Police chiefs in the West Midlands have set themselves targets to recruit and promote more black and ethnic minority officers, it was revealed today.

Twelve per cent of new constables must be from “black or minority ethnic” groups, a figure that must increase by two per cent each year under the new arrangement. And 42 per cent of new recruits must be women, a figure the force has set itself to rise by two per cent each year until 2012. The move was today criticised by a former superintendent.

Police chiefs, who have been been handed the power to set their own recruitment targets by the Government, say they have a duty to “reflect the diverse communities” which they serve.

But former Wolverhampton councillor John Mellor, aged 80, who spent 34 years as an police officer, today described the move as “quite unbelievable” and an “absolute disaster”.

Mr Mellor, a former superintendent who worked in Wolverhampton and West Bromwich, said: “The people who should be promoted or permitted to enter professional organisations should be of the right calibre – the colour of their skin is immaterial.

“And we’ve already decided long ago that men and women are equal. Twenty-five years ago when I was commanding a division, I had several African Caribbean and two Asian officers, all of whom rose to the top because they were intelligent and they got there on their own merit.”

The new targets were agreed at a police authority meeting yesterday. Senior officers have also set up a working group and will use “focus groups” to ensure they are giving people from all backgrounds the “best possible career opportunities”.

West Midlands Police personnel director David Williams said: “We are proud to have achieved one of the highest female representations in the police service nationally, and demonstrable progress on black and minority ethnic representation. These targets will continue to build on the considerable progress West Midlands Police has made in this area.”

Jean McEntire, chairwoman of police authority personnel, said: “Being one of the most diverse parts of the country, it is very important to reflect the communities that we are serving.”

Targets for recruitment

These are the targets which West Midlands Police has set itself:

* A target for the recruitment of female police officers of 42 per cent, to be increased by two per cent every year for the next three years

* A target for the recruitment of black minority ethnic (BME) officers of 12 per cent, to be increased by two per cent per annum for the next three years

* For police staff, a target of 15.5 per cent BME recruitment for the year

* For officers progressing from constable to sergeant, a target of 10 to 15 per cent of all successful candidates should be BME

* For officers progressing from sergeant to inspector, a target of 10 to 15 per cent of all successful candidates should be BME

* For officers progressing from constable to sergeant, a target of 26 to 29 per cent of all successful candidates should be women

* For officers progressing from sergeant to inspector, a target of 20 to 23 per cent of all successful candidates should be women

The latest figures show there are 673 BME officers working for the force and, of the 8,763 officers, 2,535 are women.