North Yorkshire Police celebrating inclusivity after announcing incorporation of hijab into officers' uniforms

Two police constables with North Yorkshire Police designed the head covering as part of on-duty uniforms so that Muslim women who choose to wear it can work on the frontline.

The move is being celebrated as a major cornerstone of inclusivity in a time where the diversity in the police workforce is being called into question.

Pcs Uzma Amireddy and Arfan Rahouf tweeted about the news on Monday, sharing a picture of the black hijab.

Pc Rahouf, who is North Yorkshire Police's Race and Faith Operational Lead, wrote: "After many months of designing a new Hijab, I am happy to say myself & @PCUAmireddy have now achieved this!!

"@PCUAmireddy is wearing the new Hijab whilst on shift today, fantastic to hear she feels really comfortable wearing it!!"

Pc Amireddy said: "Alhumdulilla really pleased today, I was afraid when I started wearing hijab, fearing that this may hinder me in policing especially in proactive roles now finally it is part of a uniform.

"@NYorksPolice let’s hope the future is optimistic in sha Allah".

Fewer than two per cent of North Yorkshire Police's workforce is made up of Black, Asian and minority ethnic people (BAME), according to Government figures.

However, the overall population of the county itself is much less diverse than Yorkshire's neighbouring metropolitan counties, with 96 per cent of the population being white.

It comes as news earlier this Summer that a survey by Hope Not Hate charity revealed that the majority of BAME people do not trust the police, with a Government report published last month showing that 85 per cent of Black Britons feel they would not be treated the same by a police officer as a fellow white citizen stopped for the same reasons.

A North Yorkshire Police spokeswoman described the change as “important” and highlighted the need to represent the communities they serve.

“It’s really important for North Yorkshire Police to make sure that the uniform for each and every police officer is fit for purpose,” the force said.

“Inclusion and diversity is a key agenda for the police service. We need to be more representative of the communities we serve, in order for us to be an inclusive workforce and deliver a better service to all of our communities.

“Parallel to that, we need to listen to the needs of our existing workforce and ensure there is an avenue by which issues such as this can be raised and resolved.

“Pc Amireddy and Pc Rahouf have worked really hard to drive this positive action and collaborated with colleagues across the force to make this important change happen.”

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