North Yorkshire Police is planning to set itself a target for women officers of a little over a quarter of its workforce, according to one of its Authority Members. Coun. Ruth Potter said the target, featured in the draft North Yorkshire Policing Plan, is a poor reflection on the force's ability to engage with the equalities agenda and is based on the presumption that policing is more about physical combat than the wider range of skills and abilities officers require to excel in their work.

She said:

"The Regional Equalities Seminar for Police Authorities has just met in Barnsley and considered the new Equality Standard for the Police Service. This standard aims to ensure better recruitment and retention of under-represented people in society, including women. It states that police forces should reflect the communities they serve.

"I'm afraid to say in North Yorkshire we have a lot of work to do in this respect. The new target of only 27%, believe it or not, is the current level of female officers and therefore represents no progress at all. I don't regard this as acceptable in this day and age, and it suggest to me that the Police has a very long way to come before it can say it has truly modernised and represents the public effectively.

"There are differences in culture between male and female dominated professions, but making workforces more balanced can improve those cultures. How can a police force be effective if it is not representative of those is claims to represent?

"Unfortunately there are still men in the Police who would dismiss the importance of women to the organisation, and whose attitudes should have been retired a long time ago. I will be fighting for the aspiration of gender balance within North Yorkshire Police and look forward to debating it with my colleagues before the draft Plan is agreed".