Hansard

Police: Ethnic Groups

Volume 482: debated on Wednesday 5 November 2008

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Chris Huhne

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many and what percentage of police officers at the rank of (a) constable, (b) sergeant, (c) inspector, (d) chief inspector, (e) superintendent, (f) chief superintendent and (g) Association of Chief Police Officer ranks were from an ethnic minority background in each year since 1997, broken down by police force. (227461)

Jacqui Smith

[holding answer 21 October 2008]: The available data are given in the tables placed in the House Library.

The requested data are also published as part of the annual Police Service Strength England and Wales Statistical Bulletin. The 2008 bulletin can be found at:

http://www.homeoffice.gov.uk/rds/policeorg1.html

and previous years' bulletins are available in the House of Commons Library. The annual Home Secretary's Race Employment Targets report may also be of interest in relation to the question asked:

http://www.homeoffice.gov.uk/documents/race-equality-targets-2006-07

Chris Huhne

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many and what percentage of police officers recruited into each force in each year since 1997 were from an ethnic minority background. (227463)

Jacqui Smith

[holding answer 21 October 2008]: The available data are given in the following table.

Police officer minority ethnic recruits1 to police forces from 2002-03 to 2007-082 (FTE)3 and recruits as percentage of total strength

Minority ethnic recruits

ME recruits as percentage of total recruits

2002-03

2003-04

2004-05

2005-06

2006-07

2007-08

2002-03

2003-04

2004-05

2005-06

2006-07

2007-08

Avon and Somerset

2

4

2

4

1

1

5

2

2

3

1

1

Bedfordshire

4

5

12

9

0

10

4

3

11

17

0

13

Cambridgeshire

5

6

6

1

0

0

7

6

6

1

0

0

Cheshire

1

6

0

3

2

0

1

4

0

3

2

0

Cleveland

1

2

2

6

0

0

1

1

2

5

0

0

Cumbria

0

4

1

0

1

1

0

4

2

0

2

2

Derbyshire

6

1

1

3

6

6

4

1

2

5

7

5

Devon and Cornwall

2

2

1

1

0

2

1

2

1

0

0

2

Dorset

1

1

0

0

1

0

1

1

0

0

2

0

Durham

0

4

1

1

0

0

0

4

1

1

0

0

Dyfed-Powys

1

0

0

1

2

0

14

0

0

2

4

0

Essex

0

3

7

7

9

10

0

1

3

3

3

4

Gloucestershire

0

3

2

1

1

0

0

3

3

1

1

0

Greater Manchester

2

41

32

11

13

22

2

4

14

4

4

5

Gwent

1

2

0

2

4

0

2

3

0

3

6

0

Hampshire

6

7

5

13

9

4

2

2

2

5

4

2

Hertfordshire

7

14

5

8

6

11

3

5

3

5

3

10

Humberside

1

4

0

0

1

0

2

2

0

0

1

0

Kent

2

4

8

6

8

23

1

1

4

3

3

15

Lancashire

14

15

6

5

11

10

6

5

4

3

7

5

Leicestershire

6

18

6

9

17

13

5

7

5

9

20

13

Lincolnshire

1

1

2

2

0

0

2

2

3

4

0

0

London, City of

4

7

8

3

1

0

9

13

21

7

3

0

Merseyside

3

7

10

7

19

5

3

4

3

4

6

3

Metropolitan Police

305

500

252

166

215

193

13

17

13

16

17

20

Norfolk

2

0

0

0

1

1

3

0

0

0

2

2

Northamptonshire

2

7

6

1

3

5

4

7

6

1

4

6

Northumbria

6

1

2

5

2

1

4

1

1

4

2

1

North Wales

0

0

1

0

1

2

0

0

1

0

2

5

North Yorkshire

2

2

0

0

1

0

2

2

0

0

1

—

Nottinghamshire

6

7

5

2

1

3

7

5

4

4

2

6

South Wales

4

3

3

5

7

2

2

2

3

4

6

4

South Yorkshire

3

9

5

5

7

4

3

3

2

3

4

4

Staffordshire

0

2

3

3

1

4

0

2

3

4

1

10

Suffolk

1

3

0

3

2

1

1

3

0

7

3

7

Surrey

8

3

1

7

19

12

9

3

1

6

12

10

Sussex

0

4

6

7

2

2

0

1

3

3

1

1

Thames Valley

9

20

14

15

12

17

3

4

4

4

5

7

Warwickshire

4

1

5

10

3

0

7

2

8

14

5

—

West Mercia

1

2

2

1

2

1

0

2

2

1

2

1

West Midlands

48

49

43

54

35

45

10

12

9

12

8

9

West Yorkshire

12

16

35

8

15

18

4

5

6

5

6

5

Wiltshire

2

5

2

1

0

1

3

4

3

2

0

2

Total

485

795

502

396

441

430

6.5

7.8

6.2

6.1

6.8

7.8

1 Recruits included those officers joining as police standard direct recruits and those who were previously special constables. This excludes police officers on transfers from other forces and those rejoining.

2 Financial year runs 1 April to 31 March inclusive. Data are not available prior to 2002-03.

3 Full-time equivalent figures that have been rounded to the nearest whole number. Because of rounding, there may be an apparent discrepancy between totals and the sums of the constituent items.