Controversial police diversity hiring is occurring across Britain with one force even teaching its officers they have ‘white privilege,’ it emerged yesterday.
Thames Valley Police has taught staff about topics including ‘micro-aggressions,’ ‘white privilege,’ and the difference between ‘non-racist versus anti-racist’ as part of an equity training programme.
The training was introduced last September despite the force having been found by an employment tribunal to have positively discriminated against white officers a month earlier.
A detective inspector role that had not been advertised went to an Asian sergeant as part of a ‘positive action’ strategy, despite the force having been warned of the legal risks of not having a competitive process.
Positive discrimination is illegal in Britain, but ‘positive action’ allows forces to hire someone with a protected characteristic – such as having ethnic minority heritage – over another equally qualified candidate.
A force spokesman said it was committed to learning from the tribunal and its staff represented a diverse group but had shared values.
The revelations about Thames Valley come after policing leaders and MPs reacted with fury to a temporary block on allowing white candidates to apply for policing jobs at West Yorkshire Police.
Thames Valley Police has taught staff about topics including ‘micro-aggressions,’ ‘white privilege,’ and the difference between ‘non-racist versus anti-racist’ as part of an equity training programme.
The revelations about Thames Valley come after policing leaders and MPs reacted with fury to a temporary block on allowing white candidates to apply for policing jobs at West Yorkshire Police.
And it has emerged that similar diversity hiring practices are used across the UK’s forces – though all insist that candidates are ultimately judged equally on individual merit.
Cumbria Constabulary’s Positive Action Strategy from 2021 states the force provides a ‘bespoke “end to end” contact service with any interested black and brown candidate.’
The force provides a mentor to applicants who then coach them on the interview and remain with the candidate until the offer of employment.
If the candidate is not successful, they can re-apply in three months and their mentor ‘will remain in regular contact throughout this period.’
A similar mentorship programme for minority candidates is run by Derbyshire Constabulary and South Yorkshire Police, which assigns applicants to a ‘buddy scheme’ for one-to-one support.
The Better Together Team at Gloucestershire Police provides ‘skills workshops’ to applicants from under-represented groups.
And Avon and Somerset Police’s dedicated Outreach team seeks out candidates from minority communities as part of the force’s mission to become the ‘most diverse police service in the UK.’
College of Policing guidance warns forces that positive action should be ‘used with care.’
‘The focus of positive action is to create equality of opportunity,’ it states.
‘It should not be seen as undermining the principle of meritocracy and does not, if used lawfully, compromise fairness or objectivity.’
The temporary block on allowing white candidates to apply for roles at West Yorkshire Police was labelled ‘idiotic’ by senior policing figures, who argued the policy would harm the communities it sought to help.
The Conservatives said that bosses should be forced to justify any such hiring practices to white workers and applicants.
Shadow business secretary Andrew Griffith said last night: ‘People should be given equal opportunities and treated equally on merits only before the law – that is what this amendment seeks to achieve.’
