by Robert Mendick and Isabel Oakeshott, Telegraph
West Yorkshire Police encourages black and Asian candidates to apply early to become police constables before jobs opened up to others
One of the UK’s biggest police forces has temporarily blocked applications from white British candidates in an attempt to boost diversity, The Telegraph can disclose.
West Yorkshire Police (WYP) is currently preventing white British candidates from applying for jobs as recruits to its police constable entry programmes. However, “under-represented” groups can lodge their applications early.
The process has raised concerns that white British candidates are being unfairly treated, amounting to a form of positive discrimination that could be potentially unlawful.
WYP has said the policy is to ensure that “diverse communities” are represented by the officers serving them. But former officers have accused it of effectively running a “hidden” recruitment policy that targets certain groups.
One whistleblower claimed black and far east Asian candidates were considered particularly under-represented and given a “gold” ranking, followed by those of south-east Asian origin who were in the silver tier. “White others”, including candidates from Irish and eastern European backgrounds, were bronze.
The whistleblower, who was heavily involved in sifting job applications for recruits, said he raised concerns over the policy with bosses but was warned not to interfere.
In a report to senior officers, seen by The Telegraph, he said: “This feeds into a general theme where the pipeline for anyone white British is strangled, whilst anyone not white British is ushered through onto the next available stage.”
WYP, the fourth largest force in the country, employs 19 diversity, equality and inclusion (DEI) staff – many of them serving police officers – at a cost of just over £1 million a year. A report earlier this year suggested it spends more money on DEI than any other force.