To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what progress her Department have made on improving (a) diversity and (b) background checks at interview stage when recruiting to the police force.
Answered on
24 April 2023
The Government committed to recruiting 20,000 additional police officers across England and Wales, by 31 March 2023. We await the final data and remain confident we will have delivered on the government’s manifesto commitment.
The 20,000 officer uplift is a once-in-a-generation opportunity to support all forces become more representative of the communities they serve, and there are now more female and ethnic minority officers serving in policing than ever before.
Between April 2020 and December 2022, there were a total of 34,647 new police officer recruits to forces in England and Wales. Of these recruits, 42.6% were female which was an improvement on 36.9% during the year ending 31 March 2020. Over the same period, 11.5% of all new recruits identified as ethnic minorities which was also an improvement on 10.3% reported during the year ending 31 March 2020.
The Home Secretary recently asked the College to update their vetting code of practice which will provide stricter obligations for Chief Officers on how vetting should be carried out within their forces.