Half our forces with under 10 Black cops

Diversity crisis as campaigners say ethnic minorities fear signing up

- MELISSA SIGODO, MATTHEW DAVIS

HALF of Britain's police forces have fewer than 10 Black officers, Home Office data shows.

And there is not a single Black police officer serving in two forces, according to figures obtained by the Mirror.

Campaigners say increasing diversity is essential, a day after a senior chief of London's Met - Britain's biggest force apologised over fresh claims of racism against officers by their own colleagues.

Official figures from April, the most recent available, show Cleveland Police and Devon & Cornwall had no Black officers.

And in almost half of the 44 regions in England and Wales, there are fewer than 10 Black officers.

Cleveland, Northumbria and Durham have a combined total of just seven out of 6,724.