Chair of Metropolitan Police Authority says diversity is an opportunity not a problem

21/01
24 April 2001

Diversity must be embraced as an opportunity and as a strength and not viewed as a problem to be overcome, Toby Harris, Chair of the Metropolitan Police Authority said today.

Speaking at the Metropolitan Police Protect and Respect: Everybody Benefits, diversity conference in London, Toby Harris, Chair of the Metropolitan Police Authority, said:

Diversity is one of those words that can mean different things to different people. In fact, the word has a very simple and unambiguous meaning, which is: 'Variety'.

So why should this word diversity, conjure up for some people a feeling of unease and of threat? Why do people look upon diversity as a problem at all? In fact, it is not a problem to be solved, but rather an opportunity, and a positive challenge for us all to welcome and grasp, no matter what our ethnic background.

And why do some people talk as if diversity were something new? Our country, its culture and its traditions are all built on the rich diversity of our heritage and on immigration that has taken place over many thousands of years.

Through ethnic diversity, we live in a country that has one of the most culturally mature and tolerant societies in the world. And, despite the political debates of the last few days, is there really anybody who in their right mind would want to change that?

But let me sound a word of caution. Because although we have come far, we still have much to achieve, much to accomplish, before we break down the barriers completely and make our society fair and just for all of its citizens.

We must eradicate the last vestiges of racist bigotry, as we saw on our streets during the National Front march two weeks ago. Perhaps the time has come for us to be less tolerant ourselves of bigots.

We must ensure that minorities are represented proportionately at every level of an organisation, and not just at the lowest salary levels.

Something like 17 per cent of Londoner's are from minority ethnic communities. But only a little over 4 per cent of Metropolitan Police officers are from a minority ethnic background. Encouragingly, over the past year 7 per cent of Met recruits have come from a minority ethnic background.

We all hope that this upward trend continues, but it needs to do so markedly to reach the Home Secretary's target for the Met to recruit a quarter of its officers from minority ethnic groups over the next ten years. Even at the increased recruitment rates, this will be extremely difficult to attain.

The Metropolitan Police Authority is tackling the wider agenda of recruitment policy, training, management, promotion opportunities and especially the retention of talented minority ethnic officers.

We are also looking into the question of why so few people are recruited from minority ethnic backgrounds despite the fact that there is a much greater initial expression of interest in joining the Met from these groups.

Expressions of interest are running nearly in line with the make up of London. Similarly, membership of the Special Constabulary is much more reflective of London's ethnicity than the mainstream Met.

So what is happening here? What is deterring people between the time they express a definite interest in pursuing a career with the Met and the final decision to join? This is something the MPA is addressing with some urgency with the Met.

We need people from minority ethnic communities to join the police, not only to make use of their talents, but also to help make a difference and influence a cultural shift that will be felt throughout the organisation and the capital, a change that will be tangible and permanent.

There can be no pick-and-mix approach to these issues. Improved minority ethnic recruitment will not come without addressing issues around stop-and-search, and greater confidence from minority ethnic communities will not come without improved minority ethnic recruitment. Only by focusing on the whole agenda will we achieve inclusiveness.

As the Met's police authority, we are determined to stay focused on diversity, not to give preferential treatment to one particular group or another, but to ensure that every man, woman and child, no matter what their race, creed, colour, gender, or whether they are lesbian, gay, bisexual or transgender, is treated, all of them, with fairness, with respect and with justice.

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