West Yorkshire Police appoint "positive action" ambassadors

Sophia Ghafoor and Junier Browne will join PC Liz Rook, who was appointed as West Yorkshire Police's "positive action" coordinator in February.

Ms Ghafoor, who has worked as a financial investigator for the force since 2005, said the force was making "positive and proactive steps to make us a diverse employer.”

She said: "“As an Asian woman, the police wasn’t a natural choice of career for me. However, when I saw the job advert and remember being surprised that a role like this existed in the police and working in accountancy I had the skills that were transferable into the role and didn’t hesitate in applying."

Figures published by the Home Office last month showed the force has a disproportionately low number of black and ethnic minority officers, compared with the population it represents.

In March this year, the equivalent of 286 full time BME officers were employed by West Yorkshire Police - 218 men and 68 women. There were six senior officers.

They make up 5.7 per cent of the total number of officers, compared to 18.2 per cent of West Yorkshire’s total population.

The Lammy Review, an investigation by MP David Lammy into the treatment of BME people in the criminal justice system, found that black and ethnic minority people often do not like engaging with the police as they do not feel represented.

The review said increasing the visibility of BME people within policing is fundamental to ensuring justice.

For more information on recruitment at West Yorkshire Police, visit https://www.westyorkshire.police.uk/jobs-volunteer