MPS Race and Diversity (confidence and equality) Strategy

Report: 10
Date: 6 October 2005
By: Commissioner

Summary

This report presents the draft MPS (Metropolitan Police Service) Race and Diversity (Confidence and Equality) Strategy. Amendments have been made to the original draft as a result of wide internal and external consultation, including the MPA (Metropolitan Police Authority). The Strategy is now presented as part of the final, more focused, consultative phase.

A. Recommendations

That members comment upon the structure and content of the document as part of the consultation process, so that it will provide a credible and effective approach to progressing the Race and Diversity agenda within the MPS.

B. Supporting information

1. A copy of the document is attached at Appendix 1 for members to discuss. The document is in a basic format prior to being professionally designed and will be ready for publication late 2005. The process for informing the strategy is shown at Appendix 2.

2. The MPS has previously published two strategies, Protect and Respect I and II, which focused upon racism and wider diversity respectively. The latter was produced in 2001. Whilst these helped the organisation to begin to effect necessary change at that time, there is now a wider recognition of the term diversity.

3. Diversity within the MPS is about recognising, valuing and responding to differences between people. This strategy deals with six, agreed, aspects of diversity but, in line with Home Office direction, retains a specific focus on race equality, not least because of the legislative requirement to do so. On that basis, the term ‘Race and Diversity’ is used throughout.

4. The MPS must supply a service that is accessible to everybody, takes account of individual needs, has a workforce which better reflects the make-up of the communities of London and provides the level of reassurance that makes Londoners want to actively engage with their police service.

5. The recent appointment of a Deputy Assistant Commissioner to lead the Diversity Directorate, along with the internal restructuring, indicate the high level of importance that the MPS places upon Race and Equality.

6. An additional aim now is to take the work of the Directorate straight to the point of service delivery, to change the culture there by embedding diversity into individual activity. This will be achieved through an innovative Race and Diversity (Confidence and Equality) Strategy that is significantly different from Protect and Respect I and II.

7. The purpose of this new strategy is to direct the organisation in relation to meeting its requirements in terms of positively influencing the internal working culture and the quality of the external service delivered to London’s diverse communities. Diversity is at the heart of all that we do and is the responsibility of all our staff – it is not just a matter for the Diversity Directorate.

8. The document will be aimed at everyone with an interest in policing and is designed so that differing groups can ‘see what’s in it for them’. In this way, each level within the MPS, from the officer on the street, to the team leader, to the Borough Operational Command Unit (B)OCU Commander, and up to the senior leaders of the MPS will have a part to play in delivering the strategy. For example, MPS front line staff must be presented with a document that is succinct, informative and actually helps them in their work; it must also be capable of stimulating them into making a positive and measurable contribution towards creating a fair and equal working environment. This will make the setting up of ‘Safer Neighbourhoods’ that much easier because more people will feel ‘included’. It will support the ‘Together’ programme and all criminal investigation by enhancing the flow of ‘Community Intelligence’. A professional copywriter will make the final document accessible to each target audience.

9. Some of the direction relates to statutory obligations contained within legislation, e.g. Race Relations (Amendment) Act 2000 and the Disability Discrimination Act 2005. Other elements are concerned with ethics and conduct of MPS staff, how the MPS polices operationally, and how it recruits, retains and progresses people in a way that makes it more representative of the make-up of London.

10. The strategy will support the development of the whole organisation by the creation of local action plans each of which will reflect local needs and make the strategy ‘real’ for everyone. An accountability framework will identify named, individuals who are responsible for specific activities in support of the strategy. It will be transparent and easy to follow. Each of our 96 operational command units will be required to produce an action plan.

11. The Diversity Directorate will centrally monitor MPS performance through it’s ‘Performance, Development and Monitoring Unit’ and the use of the ‘Corporate Diversity Performance Pack’ (to be published quarterly commencing early 2006). This team will consist of senior consultants, researchers and analysts who will have the capability to assess and comment upon MPS diversity data. Identified areas of concern will then be targeted in line with the National Intelligence Model. The unit will also be in a position to provide guidance and set standards and achievable targets. Such a system will logically highlight good practice, identify emerging areas of concern and inform future activity.

12. A team of Diversity Directorate ‘Impact Consultants’ will then be tasked, through a formal tasking process, to go to Operational Command Units with identified problems or highlighted good practice and devise an action plan to improve the situation or share best practice. This approach will establish consistency across the MPS and more effectively target expertise to where it is needed. The Diversity Central Team will continue to provide specific expertise across all six strands and operational support will continue to be provided for Critical Incidents and Family Liaison.

13. Consultation on the first draft of this strategy identified the use of language that was considered to be passive. This has now been addressed throughout the document by the use of more authoritative and active language designed to encourage and be clear about ownership and responsibility. This is particularly evident in the ‘Purpose’ and ‘Introduction’ where more proactive comments are used.

14. The ‘Accountability Framework’ included in the first draft has now been removed transferred from the strategy to form the backbone of the ensuing local Diversity Strategy Action Plans that will be created by each of the MPS (B)OCUs. This approach has been adopted in order that the MPS can better reflect the differing local needs of all staff and London’s communities. These plans will be written in partnership with others; however, they will be controlled by the MPS to ensure the success of the strategy.

15. The themes have been reworked to make it easier for the reader to identify the part of the strategy that relates to them personally. For example, ‘Key Encounters’ will inform busy MPS front line staff and is designed to be easily accessible to them. This approach is built into the whole document. Readers with a strategic role to play, e.g. senior managers, will need to know the whole strategy.

16. The bullet points under ‘Key Encounters’ remain unchanged. However, ‘Key Encounters’ now relate to a wider range of individuals. Stop and Search is now listed under this section rather than within ‘Critical Incidents’.

17. The structure of this strategy relies heavily upon ‘bullets’. This is necessary to keep the overall document succinct. It also makes it easier to relate the strategy to the associated local action plans.

18. The introductory paragraphs to each of the five themes have all now been removed, in the interest of clarity.

19. The MPS will openly publish progress it makes in terms of delivering what the strategy sets out, and invite feedback. It will formally report, through Equal Opportunities and Diversity Board, upon progress. This will ensure that our achievements are well documented and that any progress we make is based upon us being as widely informed as possible.

C. Race and equality impact

Equality and diversity is the subject of this report. A coherent strategy is a cornerstone of the MPS Race and Diversity Agenda. This approach must, and will, have the involvement of all the organisation’s people. It will increase the confidence of Londoners who receive the service provided by the MPS. With this fact in mind, the consultation process is designed to reach far and wide, in order to generate a strategy that everyone can have the opportunity to contribute and relate to. If the strategy is not created and validated in this way the MPS becomes less likely to be able to operate on a ‘policing by consent’ basis and will not effect any positive influence on the internal culture.

D. Financial implications

All costs involved in effecting the consultation process will be met from existing budgets and structures. There is a need to make this document accessible to and readable by everyone, and to invest in this approach.

E. Background papers

None

F. Contact details

Report author: Kevin Bowsher, DCC4, Diversity Directorate, MPS.

For more information contact:

MPA general: 020 7202 0202
Media enquiries: 020 7202 0217/18

Appendix 2

MPS Race and Diversity (Confidence and Equality) Strategy

Timetable

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