Policing: PSNI officer calls for more ethnic minority representation

Andy George says there are 41 officers from ethnic minority backgrounds in the PSNI

The president of the National Black Police Association (NBPA) has called for greater representation of ethnic minority backgrounds in Northern Ireland policing.

Andy George is the first member of the Police Service of Northern Ireland (PSNI) to be the NBPA president.

He said officers from ethnic minority backgrounds make up 0.5% of the PSNI.

"We need to make sure we are fit for purpose for Northern Ireland becoming a more diverse society," he said.

Speaking to BBC Radio Foyle, Mr George said there were 41 officers from ethnic minority backgrounds in a police service of just under 7,000 people.

"The census this year brought [the population of minority ethnic groups in Northern Ireland] up to 3.4%," Mr George said.

"We are seven times under represented at this minute in time, which is probably one of the biggest disparities in all of the services that we work with.

"Now could you imagine having an extra 150 officers from visible ethnic minorities policing in our communities?

"Just think how noticeable that would be, how visible that would be and how they could then share their experiences of coming from an ethnic background in Northern Ireland to their colleagues."

Having more officers from ethnic minority backgrounds would benefit the PSNI, says Andy George

Mr George said that would help to "upskill" colleagues and "help them better understand the perspectives of ethnic minority communities".

He called for the PSNI to "be bold reaching out to those communities'".

In a statement to BBC News NI, the PSNI said it was committed to representing the communities it served.

It said a race action plan was in development and initiatives including a cultural audit would take place in the coming months to increase the number of officers from ethnic minority backgrounds.

"Whilst we have made significant progress in this area, we accept that some work remains to be done to increase the number of officers from underrepresented groups within our organisation," said the police force.

'Learning from experiences'

Mr George was speaking after the publication of the Casey Report this week into allegations of wrongdoing in the Metropolitan Police (Met).

Baroness Casey found many claims of sexual misconduct, misogyny, racism and homophobia in the Met were badly mishandled.

Mr George said the PSNI was in the process of setting up the first ever race action plan in Northern Ireland.

"What I don't want to see as president is for that trust and confidence to erode so fast in our black and Asian communities in Northern Ireland," Mr George said.

He said the NBPA had supported people in police services across Great Britain and Northern Ireland who have experienced racism.

Had it not been for the association's intervention, Mr George added, some officers said "they would not still be a police officer or may not even still be here today".

Mr George said he wanted to make things better for other officers from ethic minority backgrounds in policing.

"All I ever wanted to be was a police officer," said Mr George.

"This is not about putting policing down, it's not about having a vendetta, it's just about learning from experiences you've been through and making it better for others moving forward.

"We will only be able to make changes when there is enough people in the organisation that understand every part of the community that we work with."