Dear old Nanny really loves to try to re-engineer society, by artificially "skewing" demographics to suit her political dogma. Unfortunately history has shown that whenever governments try to "manage" reality, and impose their view of a perfect society, things go horribly wrong.Despite the lessons of history, Nanny still keeps trying. A recent case in point being Nanny's chums in the Gloucestershire Constabulary who rejected 108 potential recruits because they were white men.
Now Nanny's coppers have come a cropper (Ha!..come on, I'm doing my best here folks!), they have admitted positive discrimination and have been forced to pay compensation.
Gloucestershire Constabulary claimed that that it had been trying to increase diversity, by selecting only women and candidates from ethnic minorities. That is all very well, but the average citizen in Britain (be he/she black, white, green or purple) would prefer to have police officers who could do their job rather than police officers who fit an artificial racial/sexual specification.
I would also note that discrimination on the grounds of race or sex is in fact illegal.
Don't they teach the police the law then?
Needless to say Nanny's chums, when faced with an employment tribunal in Bristol, had to own up to the fact that they were in fact breaking the law.
Happy with the fact that the police admit that they have been breaking the law?
I'm not!
The tribunal was told that Matt Powell, had applied to join the force in October 2005. A month later, after being told that he had progressed to the second stage of the recruitment process, he left his job as an IT team leader at Filton College to concentrate on his application.
In January 2006 he received a letter saying that he had been "randomly deselected". He was never given an explanation for his rejection.
In April the Commission for Racial Equality and the Equal Opportunities Commission started an investigation. They reported that the force had unlawfully discriminated on the grounds of race and sex.
The tribunal was told that 66% of white men, who applied to join the force last year, had been turned down. Every ethnic minority candidate who applied had been invited to an assessment centre.
Nanny has agreed to £2500 pay compensation to Mr Powell, and may now expect claims from the other 107 men, who were told by the force that they had been "randomly deselected".
Clive Tomer, chairman of the tribunal, said that Gloucestershire Constabulary had been
"at the very least disingenuous and at worst misleading".
In other words, they had lied.
Happy with the fact that the police lied?
I'm not!
Gordon Ramsey (not the chef), the head of human resources, said:
"We were trying to advance diversity in the force
and we thought at the time that this was lawful,
positive action.
When we found out after an independent investigation
by the Commission for Racial Equality that it wasn't lawful,
we accepted that."
I find that hard to believe that they didn't know that discrimination is illegal.
Do you believe them?
Only £2500? How much would he have been awarded if he'd been rejected for being black? It would have had at least another zero on the end. So who do you complain to about the tribunal also discriminating against whites?
ReplyDeleteWhat happens if they don't get enough "ethnic" applicants?
ReplyDeleteDo they go out and pressgang them?
There was a case in, where else, the U.S. last year about a black man being positively discriminated again, i.e., he was given a promotion because of the colour of his skin, and he was given something within the range of $500,000 for this "complaint".
ReplyDeleteNow, are you telling me, that he deserved more money, than these genuine cases? Just when you thought, you've seen everything...
Steve, North London
'Don't they teach the police the law then?'
ReplyDeleteCome on...the Plods belive themselves to be ABOVE the law!!
Railwayman39: If you want to see a copper, rev your engine in a racist manner, have a collection of porcelain pigs in your front window, a police gnome in your garden or commit similar such hate crimes, you'll have half a dozen around in no time.
ReplyDeleteGiven their proclivity for pursuing hate crimes it is a surprise that they couldn't recognise deselecting people on the basis of sex and colour as sexist and racist hate crimes.
Seems there is never an under representation of the intellectually challenged in the police force.
About time something like this happened. this type of discimination has been going on for far too long. It should always be the best person for the job, no other criteria needed. I worked for plod for some time in support capacity and one copper on the shift was Asian. Lovely guy but a hopeless copper, he only wanted to issue parking tickets and the like. He decided to apply for a specialist unit and was given priority over another (excellect) officer who had been waiting for several months. But the bosses are terrified of the race card being played so they cave in every time. Well done to the guy who brought the case.
ReplyDelete"I find that hard to believe that they didn't know that discrimination is illegal."
ReplyDeleteI don't find that hard to believe. I was under the impression that race or sex discrimination was acceptable for recruiters when they are trying to maintain a quota. I thought it was actively encouraged? Don't the political parties of this country do a similar thing?
No signs! didn't know the speed limit! sorry son you are nicked, ignorance is no excuse.
ReplyDeleteIn Canada, not only is such discrimination not illegal, it is enshrined in the constitution.
ReplyDelete