Police officers could soon be wearing the burka in the Midlands

Rick Owen
01:33, Sep 10, 2016
Copyright 2015 All rights reserved. This material can't be published, transferred, copied or redistributed.
Copyright 2015 All rights reserved. This material can't be published, transferred, copied or redistributed.

British police could soon allow Muslim women officers to wear a burka on the beat in a bid to boost recruiting from ethnic minority communities.

Senior officers at West Midlands Police revealed they would discuss allowing the traditional Islamic dress to become part of Muslim female officers' uniform at a recent meeting.

In a statement on Friday, Thompson said the force would need to "consider our own rules and cultural sensitivity" before agreeing to the change, but added, "we don't have any barriers relating to the burka".

"But if an approach was made we would consider the request, " she said.

Chief constable Thompson said that now none of the force's officers had made a request to wear a burka.

West Midlands Police have been contacted for comment.

And he said WMP would look at the possibility of employing officers who wear burkas - which cover the entirety of a woman's body from head to toe - should the situation arise.

This is in a bid encourage more people to join the force
This is in a bid encourage more people to join the force

The force is aiming to increase the proportion of black and minority ethnic (BME) staff from 9 per cent - already the second-highest in the country - to 30 per cent, which would be representative of the local population.

Both the College of Policing and the National Police Chiefs' Council have said it is up to each force to determine the make-up of its officers' uniform, and set the policy on appearance.

About 1,100 new vacancies have been advertised by West Midlands Police and around 800 of the posts will be police officers.

Bosses are aiming for 30 per cent of the intake to come from BME backgrounds in an effort to make the force reflect the communities it serves.

The force has already recruited some women wanting to wear a hijab, a headscarf which only covers the head and neck.

The force has already approved hijab-wearing officers and now allows Sikhs to replace their helmet with a turban.

"It would be very surprising if West Midlands Police were in favour of full-face coverings", the organization told the Daily Mail U.K.

GM recalls 4M vehicles for air bag defect linked to 1 death
GM shared the data with Delphi, the auto parts and electronics supplier that provided the system, according to a NHTSA report. General Motors is recalling millions of vehicles to fix an air bag defect linked to at least one death.

Copyright 2015 All rights reserved. This material can't be published, transferred, copied or redistributed.


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