Final Report of the Morris Inquiry: The Case for Change

BUILDING CAPACITY
9.9 He is alive to the possible backlash if positive discrimination were available:
“The MPS must avoid a situation whereby ethnic minority recruits at Hendon feel de-valued
and that their success is due to positive discrimination rather than ability. This would also cause
resentment amongst white officers.”
9.10 Instead, AC Ghaffur advocates a system of positive action. The MPS’ initiatives
on positive action are led and co-ordinated by the Positive Action Central Team.
AC Ghaffur recommends that the following positive action initiatives should be
considered:
● job shadowing and job rotations, which would provide an opportunity for
officers to become more familiar with specialist posts;
● short-term secondments;
● development centres, providing attendees with action plans for
development aligned to competency areas;
● formalised succession planning in the shape of career pathways; and
● reduced competency periods.
9.11 Whatever efforts have been made in recent years to attract more women and
minority ethnic officers to the MPS and to achieve better representation at senior
level, the fact remains that the MPS is still far from representative of Londoners.
The gateway – the training of recruits
9.12 The MPS has trained recruits at the Hendon Training Centre since 1934.
The overwhelming majority of recruits are still trained there today, although the
MPS is currently experimenting with non-residential courses at Sunbury.
9.13 Wherever and however recruits are trained, we believe that it is vital that
the gateway to the Service is used to set the tone for the duration of an officer’s
service in the MPS. Getting this right means securing the future of the MPS for
another generation.
9.14 We welcome the MPS’ current attempt to move away from an outdated
militaristic form of training “to create an adult learning college environment and
also to encourage self discipline.”
(Commander Hussain, during the Inquiry’s visit to the Hendon Training Centre.)
9.15 We suspect that more needs to be done to achieve this adult learning college
environment. We understand that recruits still perform drill and that there is no
civilian graduation ceremony.
“We spend as long on drill and marching as we do on officer safety.What’s more important?”
(Speaker during the Inquiry’s visit to the Hendon Training Centre.)
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