Monitoring for the right reasons - MPA supports MPS initiative to capture data on workforce sexual orientation

23/06
6 April 2006

Kirsten Hearn, chair of the Metropolitan Police Authority’s Equal Opportunities and Diversity Board, commenting on why the MPS will in future seek to record information about workforce sexual orientation, said:

“I want to put it firmly on record that the decision to capture data on a voluntary basis about individuals’ sexual orientation is not about political correctness or attempts to recruit more Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual or Transgender (LGBT) officers and staff.

“It is about ensuring that we have a representative workforce that has the knowledge and skills for successfully policing London’s many and diverse communities, reflects the composition of those communities and help us to become an employer of choice. The Authority and the MPS believe these are vitally important issues and we will continue to ensure that our workforce policies reflect our aspirations.

“This policy initiative has been discussed in public forum and strongly endorsed by the MPA for over a year and we have consulted widely with MPS staff associations to ensure buy-in. Everyone, including the Gay Police Association, is in agreement that to capture the data will be of value.”

Kirsten concluded:

“To make it as clear as possible I will reiterate the message that the data captured is not intended to inform positive discriminatory recruitment policies in the MPS - to do so would be both illegal and contrary to all of our existing policies.”

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