4183 - Affirmative action, merit and police recruitment
Benchmark Men, that is, those who are white, Anglo-Celtic, heterosexual and able-bodied, have traditionally dominated masculinist institutions like the police force. As a result, it has come to be assumed that they must be the best people. Accordingly, decision makers persist in appointing and promoting those who look most like themselves. 'It's like looking in a mirror', said one member of a recruitment panel when asked what image he held of the 'best per~on'.~ The essential subjectivity of ...