UK Police Force Blocks White Applicants In Favour Of Minorities: Report

West Yorkshire Police (WYP), one of the UK's biggest police forces has temporarily blocked applications from white British candidates as it attempts to boost diversity. Those deemed to be from the "under-represented" groups can lodge their applications for the constable entry programmes early, a report in The Telegraph has claimed.

A whistleblower cited by the publication claimed that Black and Far East Asian candidates were considered "particularly under-represented and given a “gold” ranking, followed by those of south-east Asian origin".

"This feeds into a general theme where the pipeline for anyone white British is strangled, whilst anyone not white British is ushered through onto the next available stage," added the whistleblower who was involved in going through the job applications.

Notably, WYP is the fourth largest force in the UK with a report earlier this year claiming that it spent more money on diversity, equality and inclusion (DEI) than any other force. On its website, WYP admits that because of the lack of ethnic minority officers, it must accept applications "all year round from these under-represented groups".

"We are currently accepting applications for the two police constable entry programmes (uniform and detective) from people from our under-represented groups. If you are not from one of these groups, please keep checking this page for future recruitment opportunities," the website reads.

"Enabling people from an ethnic minority background to apply early does not give them an advantage in the application process, it simply provides us with more opportunity to attract talent from a pool of applicants who reflect the diverse communities we serve."

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DEI in Britain

This is not the first instance when UK institutions have come under the scanner for promoting diversity hiring. It was reported last month that the Royal Air Force (RAF) was facing a shortage of pilots owing to the failure of a diversity hiring scheme. Candidates who were previously rejected and older applicants who have experience in "flying-related" roles were being urged to reapply for the various roles, to offset the damage.

It was under Air Chief Marshal Sir Mike Wigston's tenure that the Air Force pledged to have 40 per cent women and 20 per cent of personnel from ethnic minorities by 2030. As the diversity hiring policies were pushed, air chiefs were told to stop choosing "useless white male pilots", the leaked emails showed.