Equal i ty, D ivers i ty and Human Rights Object ives

Foreword 3

Equality Act 2010 3

Measuring progress 5

Engagement & Involvement 5

Equality Objectives

1. Public Sector Duty 7

2. Hate Crime 8

3. Operational – Community engagement 9

4. People & Culture Communities 10

5. People & Culture Employees 11

6. Organisational Process 12

7. Local Policing Units / Departments 13

Contents2

Foreword

West Midlands Police is committed toproviding a policing service that meets theneeds of all our communities.

Force ValuesThe force values are at the heart ofeverything we do.

• We put the public first in everything wedo.

• We act with integrity, fairness andhumanity.

• We are one team working together.• We listen and learn and strive toimprove.

West Midlands Police’s EDHRVision

‘Eliminate unlawful discrimination,harassment and victimisation byembedding a culture of equality andrespect that puts all of our communities,staff and officers at the heart of everythingwe do. Working together as one we willstrive to make a difference to our servicedelivery by mainstreaming ourorganisational values’.

Equality Objectives

West Midlands Police, as a public body, isrequired to pay ‘due regard’ to the PublicSector Equality Duty (Specific Duties) toprepare and publish Equality Objectives asdefined within the Equality Act 2010 andThe Equality Act 2010 (SpecificDuties)Regulations 2011. WMP is requiredto establish at least one Equality Objectivein consultation with people who shareProtected Characteristics. This is toenable the force to address areas ofinequality.

The General Duty

Section 149 of the Equality Act 2010imposes a “general duty” on allpublic bodies to have due regard tothe need to;• Eliminate unlawful discrimination,harassment and victimisation.

• Advance the equality of opportunitybetween different groups.

• Foster good relations between differentgroups.

These three elements are collectivelyreferred to as the “duty to promoteequality”. West Midlands Police has a dutywithin the meaning of the Act to promoteequality across all groups with protectedcharacteristics.

The protected characteristics under theAct are;AgeWhere this is referred to, it refers to aperson belonging to a particular age(e.g.32 year olds) or range of ages (e.g. 18- 30 year olds).

DisabilityA person has a disability if they have aphysical or mental impairment which has asubstantial and long-term adverse effecton that person's ability to carry out normalday-to-day activities.

Gender reassignment The process of transitioning from onegender to another.

Marriage and civil partnershipMarriage is defined as a 'union between aman and a woman'. Same-sex couplescan have their relationships legallyrecognised as 'civil partnerships'. Civilpartners must be treated the same asmarried couples on a wide range of legalmatters.

3

Pregnancy and maternityPregnancy is the condition of beingpregnant or expecting a baby.Maternity refers to the period afterthe birth, and is linked to maternityleave in the employment context.In the non-work context, protectionagainst maternity discrimination isfor 26 weeks after giving birth, andthis includes treating a womanunfavourably because she isbreastfeeding.

RaceRefers to the protectedcharacteristic of Race. It refers to agroup of people defined by theirrace, colour, and nationality(including citizenship) ethnic ornational origins

Religion and beliefReligion has the meaning usuallygiven to it but belief includesreligious and philosophical beliefsincluding lack of belief (e.g.Atheism). Generally, a belief shouldaffect your life choices or the wayyou live for it to be included in thedefinition.

SexA man or a woman.

Sexual orientationWhether a person's sexualattraction is towards their ownsex,the opposite sex or to bothsexes.

Specific Duties

West Midlands Police is a publicsector organisation covered by thespecific duties therefore it isrequired to;• Prepare and publish one or moreobjectives within the time scalesand subsequently at intervals ofnot greater than four years.

• These objectives must bespecific and measurable.

The force has produced: • Equalities Diversity & HumanRights Strategy

• Equalities Diversity & HumanRights Information

These can be found at www.west-midlands.police.uk

The EDHR strategy identifies theactions the force is taking toimprove equality across all theprotected characteristics, while thedelivery plan shows how and whenimprovements will be made. This issupported by a wide range ofactivity at all levels across theorganisation, from corporateinitiatives to innovative localprojects. As we are accountable toour communities, we welcomedtheir involvement and suggestionsas to equality objectives theybelieve should be incorporated.

