A police force who dismissed a volunteer for questioning Islam spent 46 constable salaries on diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI).
West Yorkshire Police had a 19-strong diversity team made up of uniformed and civilian officers, spending more than £1.4million on salaries and training.
On top of having an internal diversity trainer paid £45,924 per year, the force spent an additional £361,000 on an external firm to provide additional training.
A constable in West Yorkshire’s starting salary is £31,164, The Telegraph reports.
West Yorkshire Police also came under scrutiny last month as they reportedly dismissed the head of a hate crime panel in Bradford after she said Islamist terrorism was the “elephant in the room” which was not being addressed, despite an attack on a synagogue.
She also allegedly received complaints from Muslim officers when she pointed out it was not a crime to call the Muslim prophet Mohammed a paedophile.
The use of DEI within the police has been called into question over the murder of Henry Nowak, the 18-year-old student who died in police custody after his killer, Vickrum Digwa, 23, accused him of being racist.
On December 4 last year, Mr Nowak was fatally stabbed five times by Digwa but was subsequently arrested and died in handcuffs, despite telling police he had been stabbed and could not breathe.
DEI policies within the police have come under fire following Henry Nowak’s murder
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Officers in the force have suggested they fear being accused of racism so much that they would rather mishandle a murder investigation than be in breach of diversity guidelines.
The police’s anti-racism commitment has also come under scrutiny as the guideline, which was published in March 2025, suggests people from ethnic minority backgrounds need to be treated differently.
Police Minister Sarah Jones said last week the advice “gives the wrong impression”.
Through Freedom of Information requests last year, West Yorkshire disclosed they have the following positions:
West Yorkshire police have said the DEI roles have been reduced by ‘approximately seven’ since last year
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Civilian DEI roles:
- Head of Diversity, Equality and Inclusion — £91,536
- Diversity, Equality and Inclusion Manager — £57,252
- Diversity, Equality and Inclusion Officers (x3) — £45,924 each
- DEI Administrative Assistants (x2) — £30,912 each
- DEI Communications and Marketing Lead — £53,412
- DEI Communications and Marketing Officer — £42,492
- Equality and Diversity Trainer — £45,924
Uniformed positive action roles:
- Positive Action Inspector — £94,272
- Positive Action Sergeant — £79,716
- Positive Action Progression Officer — £45,924
- Positive Action Ambassadors (x6) — £59,844 each
Six of the 19 positions were filled by staff from ethnic minorities.
HM Inspector of Constabulary raised concerns about some elements of the force’s work earlier this month, including how it was investigating crime.
Michelle Skeer, HM Chief Inspector of Constabulary, said cases were being closed despite legitimate lines of inquiry being left unearthed and pointed to delays in the allocation of crimes to specialised teams and patrol officers.
Of eight categories of police work assessed by the inspectorate, West Yorkshire Police needed to be better in five.
William Yarwood, Campaigns Director at the TaxPayers’ Alliance, said spending the equivalent of 46 officers’ salaries on diversity bureaucracy was impossible to justify when communities were calling for more visible policing and better crime prevention.
He argued taxpayers expected forces to focus on catching criminals and keeping streets safe rather than building what he described as sprawling DEI departments, calling on West Yorkshire Police to scale back these roles and redirect the savings into frontline policing.
A spokesman from West Yorkshire said the force has reduced the number of roles by “approximately seven” since the figures were released last year.