By pledging its support, the NPIA has committed itself to training many of its staff, particularly those in recruitment, HR and exams or assessments, to make them aware of facial disfigurements and how best to approach situations involving people who are visibly different. These include Shell, Olympic Deliver Authority, British Airways and Barclays. Henrietta Spalding, Head of Professional Development at Changing Faces, said: "We are absolutely delighted that the NPIA is signing up to our Face Equality at Work scheme. We hope that its enthusiasm and the actions it has committed itself to will encourage other constabularies to follow suit to help create communities where people are valued as individuals and not judged on their appearance." Changing Faces is a UK Registered Charity, No. 1011222, launched in 1992 by James Partridge OBE, DSc (Hon), who sustained severe burn injuries following a car accident at the age of 18. The charity supports and represents people with disfigurements of the face or body from any cause.
The NPIA will also develop training for all staff to increase employee awareness and improve perceptions of facial disfigurement. In addition, it will review its equality policies and strategies to ensure that they cover facial equality issues.
Chief Constable Peter Neyroud, Chief Executive of the NPIA, said: "We are delighted to be the first police organisation to sign up to the Face Equality At Work Charter. As an employer and service provider, we are committed to embedding equality and ensuring that we are accessible to everyone. We would also encourage the wider police service to undertake similar initiatives."
The NPIA joins a number of leading organisations who have all committed to treating their employees and customers with disfigurements fairly and equally.
The commitment to Face Equality At Work will require employers to take steps to:
In January 2008, a public attitude survey of 1000 people showed 9 out of 10 people have unconscious negative attitudes towards people who have disfigurements. The research also showed that people with facial disfigurements are likely to be marginalized because little is expected of them, both socially and professionally. Face Equality at Work was launched in May 2008 to address the discrimination and prejudice that people with disfigurements may experience both as employees and customers and to promote fair treatment and equal opportunities.
Notes to Editors:
For further information or photographs of the event, please contact the NPIA Press Office on 020 7147 8310/8308/ 8297 or 8424; or Rekha Patel, Press and Communications Officer at Changes Faces on 020 7391 9276.
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.
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. The ACPO President is a member of the NPIA Board.
The Face Equality Campaign was launched in May 2008. The aim of the campaign is to make sure that everyone, irrespective of their facial appearance, is treated equally and fairly. The charity is asking the public to show their support for the campaign by uploading their faces to a giant campaign collage on its website: http://www.changingfaces.org.uk/lendyourface/.
