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Schemes / Cynllun

NPIA Equality, Diversity & Human Rights Unit, NPIA, 10 Victoria Street, London, SW1H 0NN

Email:NPIA EDHR Unit

Phone:+44 (0) 20 7147 8397

Find out what our customers can expect from us...

Equality and Diversity

We work with forces to support their delivery of effective and responsive policing to the diverse communities they serve, and equality of opportunity for the people they employ.

Equality Update

The September 2009 edition of Equality Update is now available to download.

ACPO / NPIA Equality Conference

There is a new web page for the annual equality conference we jointly host with the Association of Chief Police Officers.

Cynllun Iaith Gymraeg / Welsh Language Scheme

Mae'r Asiantaeth Genedlaethol Gwella Plismona wedi paratoi Cynllun Iaith Gymraeg drafft yn unol â Deddf yr Iaith Gymraeg 1993 a Cymeradwywyd gan Board yr Iaith Cymru ddydd Mercher 23 Medi, 2009.

The National Police Improvement Agency Welsh Language Scheme has been prepared in accordance with the Welsh Language Act 1993 and was approved by the Welsh Language Board on Wednesday 23rd September, 2009.

Stephen Lawrence Conference

The Stephen Lawrence Inquiry 10 Years On conference was held on 24 February 2009. It was organised to review the implementation of the Stephen Lawrence Inquiry recommendations 10 years on from the publication of the report by Sir William Macpherson.

NPIA Equality, Diversity & Human Rights Unit has published a conference report summarising the event that is now available to download.

Equality Standard for the Police Service - Updated September 2009

We have developed an 'Equality Standard for the Police', as described in the 2008 policing Green Paper. This continuous improvement tool is for police use, but will also support Police Authorities in agreeing local equality targets and scrutinising police performance. Her Majesty's Inspectorate of Constabulary (HMIC) will use it for inspection.

The remit was for a policing-oriented standard, covering both operational and corporate functions. There has been continuous scrutiny of police equality performance over many years and the development has taken that into account, requiring forces to produce real evidence of progress.

The Standard has been developed with equality and diversity specialists from a range of forces across England and Wales. It had a large and robust field test with 11 forces from April to June 2009. Designed to operate at the heart of police delivery, it is linked to strategic policing priorities such as the National Community Safety Plan, the Policing Pledge and the wider Citizen Focus agenda. It helps forces to demonstrate delivery of Government priorities around equality and diversity. Most importantly, it contributes towards building Community Confidence in policing by supporting forces in becoming more engaged with their communities and meeting their needs.

By supporting the Police Service in taking a proactive and cross-organisational approach to equality, diversity and Human Rights, the Standard will be helping to integrate equality activity across all business areas. Great effort has gone into avoiding duplication and unnecessary bureaucracy whilst forging the links explained above.

The Standard concentrates on service delivery so is positioned at a strategic level (basic compliance with equality legislation will continue to be assessed by forces' own equality schemes). It is organised under three headings - Operational Delivery, People & Culture and Organisational Processes. For example, the second section includes a focus on recruitment, retention and progression of under-represented groups to support the police in better reflecting their communities.

The Standard is a guide for the journey to achieving Effective Practice. Forces will be able to assess current performance and use gap analysis to put improvement plans in place. Benchmarking across the Police Service will support sharing of Effective Practice and is expected to lead to better use of resources over time. Evidence of real activity and outcomes is required so this will include local policing plans, records of community engagement activity, recruitment and progression outcomes, evaluations of deployments and investigations, plus specific parts of published reports.

The journey moves from specified day-to-day activity, through wider integration of equality activities, to outcomes achievable in a number of ways. NPIA has assessed it as too great a risk to have a new Standard with all the criteria purely outcome focused - forces must have sufficient audit trails of their activity to be able to replicate what works and be able to meet the Police Authorities' and HMIC's scrutiny needs.

Current milestone and future timetable: Feedback from the 11 trial forces, consultation with policing organisations and support groups, and engagement with community representatives has been incorporated into the final version. That has now been approved by Boards of the NPIA and the Association of Police Authorities and the Cabinet of the Association of Chief Police Officers. There will be a media launch in central London on 2 December 2009.

An Editorial Board of representative forces (augmented by a policy adviser from the Equality and Human Rights Commission) will be responsible for reviewing both the Standard and its guidance to keep it challenging and strategic in the future.