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Equality, Diversity and Human Rights Strategy 2010-2013

Our aim

Kent Police wants to be an inclusive and consultative organisation with a workforce that reflects the population of Kent and a culture which respects and celebrates all aspects of diversity. We want to meet the needs of everyone living, working and visiting Kent by providing an accessible and responsive service. We also want to provide a service, and working environment, that is free from discrimination, harassment, bullying, or victimisation.

Our objectives

We have three strategic objectives within this strategy. They are:

1. Operational delivery – delivering services that are accessible, responsive and meet the needs of all communities

This includes:

  • Providing high standards of citizen-focussed policing to everyone, regardless of their background or personal or social circumstances
  • Improving trust and confidence in policing among all members of the community, especially those who may feel disadvantaged, excluded vulnerable, isolated or marginalised and because of age, disability, ethnicity, gender, race, religion or sexuality.
  • Engaging, consulting and communicating with local communities and partners.
  • Treating everyone as individuals, without prejudice, supporting and acknowledging their rights to be different in their abilities, culture, values, lifestyles and beliefs
  • Working with diverse communities to minimise the impact that counter terrorism operations and activity can have on them, and to improve confidence levels.

We will know when we are successful when:  

  • all communities tell us tell us they have confidence in us and they feel safe and secure
  • all communities volunteer information, willingly engage with our policing initiatives and operations, and when we have acted on information provided
  • relevant communities and statutory and voluntary organisations work with us to produce joint initiatives.

Implementation will involve:

Actively involving, and supporting, key stakeholders within our organisation, the Kent Police Authority, Independent Advisory Groups and Neighbourhood Policing community forums

  • Actively consulting and engaging people from diverse and marginalised groups on any policies or procedures likely to affect them
  • Placing emphasis on consulting and involving often-overlooked groups and communities, including Gypsies and Travellers and new and emerging communities
  • Monitoring and reviewing our policies to ensure that we are not discriminating or disadvantaging any group
  • Monitoring the use of our police powers, for example the power to stop and search, so that we are able to demonstrate fairness and proportionality in our approach.

2. People and culture – building an inclusive and supportive working environment that encourages development and progression of all staff

This includes:

  • providing a working environment that values and respects the identity, ability and culture of each individual and that challenges discrimination, harassment, bullying and victimisation
  • employing, and developing, a workforce which reflects the diverse communities of Kent
  • training and developing our workforce to recognise the value of equality and human rights for policing and that managers are meeting the needs of a diverse workforce
  • ensuring the public and workforce has confidence in our professional standards and disciplinary procedures.

We will know when we are successful when:

  • our workforce reflects Kent’s diverse communities
  • our employees have been trained to appreciate, and are confident in their understanding, of key equality and human rights issues in policing and employment
  • our employees understand the value and strength of diversity and respect personal dignity and difference
  • all our managers and supervisors have been trained, and understand, the performance appraisal and conflict resolution procedures
  • staff support groups for disability, gender, race, religion and sexuality, are in place and say that they are valued by the organisation
  • when we have a confident working culture where prejudice and discrimination on the grounds of a person’s age, disability, ethnicity, gender, race, religion or sexuality, and others forms of unacceptable practices and behaviours, are challenged and not tolerated.

Implementation will involve:

  • effective employee / management partnership in relation to equality and diversity initiatives, with the active involvement of Staff Support Groups
  • monitoring our staff recruitment, retention and progression, including training, disciplinary and grievance procedures, to check for discrimination. Publish these results in our annual progress report, sharing information with our key stakeholders
  • giving our staff the necessary training.

3. Organisational processes – embedding equality into organisational processes and the management of performance

This includes:

  • mainstreaming equalities and human rights activity into everything we do and applying the National Policing Improvement Agency’s Equality Standard for the Police Service as the major leverage to achieve this
  • applying our police powers fairly and monitoring them so we are able to identify any discriminatory practices
  • achieving consistently high standards of investigation into crimes where the perpetrator is motivated by hate
  • ensuring our practices, policies and procedures are fair, ethical, avoid institutional discrimination and are responsive to diverse needs
  • sharing our practices and procedures with other organisations and to become the role-model that other organisations, in both the public and private sectors can emulate to develop their own practices and procedures
  • influencing the national agenda by responding to government consultations and to support organisations which promote fairness for example Stonewall, Employers’ Forum on Disability.
  • not tolerating discrimination or exclusionary behaviours in any form and learning from our mistakes.

We will know when we are successful when:

  • equality, diversity and human rights considerations are embedded in everything we de
  • we can demonstrate fairness in policing and employment practices
  • external complaints, including from minority and marginalised communities, are resolved efficiently, fairly and within a reasonable time frame
  • we work with other organisations to promote equality, diversity and human rights in service delivery and employment.

Implementation will involve:

  • effective communication of this strategy
  • publishing a Single Equality Scheme, (which will incorporate the statutory Disability, Gender and Race Equality Schemes), which we have consulted on and shows our objectives and how we will deliver them
  • monitoring progress to meet the objectives shown in our Single Equality Scheme, and saying what progress has been made in our Equality, Diversity and Human Rights Annual Report
  • devolving responsibilities from the Force Performance Management Committee through to the Action Groups (see below), and elsewhere within the organisation, so that local ownership of our diversity objectives is mainstreamed
  • considering, and responding to, recommendations made at government level, inquiries and inspections
  • ensuring appropriate resources are provided to manage the delivery of this strategy.

Responsibilities and governance

Whilst specific responsibilities are given to certain people, all our staff are personally responsible for observing and conforming to the aims of this strategy.

Chief officer team

The team has collective responsibility to provide a working environment to support this strategy and to ensure it is consistently applied throughout the organisation.

Force Performance Management Committee (PMC) 

The PMC, which is chaired by the Deputy Chief Constable, has responsibility for overseeing the application of this Strategy and ensuring that our equality and diversity objectives are met.

Equalities and Standards Board 

The ESB, which is chaired by the Assistant Chief Constable (Human Resources and Learning and Development), has responsibility for agreeing actions to meet our equality and diversity objectives and monitors progress.

Action groups

A number of action groups, chaired by senior employees, take forward different aspects of our equality and diversity objectives and ensure that they are consistently applied across the service.

Kent Police Authority (KPA)

Kent Police is accountable to the KPA, which scrutinises our performance against objectives

Legislative duties

Kent Police’s desire to promote equality, diversity and human rights is not driven merely by the need to meet legislation. However, we will comply with all legislation promoting equality, diversity and human rights, making discrimination illegal, on the basis of someone’s:

  • Age
  • Disability
  • Gender
  • Race
  • Religion and belief
  • Sexuality

This strategy also supports the tri-partite Police Service’s Equality, Diversity and Human Rights Strategy, jointly adopted in December 2009 by the Home Office, Association of Police Authorities the Association of Chief Police Officers.

Alternative formats

This document is available in alternative formats and can be explained in a range of languages.

Contact the Diversity Team for more information.