For What Reasons a Diverse Workforce Has Been Promoted within Policing - Essay Example

For What Reasons A Diverse Workforce Has Been Promoted Within Policing? Introduction: Commitment to diversity is globally considered a critically valuable tool to gather an interesting repertoire of ideas and people from diverse cultural backgrounds in one place. The resulting talent pool can be used to gain a competitive edge over rivals. The present age is characterized by diversity due to growing awareness among people regarding the need to integrate diversity within a workforce. With the rate of diversity increasing at such a dazzling pace at so many levels in society, police services have also been pressurized for some time now to recruit a work force which reflects the diversity of the community that they serve. There are many significant reasons for which creating a diverse workforce is being encouraged within police services. For example, policing is a public service and bringing a more diverse workforce to action can help police officers in reaching out to everyone in society because representatives of different cultures or races will be gathered under one roof. It is a natural tendency demonstrated by common people to hesitate from talking or collaborating with police officers. Recruiting a diverse workforce is bound to facilitate operations of the police force by staggering proportions because it will help them paint a more vivid and realistic picture of the concerns of the entire society. Reasons in Context of External Service Delivery: The Stephen Lawrence Case Public resentment occurs due to failure of police officers to respect “the importance of cultural issues, diversity, and victimization” (Winstone & Pakes 2013, p. 57). A diverse workforce design will help to remove this stigma from the face of policing that it is a racist institution. Much chaos has happened in the past to add to notoriety of police services in the UK. The Stephen Lawrence Inquiry is one example which created much pandemonium in the UK leading to myriad race-themed riots. Lawrence, a black teenager, met his tragic demise on 22 April 1993 at hands of a race hate crime. He attracted an avalanche of verbal profanities from a group of white teenagers while waiting for the bus. Eventually, he was stabbed to death. This unfortunate event illustrated the presence of widespread racial hatred in society pushing it “to the top of the political and social agenda” (Hall et al. 2013, p. 2). Following Lawrence’s death, the police institution in order to sustain white supremacy in society deliberately committed a surprising number of blunders earning the reputation for being inherently incompetent and racist. The death of Lawrence instantly became a media bonanza because justice was not delivered which made action against racism “a matter of urgency” (Hall et al. 2013, p. 3). Events of this kind went on to accumulate considerable reasons over the years on grounds of which police services are now under more pressure than ever before to recruit a diverse workforce. If this kind of pressure had existed back in the time when Lawrence got brutally murdered by a group of mindless white youths, presence of a diverse workforce in policing would not have let the murderers get away like they did in reality because diversity at workplace focuses on including needs of the whole society (Gray & Stockbridge 2004, p. 83). The Macpherson Report In order to save the policing institution from public embarrassment and to include needs of the entire society irrespective of racial and cultural differences, there has been sustained pressure on police services in the UK to recruit a diverse work force. The Macpherson Report is another example which contributed to greater pressure exerted on the police in recruiting officers from diverse backgrounds. This report offered innovative proposals to be integrated into the institutionally racist police in the UK. In the aftermath of Lawrence’s unfortunate death, the most wide-ranging report of investigation into police-ethnic minority relations was prepared under supervision of Sir William Macpherson (Coates & Lawler 2000, p. 213). This report sought to step up external service delivery of the police department. This report scrutinized institutional and individual behavior demonstrated by the police in context of the Lawrence case. In the light of conclusions, the Metropolitan Police attracted considerable criticism for deliberately delaying the investigation process and acting in a manner characterized by extreme racism (Bennetto 2011). Findings of this report proved the British police service to be “institutionally racist” (Rowe 2012, p. 11). This report helped the nation to understand the history of the concept of institutional racism. It was this report of historical importance which paved the pathway for monitoring the police service in terms of how racism is treated within the institution and how it is treated by officers