Hampshire Chief Constable Olivia Pinkney has said her constabulary “are all too white” and that both she and her colleagues “are determined to shift that”.
This statement followed an internal racism scandal, where five of Pinkney’s officers were fired from the Serious Organised Crime Unit for gross misconduct over allegations of “offensive” language.
An independent review panel heard “a catalogue of sexist, racist, homophobic, and ableist language and commentary” during the investigation.
This evidence was obtained after covert monitoring was employed in the workplace. The full statement from Chief Constable Pinkney can be found here.
I’ve always said we in @hantspolice are proactive in maintaining standards and being transparent. There’s no place in my force, or policing, for those who do not live up to this standard. Here’s my statement following the gross misconduct outcome todayhttps://t.co/uHOfGK9Fk7
— Olivia Pinkney (@OPinkney) January 8, 2021
But according to a report in The Telegraph on Sunday, Pinkney said that it is “a concern” that the chief officer group of her constabulary are all white, despite being “half female” and having “all sorts of other diverse characteristics”.
She claimed to be “really aware” of the fact there was not enough “diversity”, not only in her area, but in national policing. Pinkney also said it was “not OK” that, across UK policing, “we look like we do”.
The Chief Constable made this pledge after West Midlands Police revealed they would be recruiting an “Assistant Director of Talent and Organisational Effectiveness” and a “Consultation Officer”. This is alongside a “Fairness and Belonging Officer”, who will take home a tidy £74,340 per annum.
The entire cost to the taxpayer of these postings will be £180,000 per annum.
The force was criticised in The Daily Mail last week for the move, with figures from the TaxPayers’ Alliance claiming it would be a waste of taxpayers’ money.
The paper also reported that the Conservative candidate for West Midlands Police & Crime Commissioner, Jay Singh-Sohal, had criticised the appointments, branding them “waste and wokeness” and calling instead for the money to go towards front-line policing.
West Midlands Police is blasted for 'wasting' money on 'pointless' roles https://t.co/274y7YZvYB
— Mail+ (@DailyMailUK) January 4, 2021
