The forces taking part in the three month field-tests are Northumbria, Cleveland, Lancashire, Derbyshire, North Wales, City of London, Sussex, Devon & Cornwall, Kent, Greater Manchester and the Metropolitan Police Service. Learning from the tests will be analysed and incorporated into the NPIA's Equality Standard, which will be available to forces across England and Wales towards the end of the year. The Standard is the first of its kind specifically designed for the police. It will help forces assess how far they have developed beyond basic compliance with equalities laws, improve ways of delivering their services and make better use of skills and other resources. It aims to support improvement in every area of work from front-line policing to internal functions such as HR or Finance. Chief Constable Peter Neyroud, Chief Executive of the NPIA, said: "The Standard will help forces increase public confidence in policing by helping them give a more effective service, tailored to the individual needs of the wide range of people they serve. It will also help them make better use of resources, increase staff retention and build a more diverse, skilled workforce that more accurately reflects their communities." The Standard avoids duplication and unnecessary bureaucracy by focusing on areas where there have been long-standing problems such as recruitment, retention and progression of under-represented groups. However, it is flexible enough to allow for differing policing styles, conditions and priorities across England and Wales. It will also be kept up-to-date to ensure that it is challenging enough to sustain improvement in police forces. The Standard requires evidence from existing activities such as local policing plans, impact assessments, evaluations of deployments and investigations, community engagement and partnership work. It enables benchmarking and encourages the sharing of successes amongst forces, leading to the better use of resources. About NPIA The organisation's creation in April 2007 streamlined and simplified the way that policing improvement is delivered locally and nationally. NPIA works for the police service and is governed by a tripartite board comprising ACPO, APA, Home Office and independent members.
NPIA is a single national organisation created to support effective policing. It provides expertise in areas as diverse as information and communications technology, support to information and intelligence sharing, core police processes, managing change and recruiting, developing and deploying people.