publicly. It was this report which first required police officers to give specific reasons in black and white “for carrying out the ‘stop and search’ procedure” (Fernando 2004, p. 50) to which black citizens were exclusively subjected before. The Brixton Riot and Scarman Report Following the 1981 Brixton uprising which did not remain limited to Brixton streets, but spread to other impoverished areas in Britain also, the Scarman report was prepared under supervision of Lord Scarman. This report sought to inquire into the very bloody Brixton riots which resulted in many casualties. These riots characterized a severely damaged relationship between “the police and black communities in Britain” (Bowling 1999, p. 79). The report concluded that a combination of political, social, and economic factors led the public to engage in violent riots. The most important thing the report identified was that the riots did not happen in accordance with a structured vision or plan. Rather, they happened in response to feelings of public resentment which had been building up like a silent storm waiting to explode for quite some years. Lord Scarman deduced that the bedrock of the Brixton riots was formed by “loss of confidence and mistrust in the police and their methods of policing” (BBC News 2004). The protestors mostly comprised of black youths who gathered in a racially mixed area like Brixton to attack the police with stones, bricks, and petrol bombs (Reitan 2003, p. 107). The economic, social, and transportation systems were completely jammed consequently. This social disorder happened due to racial discrimination which the police failed to address for one reason or another causing the disadvantaged ethnic groups to protest. The report accentuated the need to train the police because particularly junior officers were found guilty of harassment and prejudice (Moore 2013, p. 223). Institutional Racism Much has been written by research critics over the years to help people determine if the British police are institutionally racist or not. Institutional racism is that racism which is found embedded in the policies, functions, and culture of public and private institutions and which reinforces racial prejudice in society (Husain 2012, p. 35). Ethnic minorities like Muslim and black youths are the most frequent targets of this racism. Despite one after another claim made by the police that officers are required to go through rigorous training programs to develop respect for other cultures and races, truth is that in the façade of such training courses “institutional racism is the actual scenario prevailing in almost all of Britain’s police forces today” (Husain 2012, p. 35). This is why a diverse workforce is currently being promoted by political forces within policing in the UK to control emotions like resentment which build up over time to burst unpredictably like violent explosives. Research also confirms that from the time Macpherson first identified the presence of institutional racism in the British police, this issue has remained under “sustained political attack in the UK” (Cole 2011, p. 187). Despite this political attack, the issue of racist policing persists in the country though in “ever more ambiguous and nebulous forms” (Patel & Tyrer 2011, p. 62). It is due to such racism which influences policing even today in a subtle and discreet manner that a diverse police should be immediately created to control prevalence of racist stereotypes. Reasons in Context of Internal Staff Related Issues: Currently, the British police are not diverse at all because research reports identify the situation to be otherwise. There is a very prominent diversity crisis at the top of policing (Fahy, cited in Sedghi 2013). It is claimed that there is serious deficiency of the Black and Minority Ethnic staff or the BME staff everywhere in the UK. This is the reason why police officers in the country are most likely to remain white for decades (Webb 2014). The approach taken by political authorities to this subject also seems very confusing and hypocritical. This is because on one hand, the government pressurizes the police to recruit officers from diverse backgrounds and on the other hand, budget cuts are introduced which work to “limit the hiring of ethnic minority recruits” (Webb 2014). In this game of government blaming the police and police blaming the government for recruitment problems, ethnic minorities suffer the most. Candidates from these minorities are not hired which raises the level of unemployment causing anger and resentment among people and diversity also becomes limited in workforce. This is why predominantly white officers are seen in the UK police army because diversity is still an impractical concept in this country despite political attacks and research criticism. The situation is so bad that currently in some areas, “the police service has only 10 per cent black and minority ethnic representation” (Webb 2014). Moreover, the