Despite a range of diversity initiatives, police leadership has continued to be perceived as a strongly homogeneous group over the past century (Reiner, 1991; Wall, 1998). With the vast majority of police leadership roles occupied by white men, the lack of embodied diversity among police chiefs is a visible and stark reminder of the ongoing inequalities in policing. This chapter draws upon the concept of police occupational culture to explain contemporary developments in leadership selection and promotion processes in England and Wales. Underpinned by the sociology of policing literature on occupational culture, training and socialisation, it considers the barriers and opportunities faced by police leaders. We explore the meanings of diversity in the context of police leadership, and assess how the diversity agenda is understood and enacted within policing. Through a consideration of the criminological and sociological literature on race, ethnicity, gender and sexuality, we argue that contemporary police leadership emphasises diversity in terms of an embodied identity, that is, ‘appearance’, rather than diversity in terms of alternative ‘thinking’ or experience. Moreover, we emphasise that the contemporary police diversity agenda is limited in its capacity to fundamentally transform police leadership and, as such, that diversity in police leadership does not necessarily create diverse leadership practices. Rather, we note the powerful nature of occupational culture in shaping leadership practices in the police and conclude that it is not only the person that shapes the leadership role, but also the conventions, expectations, norms and values of the leadership role that shape the person.
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