FOI 191-2025 / Feb 2025 / Ethnic minority
FREEDOM OF INFORMATION REQUEST REFERENCE NO: FOI-191-2025
I write in connection with your request for information which was received on 11th February 2025 as follows:
- How many minority officers and staff, categorised by race & ethnicity, were promoted each month from January 2022 to January 2023?
- How many minority officers and staff, categorized by race and ethnicity, joined the police service each month from January 2022 to January 2023?
- How many changes to recruitment or promotion policies were made annually since January 2022? What months? Please specify how many were directly linked to recommendations from diversity reviews or external pressures.
Please find the Warwickshire Police response set out below. However, please note that not all information requested is deemed suitable for disclosure is exempt from disclosure and is exempt pursuant to Section 40(2) – Personal Information. Please see the below exemption explanation.
Section 17 of the Freedom of Information Act 2000 requires Warwickshire Police, when refusing to provide such information (because the information is exempt) to provide you, the applicant, with a notice which:
(a) States that fact,
(b) Specifies the exemption in question and
(c) States (if that would not otherwise be apparent) why the exemption applies.
The exemption applicable is:
Section 40(2) – Personal Information
Section 40 is an absolute class-based exemption, which does not require evidence of the harm disclosure would cause and does not require consideration of a public interest test. That being said, where Section 40(2) is engaged, in order to make the exemption absolute there needs to be evidence that a Data Protection Principle would be breached by disclosure.
This exemption is engaged where disclosure of information relates to personal data of a third party or could lead to the identification of an individual, either from that information alone or combined with any other information from within the Police Service or public domain. In this case, due to low numbers, providing a monthly breakdown and ethnicity at Q1 and a monthly breakdown and lower level ethnicity at Q2 would identify individuals and provide personal information in relation to those individuals. Such a disclosure would breach individuals’ rights under the Data Protection Act 2018, in particular Article 5(1) of the GDPR which states that personal data shall be processed lawfully, fairly and in a transparent manner in relation to the data subject.
Pursuant to Section 17(1) of the Act this letter acts as a refusal notice under the Freedom of Information Act 2000 in relation to these elements of your request.
Information I am able to provide is set out below.
Q1 response:
|
Ethnicity |
Total |
|
Exempt s40(2) |
1 |
|
Total |
1 |
Q2 response:
|
Ethnicity |
Total |
|
Asian or Asian British |
12 |
|
Black, Black British, Caribbean or African |
1 |
|
Mixed or Multiple ethnic groups |
1 |
|
Other Ethnic Groups |
1 |
|
Grand total |
15 |
Q3 response:
Recruitment Policy:
- Minor updates and currently awaiting sign off – not linked to diversity reviews or external recommendations.
Promotion Policy:
- Full review and trial of new process in 2021, published in March 2022.
- Updates currently awaiting sign off.
Both amendments in relation to the Promotion Policy are based mainly on internal process changes; however, in March 2022, the policy included updates to reflect recommendations from two external organisations with regard to:
- a) removal of line manager sign off at Step 3 of the promotion and selection process and instead seek endorsement post sifting, and
- b) HMICFRS inspection in 2018/19 advised in the ‘Areas for Improvement’ section on p64 that ‘Promotion and selection processes should be made accessible and transparent to the workforce so that they are perceived to be fair’. .
Police effectiveness, efficiency and legitimacy 2018/19: An inspection of Warwickshire Police
Every effort has been made to ensure that the information provided is as accurate as possible.
Your attention is drawn to the below which details your right of complaint.
Should you have any further enquiries concerning this matter, please write or email the Freedom of Information Unit quoting the reference number above.
Yours sincerely
Freedom of Information Officer
Freedom of Information Unit
Warwickshire Police
PO Box 4
Leek Wootton
Warwickshire
CV35 7QB