Diversity In Met Police
INTRODUCTION Diversity management and equal opportunities are important values that need to be upheld in today’s work environment. Given both the past and recent history of discrimination cases against the Met Police, such as the cases of Stephen Lawrence and Carol Howard, institutional racism in organizations is still being questioned in British society. Over than last 50 years, changes in discrimination law have indeed impacted the behaviour of employers and institutions. These laws have made discrimination in the workplace illegal, specifying the rights and responsibilities of both employees and employers. However, there is still progress to be made in increasing diversity and equal opportunities in the workforce. In this paper, I will
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According to the Human Rights and Equality Commission, the proportion of ethnic minority officers in England and Wales has risen from 2% in 1999 to 3.9% in 2007, but it is still significantly below that of the average population. Police recruits of ethnic minorities increased from 6.3% to 10.7% from 2007 to 2008, but ethnic minority officers have a higher resignation rate than Caucasian officers. The diversity progress has only increased on all rank levels except for the top levels. The Met has only four ethnic minority officers among 34 at commander rank or above which is completely disproportionate to the population’s ethnic composition. Furthermore, statistics have shown that the police are seven times more likely to stop and search Black people compared to Whites, and Asians are two times more likely to be stopped and searched compared to Whites (Bennetto, 2009). This disproportionate rate of stop and search shows that police officers are engaged with a certain degree of racial profiling and stereotyping, which is detrimental to the fair treatment of civilians. More recently, the Met Police was found guilty of sexism and racism against Carol Howard (C. Howard v. Metropolitan Police Service 2014). This case has further supported that there is still immense progress to be made by the Met Police. The Met Police is only one organization and is not representative of …show more content…
The legislation also highlighted both direct and indirect discrimination. For example, employers only advertising a job specifically to men; direct discrimination, or not promoting part-time work that disadvantages women given that they are usually primary caregivers; indirect discrimination. (Cheatle, 2001). The Race Relations Act 1976 followed, which protects employees from discrimination of race, colour, nationality, and ethnicity (The National Archives, 1976). There are exceptions whereby certain characteristics are genuine occupational qualifications, such as a female matron for a girls’ school, or a Chinese waiter for a Chinese restaurant. The Equal Pay Act 1970 stated that there should be equal pay for the same value of work (The National Archives, 1970). The creation of the Disability Discrimination Act 1995 (The National Archives, 1995) made it unlawful for employers to discriminate against disabilities and repealed the Disabled Person’s Act 1944 which was a patronized form of protection for people with
According to the Human Rights and Equality Commission, the proportion of ethnic minority officers in England and Wales has risen from 2% in 1999 to 3.9% in 2007, but it is still significantly below that of the average population. Police recruits of ethnic minorities increased from 6.3% to 10.7% from 2007 to 2008, but ethnic minority officers have a higher resignation rate than Caucasian officers. The diversity progress has only increased on all rank levels except for the top levels. The Met has only four ethnic minority officers among 34 at commander rank or above which is completely disproportionate to the population’s ethnic composition. Furthermore, statistics have shown that the police are seven times more likely to stop and search Black people compared to Whites, and Asians are two times more likely to be stopped and searched compared to Whites (Bennetto, 2009). This disproportionate rate of stop and search shows that police officers are engaged with a certain degree of racial profiling and stereotyping, which is detrimental to the fair treatment of civilians. More recently, the Met Police was found guilty of sexism and racism against Carol Howard (C. Howard v. Metropolitan Police Service 2014). This case has further supported that there is still immense progress to be made by the Met Police. The Met Police is only one organization and is not representative of …show more content…
The legislation also highlighted both direct and indirect discrimination. For example, employers only advertising a job specifically to men; direct discrimination, or not promoting part-time work that disadvantages women given that they are usually primary caregivers; indirect discrimination. (Cheatle, 2001). The Race Relations Act 1976 followed, which protects employees from discrimination of race, colour, nationality, and ethnicity (The National Archives, 1976). There are exceptions whereby certain characteristics are genuine occupational qualifications, such as a female matron for a girls’ school, or a Chinese waiter for a Chinese restaurant. The Equal Pay Act 1970 stated that there should be equal pay for the same value of work (The National Archives, 1970). The creation of the Disability Discrimination Act 1995 (The National Archives, 1995) made it unlawful for employers to discriminate against disabilities and repealed the Disabled Person’s Act 1944 which was a patronized form of protection for people with