Ethnic minority police officers and disproportionality in misconduct proceedings

Concern with perceptions of disproportionality on the grounds of ethnicity in internal police misconduct proceedings surfaced in England and Wales in the early 2000s. This article commences with a discussion of the meaning of disproportionality and two forms, numerical and procedural, are identified. A brief review of existing research is followed by presentation of research on the experiences of serving and former Greater Manchester Police ethnic minority officers of procedural disproportionality in misconduct proceedings. The article concludes with a discussion of the implications of the research for equality and diversity and attempts to create more representative police services.