Police and CrimeCommissioner

WMP are accountable to the WestMidlands Police and CrimeCommissioner who has aresponsibility to provide aneffective and efficient police forceto the population of the WestMidlands, in this instance with afocus on equalities, diversity andhuman rights delivery.

Details of the Commissioner’sEDHR objectives and priorities canbe found in the Police and CrimePlan.

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Effective EqualityObjectives

The law requires the force to publishour first equality objectives by the 6thApril 2012, and at least every fouryears after that.

Objectives can be reviewed, refreshedor additional objectives may be added.There is flexibility within the regulationsto permit this.

SMART Objectives

It is a legal requirement of theregulations for equality objectives to bespecific and measurable. This willenable the force to gauge progress andachievements, we are doing thisbecause we want to. Objectives needto be effective and SMART driven;• Specific• Measurable• Achievable• Relevant• Timed

Measuring Progress

The specific duties require listedbodies to set how progress againsttheir objectives will be measured, andby what methodology. Informationmust be published relating to thisprogress.

How we are Involving andConsulting with people

• WMP have established ReferenceGroups with members from a varietyof external groups (see next page).

• WMP have generic involvement withthe public through the media,including use of West MidlandsPolice web site and Twitter.

• WMP have involved members of ourStaff Support Associations, who inturn have been able to elicit feedbackthrough their members.

• WMP has recently conducted astaff survey, the findings ofwhich have been used toproduce a Staff SurveyDelivery Plan.

• Local Policing Unitsengage locally with avariety of reference groupsand community partners.

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WMP Force reference groups

• Enable Solihull• Remploy West Midlands• Mencap West Midlands• Victim Support Walsall• Autism West Midlands• Resource Centre Birmingham• Ideal for All Smethwick• One Voice Wolverhampton• Parkinson Organisation West Midlands• Walsall NHS patient group Walsall• Gurdwara Walsall• Asra sheltered housing Wolverhampton• Community Security Trust West Midlands• Faith Encounter Programme West Midlands • Ahmadiyya Muslim Youth Association Stourbridge• All Saints, Wolverhampton• Small Heath Baptists Birmingham• Balaji Temple, Tividale Sandwell• Lichfield Diocese West Midlands• Pentecostal Church Sandwell• Yemeni Community Association Sandwell• Progressive Synagogue Birmingham• Prevent Coordinator Sandwell Council• Ravidassia religious community, Birmingham South• Palfrey& Caldmore NHW Walsall• WAASP Walsall• Pink Shield Birmingham• Victim Support Wolverhampton• Sandwell LGBT Sandwell• Chinese Community Birmingham• Muslim Association Walsall• Bosnia UK Network West Midlands• Hate Crime Partnership Wolverhampton• Black & Asian Police Association• Association of Muslim Police• Nishkam UK• Equality & Diversity Forum Wolverhampton• Hate Crime Officer Dudley MBC• Travellers Education West Midlands• CST West Midlands• Young Disciples Birmingham• Private Hire Association Birmingham • Hebrew Congregation Birmingham• Disability & Carers Network West Midlands Police

Appendix 16

Operational Service DeliveryExtend our working relationships with all communities within the West Midlands byincreasing both our use of existing Key Individual Networks (KIN) and the development ofnew and more diverse KIN and Reference Groups. Increase the quality and satisfactionlevels of engagement and consultation with diverse communities.

Continue to train our staff to conduct EQIA’s effectively. Monitor the impact of increasedcompletion and awareness of EQIA’s by identifying the changes achieved/improvementsmade.

Purpose: Enable scrutiny at all levels of our service delivery and equip our staff toassess impact ahead of action in order that we can provide a better quality of service.

Objective 17

ActionsTimescales

Measures2012 2013 2014

Utilise, maintain and develop KeyIndividual Networks [KIN] andReference Groups across all LocalPolicing Units, to provide externalscrutiny of WMP service delivery.

Ensure the diversity of the groupsreflects the communities we serve.

Continue to providetraining/upskilling for key staffacross the force in terms of EQIA.Develop EQIA training to includeCIA.

All relevant policies and proceduresto have an EQIA completed togetherwith a process for review andscrutiny through the Hub ofExcellence.

X

X

X

X

X

X

X

X

X

X

X

X

Publish minutes, track interactionand capture learning through theEquality Standard. EDHR Hub ofExcellence will analyse thesereturns to then inform changewhich will be tracked through theEDHR Delivery Plan.

