Women in West Yorkshire have been addressed in an open letter to encourage them to take up a career in the police force.

The letter published by the West Yorkshire Police’s Assistant Chief Constable (ACC), Kate Riley explains that the force is aware that they have fewer women and people of ethnic minorities working for them, but it is something they would like to change.

Data from the Home Office suggests that as of March 2020, women make up  31% of police officers in England and Wales.

ACC Riley states that ‘police forces across the country are making a real effort’ to make sure they 'are made up with officers and staff that represent that communities that they serve.’

She added: “We want and need a gender balance across all of our departments, so that we have people from a diverse mix of backgrounds as possible, because the more diverse we are, the wider range of thoughts, experiences, and upbringings we can draw upon to help us understand and engage with the people we are here to protect.”

West Yorkshire Police has run initiatives in the past to encourage people from ethnic minorities to join the force and “surely the initiatives are slowly but surely helping to improve ethnic representation,” Kate says.

She added that they are now also turning their attention on the recruitment of women because it is “obvious” that they are underrepresented in police officer roles, which can quite often be perceived as “typically male environments.”

In the letter, she addressed that recently, there has been a “negative light” on policing.
She said: “I’m not going to ignore the fact that recent events have put negative focus on policing and have made some, particularly women and girls question the trust of officers they meet. In West Yorkshire, as with our colleagues across the country, we will be continuing to take violence against women and girls very seriously and we will be doing everything we can to restore that trust.”

“As a woman, you can join our force and use your voice to play your own part in the ongoing efforts to make West Yorkshire a safe place for everyone.”
Kate added that any women with an interest in joining the police force should get in touch.

ACC Riley then discussed the notoriously hard recruitment process.

She added: “I’m not going to pretend the recruitment process is easy – it really isn’t! We want to attract the best candidates, and when you're fully qualified, there is no doubt it will be tough, but it is one of the most rewarding careers out there.

“No two days are the same, but I can guarantee nearly every day you will have the opportunity to make a real difference to someone's life.”

For more information, e-mail recruitment.support@WestYorkshire.police.uk