Nottinghamshire Police praised for bringing more officers to frontline and improving diversity

Nottinghamshire Police has been congratulated by the Police and Crime Commissioner Caroline Henry for recruiting hundreds of extra police officers to the county – many of whom are from ethnically diverse backgrounds.
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Since the Government’s national uplift programme got underway in September 2019, Nottinghamshire Police has recruited an additional 211 police officers, bringing total headcount to 2,232.

A determined effort to encourage more applicants from black, Asian and minority ethnic backgrounds has also resulted in a huge improvement in representation across the force.

Seven per cent of Nottinghamshire officers now come from a black and minority ethnic background – up 3.8 per cent since the start of the uplift programme and the highest the force has ever seen.

People from BAME backgrounds now make up seven per cent of Nottinghamshire PolicePeople from BAME backgrounds now make up seven per cent of Nottinghamshire Police
People from BAME backgrounds now make up seven per cent of Nottinghamshire Police

Commissioner Henry said: “This is a fantastic achievement and shows Nottinghamshire really is out in front nationally for improving diversity.

“The force has worked extremely hard to attract candidates from all backgrounds and these efforts are delivering results with the highest-ever ratio of officers from a black and minority background.

“The Chief Constable and his hardworking team deserve full praise for this success. I am very proud of Nottinghamshire’s achievements and will back the force in every way possible to build on this progress in the future.”

The progress made by Nottinghamshire Police has been singled out as best practice nationally.

A challenging report from the Home Affairs Select Committee last week said not enough had been done by other forces to ensure they adequately reflect their local communities.

Nottinghamshire was instead hailed as bucking the trend, and additionally, female representation has also risen from 31.4 per cent to 34.9 per cent.