Scrutinise community profiles toensure that KIN and Referencegroups reflect the profiles and inturn enrich the accuracy of theprofiles.

Measure the amount ofassessors and the volume ofEQIA being undertaken. Dipsample for quality andeffectiveness of outcomes.

Copies of EQIAs will be held in acorporate library for scrutiny andidentification of themes that canbe actioned through the EDHRDelivery Plan.

Operational Service DeliveryBy increasing our understanding of the extent of hate crime we will become moreaccessible to communities by identifying additional third party reporting centres. We willincrease our one to one engagement with those affected communities through bespokereference groups, in order to help our communities understand what constitutes a hatecrime or hate incident.

Purpose: Improve the level of reporting of hate crime and ensure an effective andsupportive service for victims and witnesses. Increase confidence to report hate crimesand demonstrate our commitment to bringing about positive outcomes.

Objective 28

ActionsTimescales

Measures2012 2013 2014

Remove the barriers to reportinghate crime particularly in terms ofdisability and LGBT as they are bothunder-reported.

Promote third party reporting centresto build trust and confidence,provide initial training and marketingmaterials for third party reportingcentres and increase the number ofcentres at a local level.

Implement recommendationsrelevant to the Equality and HumanRights Commission’s inquiry ondisability related harassment.

Improve solve and resolveperformance of Hate Crimes andHate Incidents reported

X

X

X

X

X

X

X

X

X

X

X

X

Formation of hate crimereference groups to identifymethods to increase reportingand formulate action plans toaddress the issues highlighted.

Identify what third party centresare already in existence on eachLocal Policing Unit [LPU],measure the volume of reportingand outcomes achieved.

Tracked through the Hate CrimeDelivery Plan.

Performance Portal, FTD surveyand demographic tracking.

Operational Service DeliveryFocus our engagement within the 30 Priority Areas. Set clear priorities in partnershipwith the community in order to reduce crime & disorder and the vulnerability of thoseliving within the areas.

Through this engagement we will enrich our community profiles to gain a betterunderstanding of the demographics of the communities we serve.

Purpose: Increase Trust & Confidence by tailoring our services to the needs of thosecommunities in those high priority areas.

Objective 39

ActionsTimescales

Measures2012 2013 2014

Each LPU/Dept to develop anengagement strategy for their localPriority Areas.

Review and update communityprofiles to reflect more accuratelythe demographic profile byprotected characteristics asspecified under the Equality Act2010.

Ensure all WMP services areaccessible to meet the diverseneeds of our communities andservice users e.g. Offenders, Victimsand Witnesses.

X

X

X

X

X

X

X

X

X

Priorities Published, PerformancePortal, Feeling the Difference.Extended to 2014

Publication of CommunityProfiles (Not yet achieved byForce)

Evidence of tailored services,Health & Safety RiskAssessments of building access,increase in the use of on linereporting, reporting through 3rdparty reporting centres, Quality ofService complaints, servicerecovery through PSD.

Operational Service DeliveryImprove the cultural awareness of our workforce to enable them to deliver a servicethat reflects our considerations of the different cultures and backgrounds of thosecommunities we serve.

Purpose: Improve community relations by demonstrating that WMP policing style andtactical deployment is appropriate and achieves service delivery.

Enhance our community intelligence and monitor community tension so we can takeproactive action to protect communities.

Objective 410

ActionsTimescales

Measures2012 2013 2014

Review and revise WMP’s approachto its delivery of Stop and Search.

Develop a proactive approach tocarrying out CIAs.

Ensure that through FTD we are ableto pick up EDHR themes that affectconfidence and identify the policingaspects that impact on confidence.

Our Social Media strategy needs toengage and capture the views of allsections of our community to helpinform us of those issues affectingcommunities.

Develop capacity within the EDHRHub of Excellence to provide EDHRtactical advice to Commanders.

X

X

X

X

X

X

X

X

X

X

X

X

X

Stop & Search Policy,Performance Portal, Complaintsagainst Police, feedback fromreference groups.

Review the outcome from CriticalIncident debriefs and therecommendations containedwithin CIA’s, to enhance ourintelligence collection plan.

