A tribunal is set to rule on whether a white Bradford police officer was passed over for promotion in favour of an Asian colleague. Peter Richmond, 44, claims he missed out on an inspector's job in the predominantly-Asian Manningham area of the city, because his superiors wanted an Asian officer to fill the position.

He says that, under the force's recruitment system, he was next in line for the job but that his application was rejected when the district commander fast tracked Kash Singh for the position. David Jones for West Yorkshire Police told the tribunal in Leeds yesterday that Inspector Singh was promoted to community neighbourhood inspector for his skills including his ability to speak Hindi, Punjabi and Urdu. However Amanda Hart, for Mr Richmond, said that there were 17 more police officers in line for the position before Inspector Singh. She said the force had broken with normal procedures, which would have seen Mr Richmond or others above Inspector Singh in a list, take the job when it came up.


Instead, a "business case" for a "visible ethnic minority presence" in Manningham was put forward by the Bradford north divisional commander Chief Superintendent Allan Doherty to the former Assistant Chief Constable Steve Smith, the tribunal heard.


And Miss Hart said her client had never been asked whether he possessed the skills needed to gain the trust of a community which saw race riots in 1995 and 2001, either at the time he applied for the job or during a subsequent investigation following his complaint.

Peter Wilkinson, a personnel manager for West Yorkshire Police, gave evidence at yesterday's hearing He admitted there were certain "flaws" in the selection procedure and said that the force had now changed its policy so the selection process stood up to "greater scrutiny".
However, Mr Wilkinson denied Inspector Singh's appointment was because he is Asian. His evidence backed up Chief Superintendent Doherty's claims at a hearing last month that he recommended Inspector Singh for promotion because of his skills, not the colour of his skin.

The July tribunal heard that Mr Richmond had been offered a job as an inspector in Leeds but that was withdrawn when he continued his discrimination case. Mr Richmond was himself charged with discrimination against a community support officer and was demoted from sergeant to constable.

Summing up at yesterday's tribunal, Mr Jones, for the police, told the bench to consider its judgement against a legacy of race riots which have rocked Bradford and other major cities during the last 25 years. He said: "It is against the seriousness and gravity of these problems that one has to consider Mr Richmond's claim. It betrays a remarkable lack of insight and judgement, because, of all the areas in England and Wales, the Manningham area has one of the most difficult problems in terms of fostering and maintaining good relations with the police.

"When a particular individual with Sergeant Singh's credentials was available to Chief Superintendent Doherty to be put into the most important post in terms of connecting with the community, it was not an option he should miss." Miss Hart said: "The reality of policing diverse communities cannot be used as an excuse to make discriminatory appointments. It is not the law in this country or the policy of the police force to have positive discrimination.
"If he (Inspector Singh) was selected for the colour of his skin...then it would be tokenism and it does not do justice to Mr Singh either, because it means that he was promoted for unlawful reasons, rather than the genuine qualities he might have had."

The tribunal will deliver its judgement in the next few weeks.

e-mail: marc.meneaud @bradford.newsquest.co.uk


Source