Commenting on Theresa May’s comments on diversity Police and Crime Commissioner David Jamieson said,
“We welcome the publication of diversity information to show how representative of their local communities police forces are. I have constantly said that West Midlands Police needs to look like the West Midlands.
“Whilst this is a welcome step, to make a real impact on diversity we need to recruit new officers. It is more difficult to increase diversity whilst recruitment is limited by the cuts to policing.
“We are making progress in the West Midlands. To recruit more BME officers the police have specifically targeted positive campaigns at underrepresented groups, apprenticeships and work experience opportunities have been brought in to encourage young people to join the force and the complaints process is being looked at to ensure it doesn’t disproportionately target certain groups.
“To make sure that officers progress through the ranks we have introduced mentoring programmes and blind marking. West Midlands Police are leading the way by introducing mentoring systems for more experience and senior officers so that they have a better understanding of diversity in all its forms.
“Underlying all of this is the issue of resources and austerity. Progress is being made, but the pace will not quicken until we are able to recruit significant numbers into our forces.”
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