Positive police fall foul of the law

A policy of “positive action” in recruitment has proved costly for Avon and Somerset Police.

During a recruitment drive last summer, the force – whose 3,314 officers include just 51 from BME communities – applied positive discrimination to boost its numbers of female and BME staff, even though shortlisting or appointing staff on racial grounds is unlawful under the Race Relations Act.

Of the successful applicants, 46% were white men and 49% were white women. BME men and women comprised 4% and 1% respectively. But 186 white applicants were rejected because the force was “over-represented by white men”.

Complaints were made to the Equal Opportunities Commission and the Commission for Racial Equality, and one unsuccessful white male applicant brought a tribunal claim of race and sex discrimination. After taking legal advice, the force last month admitted discrimination and paid the claimant damages before the case reached a tribunal.

The policy has now been abandoned, with Avon and Somerset chief constable Colin Port describing it as “not appropriate”.

Pledging that all applicants who were excluded from recruitment would be given the option to reapply, Port pledged to be “innovative” in finding “ways of trying to recruit more men and women from groups that are under-represented”.