§ Mr. Tony BanksTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will call for a report from the Commissioner of Police of the Metropolis on the steps being taken to halt the decline in applications from ethnic minorities to join the Metropolitan police; and if he will make a statement.
§ Mr. Peter Lloyd[holding answer 16 July 1990]: The Commissioner is committed to recruiting and retaining more members of ethnic minority communities. Earlier this year the height requirements for entry to the Metropolitan police, which represented above average heights in certain ethnic minority communities, were abolished.
A pre-employment course has been introduced for candidates who have completed the selection process and who have the potential to be successful police officers but have narrowly failed the police initial recruitment test.
Research was undertaken to find out why people from ethnic minority communities may or may not want to join the police and what they think a career in policing may be like. The current multi-media advertising campaign which targets the recruiting effort towards ethnic minority communities drew on the results of this research.
Further research is under way to find out why some officers from ethnic minority communities resign prematurely from the service.
§ Mr. Tony BanksTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what steps are being taken by the Metropolitan police to encourage more women to join the force; and what information he has regarding the representation of women in the higher ranks.
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§ Mr. Peter Lloyd[holding answer 16 July 1990]: In March of this year the Metropolitan police and the Equal Opportunities Commission issued a report of their collaborative exercise. The exercise began in 1984 and continued for four years. It concentrated particularly on the recruitment, deployment and career prospects of women in the Metropolitan police.
The Commissioner is committed to ensuring that the Metropolitan police offers—and is perceived as offering—good career opportunities to all members of society. Since the abolition of the quota system, which limited women officers to 10 per cent. of force strength, in 1984 there has been a considerable increase in the recruitment of women; 25 per cent. of recruits are now women.
The Commissioner is looking at ways of making the service more attractive to women, both to increase further the number of recruits and to improve retention. He has arranged research into job sharing and part-time working and more formal career breaks to enable women to raise families and still return to the service. The outcome of this research is under consideration.
The representation of women in the rank of chief inspector and above in the Metropolitan police is as follows:
Strength on 31 December 1989 Women Total Commissioner; Deputy Commissioner; Assistant Commissioner Nil 6 Deputy Assistant Commissioner Nil 18 Commander 1 38 Chief Superintendent 3 168 Superintendent 6 254 Chief Inspector 8 496
§ Mr. Tony BanksTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will call for information from the Commissioner of Police of the Metropolis on how many new recruits in Newham in 1989 were(a) from ethnic minorities, (b) women and (c) both; and how many officers from the ethnic minorities there are stationed in Newham and at what ranks.
§ Mr. Peter Lloyd[holding answer 16 July 1990]: The London borough of Newham is policed by West Ham and Plaistow divisions and the total number of new recurits posted to these divisions in 1989 was 53 of whom 12 were women; none were members of ethnic minority communities.
On 15 July 1990 there were eight officers from ethnic minority communities serving on West Ham and Plaistow divisions: seven constables and one sergeant.
§ Mr. Tony BanksTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what steps are being taken to put into practice the agreed consultation between the London borough of Newham and the Metropolitan police prior to the production of the Commissioner's Strategy report in January 1991; and if he will make a statement.
§ Mr. Peter Lloyd[holding answer 16 July 1990]: Each Metropolitan Police division prepares plans which highlight their objectives for the year. These help to inform the Commissioner's strategy statement. In Newham the chief superintendents from Plaistow and West Ham divisions discuss objectives with a sub-group of the police consultative group in that borough. Two councillors sit on the sub-group.