RECORD numbers of women and ethnic minority officers in England and Wales are quitting the police within months of joining, prompting concerns that racism and sexism are undermining the Government’s order to increase diversity.

Female and ethnic minority trainee officers are twice as likely to resign as are their white and male colleagues, according to Home Office figures seen by The Times.

The police service had 4,629 ethnic minority officers in 2004, an 18 per cent increase on the previous year. However, 17.8 per cent of black and Asian recruits in 2004 resigned or were dismissed within six months of starting their jobs, compared with 7.7 per cent of white officers. Last year 12.6 per cent of ethnic minority recruits dropped out within six months, compared with 7.6 per cent of white officers.

Even long-serving ethnic minority officers were nearly twice as likely to leave in 2004; 1.3 per cent of those with more than ten years’ service, compared with 0.7 per cent of their white colleagues.

The number of female recruits leaving within six months was, at 6.8 per cent, almost double that of males.

Charles Clarke, the Home Secretary, has ordered that forces must question all officers who resign about any discrimination, harassment or bullying they may have suffered.

The numbers of new black and Asian officers have increased greatly in recent years as forces have attempted to meet government recruitment targets on race and gender, but the service is suffering from a revolving-door syndrome. The trend has been blamed on widespread discrimination, despite attempts to stamp out racism and sexism. Forces are said, however, to be struggling to meet ever-increasing diversity quotas, described by some critics as unrealistic. Avon and Somerset police used positive discrimination to justify rejecting almost 200 applicants because they were white and male, but the strategy backfired when the force was reported to the Commission for Racial Equality.

Senior officers fear that the disproportionate levels of resignations show that discrimination continues to plague the police, despite a pledge for radical reform after the Metropolitan Police was branded “institutionally racist” in 1999 by the Macpherson report.

Concern about a culture of discrimination was highlighted again in 2003 when nine men from three forces were forced to resign after a BBC documentary, The Secret Policeman, exposed racism among recruits.

A report by Sir Bill Morris in December 2004 found that diversity in the Metropolitan Police remained “at worst a source of fear and anxiety and at best a process of ticking boxes”.

A Home Office notice to chief constables said: “There are higher rates of voluntary resignation for minority ethnic officers, women and probationers and, at a time when the service is seeking to increase these officers, it is important to find out why these groups are leaving.”

Officers will be asked if they have resigned because of discrimination, harassment or bullying, pay and conditions, workload or domestic reasons. They will also be asked if they have witnessed or experienced bullying or discrimination. Experiences of poor leadership, failures to provide cultural or religious facilities, lack of childcare or the refusal of a force to agree flexible or part-time working hours will be recorded.

Keith Jarrett, president of the Black Police Association, said: “There is still discrimination in forces. In society you do have bigotry and the police service is not drawn from a vacuum. The service has spent time and resources on boosting recruitment but hasn’t looked at retention and progression strategies.”

A spokeswoman for the British Association for Women in Policing said: “Forces do a fantastic job in recruiting but there’s not the understanding that there has to be a lot of support afterwards.”

• Staffordshire Police has been named as the most gay-friendly employer in Britain in a report issued by Stonewall, the gay rights campaign group.

  One in ten officers is gay, a figure achieved after a recent recruitment drive for gay and lesbian cadets. John Giffard, the Chief Constable, said: “Being a better employer for gay people helps us deliver a better service across the whole area.”
  
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