Monitor the results of FTD,feedback from KIN/ReferenceGroups and Social Media. Usethis information to raiseawareness amongst ouroperational workforce, whereappropriate in partnership withkey stakeholders from theaffected communities.

Minutes of Gold and SilverCommand meetings, structureddebriefs, EQIA/CIA’s

People & CultureBuild a working environment that eliminates discrimination and encourages all staff todevelop and progress. Demonstrate through our leadership, staff consultation and aprogramme of internal surveys, a willingness to listen, learn and take appropriateaction to address concerns in line with our force values.

Purpose: Create an organisational culture that encourages our staff to challengeinappropriate behaviour.

Create a talented and diverse workforce where all staff have the opportunity to developequitably within a culture that is fair, transparent and non-discriminatory.

Objective 511

ActionsTimescales

Measures2012 2013 2014

Review our current training ofEDHR/Misconduct, Resolutions andcapability with a view to developingthis training, so it builds competenceand confidence amongst ourworkforce to deal effectively withEqualities, Diversity and HumanRights issues.

Ensure effective engagement withthe workforce through localconsultation and staff surveys.

Ensure that the working environmentis inclusive and encourages thedevelopment of our entire workforce.

Improve how we recruit, retain anddevelop officers and staff fromdiverse communities with the aim ofimproving workforce demography.

X

X

X

X

X

X

X

X

X

X

X

Continue to delivery/developMandatory E-training packagesand bespoke learningprogrammes.

Review the number of internalmisconduct complaints,resolutions brought andEmployment Tribunals invoked,for themes that can be addressedthrough the EDHR Delivery Plan.

Report what engagement hastaken place and the result of staffsurveys. Develop Action Plans todeal positively with emergingthemes.

Monitor through BMEProgression Group and SSA’s theresults of both promotionprocesses and lateraldevelopment opportunities ofunder represented groups,monitor the concerns raisedthrough formal and none-formalprocesses, identify themes thatcan be actioned through theEDHR Delivery Plan.

Monitor the process ofrecruitment and the diversity ofapplicants. Ensure promotionaland training courses are fair andequitable. Progress against LocalEmployment Targets.

Organisational processesBuild equality into organisational processes to ensure we deliver a fair, transparent andcost effective service to the communities we serve. Ensure there is visible andaccountable leadership at all levels within the organisation to deliver the EDHRStrategy.

Purpose: Have effective performance measures in place to demonstrate change that istransparent and accessible to our communities and evidence based.

Have a clear governance structure to hold leaders to account for the delivery of ourPublic Sector Equality Duty.

Objective 612

ActionsTimescales

Measures2012 2013 2014

Ensure EDHR issues are includedwithin the force performancemanagement framework and thatthis is in a format that can beaccessed and understood by ourcommunities, to enable them to holdus to account.

Develop some bespoke questionswithin the “Feeling the Difference”survey carried out across the WestMidlands, to monitor the levels ofconfidence with our EDHR servicedelivery.

X

X

X

X

X

X

Using the framework as ameasurement tool againstperformance.

FTD results and comparisonsacross WAVE’s.

Local Policing Units / DepartmentsEmbed a consistent approach to delivering our EDHR Strategy across the organisationthat is driven from the top down and informed by the bottom up. Ensure that all sectionsof our community and workforce receive the highest standard of service delivery in linewith our force values.

Purpose: Have clear local objectives bespoke to the concerns of those localcommunities and reflect the concerns of the staff within that area of command.

To contribute at all levels towards achieving our EDHR Strategy and Objectives, ensuringit runs like a single thread through everything we do, demonstrating our commitment tothe force values and delivery of our Public Sector Equality Duty.

Objective 713

ActionsTimescales

Measures2012 2013 2014

Set up an EDHR forum

Utilise, maintain and develop KeyIndividual Networks [KIN] andReference Groups, ensuring thediversity of the contacts reflects thecommunities we serve.

Ensure that there is an effective localreference group to inform theirEDHR Objectives.

Develop a local delivery plan and setone or more measurable EDHRObjectives specific to the LPU/Dept.

X

X

X

X

X

X

X

X

X

X

X

X

Monitored through DiversityChampions meeting, EqualityStandard.

Local Policing, minutes ofmeetings, feedback, CIA’s,Community Intelligence.

Delivery Plan and objectives set.

QPR meetings.

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