HC Deb 09 April 2001 vol 366 cc698-9
7. Dr. Brian Iddon (Bolton, South-East)

If he will make a statement on the recruitment and promotion of black and Asian police officers.[156026]

The Secretary of State for the Home Department (Mr. Jack Straw)

Most police forces are on course to meet their recruitment targets or come close to them, but there is still a great teal to do on that and on progression of black and Asian police officers. There were 2,915 ethnic-minority officers at the latest count, an increase of just under 580, or about 25 per cent., since March 1997. An inspection of forces by Her Majesty's inspectorate last year found that there had been an overall improvement in forces since the previous inspection in this area in 1998.

Dr. Iddon

I think that my right hon. Friend will agree that the efforts made so far by Greater Manchester police to recruit from the black and Asian community have been disappointing. Has any analysis of the reasons for that been carried out? Is it something to do with the culture in the police force? Why are black and Asian people in Greater Manchester reluctant to join the police, and are any special strategies being introduced to deal with the situation?

Mr. Straw

As I said, all forces are making progress, although it has not be, It swift enough. Between March 1997 and January this year, the number of black and Asian officers in the Greater Manchester area increased by 26, from 161 to 187. That is a rise of about 15 per cent.; it is not as high as the increase in the country generally.

I think that one reason for the shortage is that for a couple of years there was a recruitment freeze in many areas, including Greater Manchester. There are some cultural issues, but I know that the chief constable and chairman of the Greater Manchester police authority are anxious to deal with them.

Mr. Nigel Evans (Ribble Valley)

Does the Home Secretary agree that we should do much more to encourage young black people and Asians to take up careers in the police force? I have asked some questions in Lancashire about police numbers generally. I was told only two weeks ago that the number of regular constables had fallen by 30, and the number of specials by 121, since the last general election. Is there not an opportunity for the Government to redouble their efforts? Could they not visit sixth forms, colleges and youth clubs to encourage young black people and Asians in particular to join the specials, and to see the police force generally as a chance for them to play their part in reducing crime in Lancashire?

Mr. Straw

The reason for the fall in the number of specials dates back to the Police Service (Health and Safety) Act 1997, a Conservative measure passed towards the end of the last Government that made health and safety requirements the same for volunteer specials as for full-time employed police officers. The former Home Secretary furrows his brow. He may not even have noticed that the legislation was passed while he was Home Secretary, but that is the truth of it, and that is why police services across the country have charted a reduction in specials. We consider that very unsatisfactory, and we want the numbers to increase.

In Lancashire, there has been a 50 per cent. increase in the number of black and Asian officers during the past four years: it has risen from 33 to 49. As the hon. Member for Ribble Valley (Mr. Evans) may have noticed, the whole of the most recent edition of the Lancashire constabulary's newspaper is devoted to further work that the police are undertaking to increase the proportion even more.

Mr. Gordon Prentice (Pendle)

There are only 596 women police officers drawn from the ethnic minority communities. That will concern my right hon. Friend, as it concerns me. What can we do to persuade more Asian women to join the police? Is there not a case for gender targets for officers drawn from ethnic minority communities? I suspect that most of those 596 are black women, with only a handful of Asian women. We must get more Asian women into the police force.

Mr. Straw

It is important for my hon. Friend not to generalise about Asian women. There are significant cultural differences between women of Asian heritage who come from the Muslim tradition and those from the Sikh or Hindu tradition. We know that there is a cultural problem among, in particular, some sections—not all—of the Muslim community in respect of encouraging women to join uniformed services such as the police. That is as much an issue for the Muslim community as it is for the police service, and we must make progress.

As for whether we should set a specific target, the proportion of women in the black and Asian population of the police service is just below the proportion of women as a whole in the police service. I do not think that there is a case for separate targets at present, but we will certainly keep the matter under review.