White British candidates have been temporarily blocked from applying for a job at one of the UK’s biggest police forces in its latest attempt to boost diversity. The Mail has more.
West Yorkshire Police (WYP) is preventing the budding PCs from submitting their application to join the police constable entry programme.
“Under-represented” groups are currently permitted to lodge their applications early, while applications from white Brits are “hidden”, former officers say.
Concerns have been raised about the potential unfair treatment of candidates, with suggestions of unlawful positive discrimination.
WYP has stated the policies are in place to make sure “diverse communities” are represented by the officers serving them, the Telegraph reports.
However, former members of the force have accused it of effectively running a “hidden” recruitment policy that targets certain groups.
A whistleblower who was heavily involved in sifting job applications for recruits claimed he raised concerns over the policy but was warned not to interfere.
He also said black and far east Asian candidates were considered among the particularly under-represented and given a “gold” ranking, whereas those of south-east Asian origin made it to the silver tier.
Meanwhile, “white others” – including candidates from Irish and eastern European backgrounds – were bronze.
A report to senior officers, seen by the Telegraph, said: “This feeds into a general theme where the pipeline for anyone white British is strangled, whilst anyone not white British is ushered through onto the next available stage.”
Earlier this year, a separate report suggested WYP – the fourth largest force in the country – spends more money on DEI than any other force, coming in at 19 diversity, equality and inclusion (DEI) staff at a cost of £1 million a year.
Recruits are required to go through a long process that includes an online assessment, an interview and physical tests. New constables – either in uniform or as plain-clothes detectives – receive a starting salary of just under £30,000.
WYP’s website states: “We are currently accepting applications for the two police constable entry programmes (uniform and detective) from people from our under-represented groups. … If you are not from one of these groups, please keep checking this page for future recruitment opportunities.”
The force says online applications from ethnic minority backgrounds are “processed through to interview stage, but then held until recruitment is opened for everyone”.
It adds: “Enabling people from an ethnic minority background to apply early does not give them an advantage in the application process, it simply provides us with more opportunity to attract talent from a pool of applicants who reflect the diverse communities we serve.”
According to a document with details of the policy, minority candidates were given months to register an interest and fill out applications while some white candidates were given as little as 48 hours.
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