HC Deb 23 March 1983 vol 39 cc422-3W
Mr. Wheeler

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will publish the report of the Police Training Council working party on community and race relations training for the police.

Mr. Whitelaw

This important report is published today. It is the work of a group comprising representatives of the police service, local authorities and members of minority ethnic communities with a particular interest and expertise in police training, and I am grateful to them for producing a report which is thorough and practical.

The report makes a number of wide-ranging recommendations for the future development of training in community and race relations which I am confident will help the police to improve their performance in these fields. In particular, it recommends a greatly increased and improved programme of training for officers of all ranks, and the establishment of a training support centre to run intensive courses for specialist trainers and to develop new teaching materials.

The implementation of the report's recommendations will be carried forward in full consultation with chief officers of police and the representative bodies within the service.

Copies of the report are being placed in the Library and will also be available from my Department upon request.