Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many and what proportion of police officers in England and Wales at the rank of superintendent or above are black, Asian or minority ethnic.

As at 31 March 2014, 49 police officers in the 43 police forces in England and Wales at the rank of superintendent or above were black, Asian or minority ethnic. This represents 3.7% of all officers at these ranks.

The Government’s reforms, including innovative schemes such as Direct Entry and Police Now, are making the police workforce more diverse than ever before, and showing that it is possible to achieve better representation while attracting the best and the brightest into policing.