Post by Hickman on Nov 29, 2005 13:42:18 GMT -5
[shadow=red,left,300]Cop job: No white males[/shadow]
By JOHN COLES
A POLICE force rejected nearly 200 job applications — because they were from WHITE MEN.
Almost 800 people applied for 180 posts with Avon and Somerset Police.
But 186 of those were sent by Caucasian males and were binned as soon as they arrived.
The force admitted they were ruled out because it was “over-represented by white men”.
But the move was slammed by rank-and-file officers — and ethnic minority groups.
Andy Palfreman, chairman of Avon and Somerset Police Federation, warned that the policy could be illegal.
He said: “This is positive discrimination. It is fairly clear that it’s not lawful to do this under sex or race discrimination Acts.
“There could be a number of people who would have made excellent police officers but have been denied the opportunity because of their race or gender.”
Batook Pandya, director of Bristol-based Support Against Racist Incidents, added: “This is positive discrimination gone mad.
“They should select the best person based on their skills and attributes — not the colour of their skin. We need a police force from all sections of our multi-cultural society, but this is not the way to get it.”
Avon and Somerset is headed by Chief Constable Colin Port.
It has 3,314 cops — 2,622 males and just 51 from ethnic minorities.
Its recruitment policy states: “We will continue to provide positive action for people from under-represented groups, including people from ethnic minority backgrounds, females, people who are transgender, gay, lesbian and bisexual and people with a disability.”
Of 797 applications in total, 428 were from white men.
After 186 were rejected out of hand, that left 242. They were among 611 put through to the next stage of the selection process.
Paul Hazel, head of personnel and training, said: “The force is over-represented by white men.”
He said the policy is part of a strategy to improve ethnic diversity within the police.
He added: “We will continue to try to more accurately reflect the cultural diversity of all our communities and meet Home Office objectives.”
The Association of Chief Police Officers said most forces favour ethnic minority job applications to try to increase “cultural diversity”.
www.thesun.co.uk/article/0,,2-2005550267,00.html
By JOHN COLES
A POLICE force rejected nearly 200 job applications — because they were from WHITE MEN.
Almost 800 people applied for 180 posts with Avon and Somerset Police.
But 186 of those were sent by Caucasian males and were binned as soon as they arrived.
The force admitted they were ruled out because it was “over-represented by white men”.
But the move was slammed by rank-and-file officers — and ethnic minority groups.
Andy Palfreman, chairman of Avon and Somerset Police Federation, warned that the policy could be illegal.
He said: “This is positive discrimination. It is fairly clear that it’s not lawful to do this under sex or race discrimination Acts.
“There could be a number of people who would have made excellent police officers but have been denied the opportunity because of their race or gender.”
Batook Pandya, director of Bristol-based Support Against Racist Incidents, added: “This is positive discrimination gone mad.
“They should select the best person based on their skills and attributes — not the colour of their skin. We need a police force from all sections of our multi-cultural society, but this is not the way to get it.”
Avon and Somerset is headed by Chief Constable Colin Port.
It has 3,314 cops — 2,622 males and just 51 from ethnic minorities.
Its recruitment policy states: “We will continue to provide positive action for people from under-represented groups, including people from ethnic minority backgrounds, females, people who are transgender, gay, lesbian and bisexual and people with a disability.”
Of 797 applications in total, 428 were from white men.
After 186 were rejected out of hand, that left 242. They were among 611 put through to the next stage of the selection process.
Paul Hazel, head of personnel and training, said: “The force is over-represented by white men.”
He said the policy is part of a strategy to improve ethnic diversity within the police.
He added: “We will continue to try to more accurately reflect the cultural diversity of all our communities and meet Home Office objectives.”
The Association of Chief Police Officers said most forces favour ethnic minority job applications to try to increase “cultural diversity”.
www.thesun.co.uk/article/0,,2-2005550267,00.html