To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many police forces in England and Wales are expected to reach their 2008 targets for the number of police officers employed that are from an ethnic minority. (218142)

Around 20 forces are expected to reach their 2009 local targets. A 2008 target has not been set for forces.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what average percentage of applicants for the role of sergeant in police forces was from ethnic minority candidates in the latest period for which figures are available. (218146)

The information requested is not collected centrally.

Applicants to the police service have to start as constables, and then officers achieve the grade of sergeant via promotion.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what steps her Department is taking to ensure that police forces monitor the number of officers from ethnic minority backgrounds in their force. (218147)

As part of the Home Office Annual Data Requirement, police forces are required to record data on the number of officers broken down by ethnicity. Numbers are published annually in the Home Office Statistical bulletin and Home Secretary’s Race Equality Employment Targets Report.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what records are kept by police forces in England and Wales on the (a) number, (b) distribution and (c) specialism of ethnic minority police officers; and what procedures are in place to ensure adequate records are kept. (218148)

As part of the Home Office Annual Data Requirement, police forces record data on the number of officers broken down by ethnicity who are predominately involved in a particular function. These specialisms are based on the HMIC function list, which can be down loaded from:

http://police.homeoffice.gov.uk/publications/finance-and-business-planning/FLPdefinition.pdf

Procedures relating to the adequacy of record keeping are an operational matter for individual chief constables and police authorities.