recruitment freezes come into action in many places when an effort is made to increase the size of the BME staff (Webb 2014). Such factors are responsible for generating internal staff relates issues in the UK. According to diversity data lately released by the College of Policing in London, 17000 more BME officers are required to effectively represent the minority communities (Hickey 2014). Advantages and Limitations of Diverse Workforce within Policing: Policing diversity is popularized in research as a newborn notion in England and Wales despite years of political, national, and global attack. Currently, diversity is a major theme of debates related to policing (Rowe 2013, p. 147). This is because it is generally agreed that a diverse workforce will positively influence the profession of policing. A diverse workforce is preferred over a homogenous workforce which has limited representation of ethnic minorities because diversity helps to boost group performance. Many problems occur in a diverse police department due to mismanagement of this kind of workforce. Negative consequences resulting from bad handling of a diverse workforce range from “not using personnel efficiently to costly lawsuits” (Kurke & Scrivner 2013, p. 210). In order to advantage from a diverse workforce within policing in the best way possible, top officials should realize that the concerns of people recruited from minorities are different from the concerns of white workers. Therefore, it is important to demonstrate commitment and sensitivity “in recruitment, selection, and retention of minority police officers” (Kurke & Scrivner 2013, p. 210). Such measures can help to remove inadequacies from police departments in terms of racial and gender diversity. Police officers in order to advantage from cultural diversity should begin the journey by considering all BME staff members indispensable assets to the police department. Prejudice is an inherent characteristic of the UK police. Since police officers happen to be more racially prejudiced than workers in other fields, one limitation of diversity is that the BME recruits in the police workforce are bound to suffer the most when attitudes of the majority are imposed on minorities by prejudiced officers (Kurke & Scrivner 2013, p. 209). Conclusion: Concluding, the British police forces are notorious around the globe for their reputation of institutional racism. General consensus is that the UK police are particularly racist in its procedures and culture. Feelings of resentment are spawned by irresponsible attitude of police officers who cause dissent is society by refusing to respect other racial and cultural minorities. This is why inculcation of diversity is critically important to improve reputation and functioning of contemporary policing in the UK. Currently, there is much racism in the UK and concerns of ethnic minorities are not effectively addressed due to a limited number of BME recruits. There are growing ethnic minorities in the country, while the number of BME recruits is not increasing with the same speed to ensure satisfactory representation of minorities. Such a limited percentage of black and ethnic minority recruits cannot be expected to handle growing concerns of ethnic minorities in the UK and white officers lack both will and training to become representatives of these communities. References: BBC News 2004, Q&A: The Scarman Report, viewed 05 May 2015, Bennetto, J 2011, The Macpherson Report, viewed 05 May 2015, Bowling, B 1999, Violent Racism: Victimization, Policing and Social Context, Oxford University Press. Coates, D & Lawler, PA 2000, New Labour in Power, Manchester University Press. Cole, M 2011, Racism and Education in the U.K. and the U.S., Palgrave Macmillan. Fernando, S 2004, Cultural Diversity, Mental Health and Psychiatry: The Struggle Against Racism, Routledge. Gray, D & Stockbridge, D 2004, BTEC National in Public Services, Heinemann. Hall, N, Grieve, J & Savage S 2013, Policing the Legacy of Lawrence, Routledge. Husain, S 2012, Are British Police Institutionally Racist?, AuthorHouse. Hickey, H 2014, Minority communities ‘must help’ recruit 17,000 more BME officers, viewed 05 May 2015, Kurke, MI & Scrivner, EM 2013, Police Psychology Into the 21st Century, Psychology Press. Moore, T 2013, Policing Notting Hill: Fifty Years of Turbulence, Waterside Press. Patel, TG & Tyrer, D 2011, Race, Crime and Resistance, SAGE. Reitan, EA 2003, The Thatcher Revolution, Rowman & Littlefield. Rowe, M 2012, Policing, Race and Racism, Routledge. Rowe, M 2013, Introduction to Policing, SAGE. Sedghi, A 2013, ‘How do police forces break down by ethnic minority officer strength?’, The Guardian, viewed 05 May 2015, Webb, S 2014, ‘’Police officers will be mostly white for decades’: Fears raised by official watchdog that budget cuts will limit the hiring of ethnic minority recruits’, Mail Online, viewed 05 May 2015, Winstone, J & Pakes, F 2013, Community Justice, Routledge. Read More