The Office of the West Midlands Police and Crime Commissioner hosted an evening to welcome the National Black Police Association Conference to Birmingham and celebrate Black History Month.
The event saw a high level panel discuss the topic, “How can we ensure that more people from BME backgrounds are recruited into the police force?” Audience members, including local councillors, serving officers and members of the community were able to pose questions and discuss the topic at length with the panel.
The event came as a precursor to the NBPA conference which ran for two days at West Midlands Police venue, Tally Ho! The PCC delivered a speech on the opening morning of the conference whilst the DPCC sat on a panel that discussed “race, police and the media.”
The Police and Crime Commissioner said: “It was a real pleasure to welcome the NBPA conference to Birmingham this week. The discussion was engaging and it was great to talk about the steps we’ve taken in the West Midlands to make the West Midlands Police look like the people it serves.
“I sincerely hope that conference attendees enjoyed their stay in Birmingham and I look forward to welcoming them again in the future.”
The Deputy Police and Crime Commissioner added, “There is much still left to do in the West Midlands but the actions of the Police and Crime Commissioner and the leadership he has shown on this area is driving us forward. From a modest base the latest cohort of recruits is set to be around 30% BME.*
“The work of organisations like the NBPA and the Black and Asian Police Association has been vital to encouraging people from black and Asian backgrounds to consider joining the police.”
* www.westmidlands-pcc.gov.uk/media/376247/07-spcb-06-oct-15-hr-update.pdf#page=3
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