High-ranking BME officials should help senior recruitment at Met Police

High-ranking black or minority ethnic (BME) government officials should be brought in to help the Met Police recruit minority candidates into senior policing roles, the National Association of Muslim Police (NAMP) has urged.

Speaking at the Metropolitan Police Authority (MPA) Race and Faith inquiry in London today, NAMP chair Fiaz Choudhury said there was still a glass ceiling in the UK’s biggest police force that prevented Muslim and BME police officers from achieving the ranks of chief inspector and above.

Although progress had been made in increasing diversity in Met over the past 10 years, Choudhury told Personnel Today there was a culture where senior officers hired “in their own image”. The Met Police should consider bringing in senior officials from related government organisations, even if they have no knowledge of policing, to check promotions were being awarded fairly.

“There is currently a lack of BME assessors at senior ranks, and it would be a good idea to bring in senior BMEs from the Armed Forces or Civil Service to help with that,” he said.

Choudhury also called for the job interview process for chief inspectors and above to change to ensure there were no conflicting interests. Currently, chief inspectors are in charge of promoting inspectors who will eventually compete with them for the role of superintendant.

Boris Johnson, chairman of the MPA and mayor of London, called for an inquiry into race and faith issues in the Met Police last October, following a string of race claims against the force. Former assistant commissioner Tarique Ghaffur, who received a reported £300,000 payout after settling his claim against the Met, is expected to give evidence in private.

Martin Tiplady, the Met Police’s HR director, said he would wait to review any HR policy until after the Race and Faith inquiry submitted its final report in May.

“HR is very involved in the recruitment and promotion processes, and we will wait for the inquiry to reach its conclusions before considering any changes,” he told Personnel Today.

Tiplady recently told members of the Personnel Today HR Directors Club that the Met Police had done more to improve diversity than any other organisation in the UK over the past decade.

The inquiry, which will also take evidence from the National Black Police Association, continues.