DYFED-POWYS Police employs no senior black or ethnic minority officers, new figures reveal

Home Office data shows that in March this year, there were no BME police officers employed by the force, who were of the rank of chief inspector or higher. The highest ranking BME officer was a sergeant.

In total Dyfed-Powys Police employs the equivalent of 13 full time BME officers – 10 men and three women.

They make up 1.1 per cent of the total number of police officers.

BME people make up 2 per cent of Dyfed-Powys’s total population, which is slightly more than the proportion of BME officers.

The Lammy Review, an investigation by MP David Lammy into the treatment of BME people in the criminal justice system, found that black and ethnic minority people often do not like engaging with the police as they do not feel represented.

The Home Office data shows that out of Dyfed-Powys Police’s full-time BME officers, nine are mixed race. There is one black officer and two are Asian. The rest are from other ethnic minorities.

The figures show that the force is getting more representative. There were 44 per cent more BME officers employed this year, compared with March 2017.

A Dyfed-Powys Police spokesperson said: “We recognise that there are instances whereby we are not fully representative of our communities, and we aim to address this through the utilisation of positive action.

“We have a Positive Action Officer in post in Dyfed-Powys Police who has undertaken a thematic review to inform our Recruitment Positive Action strategy. This has allowed us to understand what strands of diversity were underrepresented in Dyfed-Powys Police.

“Work is in progress to ensure we are encouraging and helping members of our public to become part of the police family.

“We have also undertaken a review to understand what action is required in terms of ensuring that all strands of diversity are represented amongst senior ranks and specialisms.

“This work focused on understanding our current position, as well as any barriers which our staff and officers had identified to progression within the force. Our Retention and Progression strategy aims to address these findings and help improve the progression of underrepresented staff in our higher ranks.”