A police force has been accused of patronising the public with ‘pronouns and woke platitudes’ after spending more than £1.4million on ‘equality and diversity staff’.
West Yorkshire Police employs 19 diversity, equality and inclusion (DEI) staff members and spends £361,000 of public money training them.
The UK has a total of 45 area police forces and this is just the bill for a single force.
A Freedom of Information request revealed the spending by the West Yorkshire Police.
Critics are now asking why the money has not been spent on hiring new frontline police officers
William Yarwood, media campaign manager at the TaxPayers’ Alliance said: ‘Yorkshire taxpayers will be stunned by the cost of EDI roles in their police service.
‘Brits expect their police to combat crime and keep them safe, not patronise them with pronouns and woke platitudes.
‘These roles need to be abolished and the money put into hiring more frontline police officers.’
Police join in at Leeds Pride, an annual LGBTQ+ pride celebration held in the city of Leeds, West Yorkshire.
Siobhan Brown, Head of Diversity, Equality and Inclusion at West Yorkshire Police
The highest paid job, the Head of Diversity, Equality and Inclusion is currently Siobhan Brown.
In an online interview she describes a typical day as being ‘a bit like a plumber, some days an emergency needs addressing which can consist of a small detail that has a big impact, other days we can concentrate on creating long-term, sustainable strategies to improve collaboration, communication and coordination.’
She comments: ‘I never have to worry about motivation for the team, as this work is more than a job for myself and my colleagues, it’s a legacy to leave the world in a better place.’
A West Yorkshire Police spokesman said: ‘As the fourth largest police force in England, West Yorkshire Police is committed to building a workforce which is representative of the diverse communities which it serves and investing in resources that deliver better outcomes for all residents and visitors to the region.
‘Diversity Equality and Inclusion (DEI) is at the heart of the West Yorkshire Police and Crime Plan, developed jointly between West Yorkshire Police and West Yorkshire Combined Authority (WYCA). Prioritising DEI in policing is essential to building trust and confidence and improving public safety.
‘The work undertaken by DEI roles within West Yorkshire Police aligns directly to our Public Sector Equality Duty and the progression of our equality objectives.
‘The DEI team ensures West Yorkshire Police is a fair and equitable organisation for its employees, and for the community it serves. The team works with employees and members of the community to create an inclusive working environment for all police officers and staff. They support and consult with people with different protected characteristics, such as sex, disability, sexual orientation and race, to ensure the views, experiences and perspectives of people with different protected characteristics can influence and improve the service the force delivers to the public.’
Two years ago the West Yorkshire Chief Constable John Robins complained the force doesn’t have the resources it needs to deliver the service the public expects.
West Yorkshire Chief Constable John Robins previously complained about the force’s funds
He said his budget was down 2,000 staff and £140m since 2010.
Mr Robins compared his position to the cost-of-living crisis and said: ‘It’s like your household budget, through cost of living and mortgage increases people haven’t got the money that they want to live their life with.’
Adding: ‘ I can’t deliver what I want to deliver as a professional police officer.’
The overall bill for the 19 officers and civilian staff in DEI roles is £1,069,188.
The figures from West Yorkshire Police are for salaries as well as additional costs such as national insurance and pension payments.
The Head of Diversity, Equality and Inclusion (DEI) costs £91,536, the department ‘manager’ costs £57,252 and the three DEI officers cost taxpayers almost £46,000 each.
Uniformed officers working in the field include a ‘Positive Action’ Inspector whose costs total £94,272 and a sergeant at £79,716.
There are also six ‘Positive Action Ambassadors’ who are uniformed police constables costing £59,844 per person.
An Equality and Diversity police trainer costs £45,924 and there are also marketing and administration staff to add in as well.
Only six of these 19 jobs are filled by people from an ethnic minority background, the statement from West Yorkshire Police has revealed.
And with the final payment from an external training organisation ‘yet to be finalised’ the bill so far comes to £361,000.
A teenage girl was arrested in August after she called this police officer a ‘lesbian like nana’
Last year, West Yorkshire Police came under fire after they arrested a teenage girl when she said she looked like her ‘lesbian nana’.
The 16-year-old girl, who also suffers from spinal disability scoliosis, had been driven to her home in Leeds by officers after attending the city’s Gay Pride celebrations.
She had been there with her sister before allegedly making a ‘homophobic’ remark.
The girl was later dragged away ‘screaming’ by West Yorkshire Police officers in the early hours of the morning having been arrested on suspicion of ‘homophobic public order offence’.
Footage of the incident, filmed by the girl’s mother, went viral on TikTok – prompting a furious backlash online, as the officers were accused of heavy-handedness while leaving the girl cowering under the stairs in her own home.
The teenager, who has not been named, was held in custody for 20 hours after the incident and then released.
The West Yorkshire force later confirmed it would take no further action against the teenager and released her from her bail.
Meanwhile the officer was ordered to apologise and undergo ‘reflective training’.
