop and search.  It is a knee-jerk reaction on the back of a false link", she said.

May said the stop and search reforms must continue. "It is simply not true that knife crime is rising because the police are no longer stopping and searching those carrying knives".

Her reaction was directed to Metropolitan Police Commissioner Sir Bernard Hogan-Howe who recently said that a rise in knife crime in London could be connected to large reductions in stops and searches by his officers.

“I know there are those who say that our reforms have gone too far, that the pendulum has swung too much the other way, and that reforms to stop and search are linked to knife crime in our capital and elsewhere. But to them I say this: stop and search reform has worked, it must continue, and – if you look at the evidence – it shows no link whatsoever with violent crime,” May said.

The home secretary has, however, warned that the disproportionate use of the power against ethnic minorities can poison community relations. 

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