Equality and diversity in Specialist Crime Directorate

Report: 09
Date: 18 January 2007
By: Assistant Commissioner SCD on behalf of the Commissioner

Summary

This report outlines the work undertaken by Specialist Crime Directorate (SCD), provides details of its relationship with the Diversity and Citizen Focus Directorate (DCFD) and describes equality and diversity initiatives being carried out within SCD and with the communities it serves. The report also provides details of SCD’s demographics and how it monitors diversity activity.

A. Recommendations

That

1. Members note the contents of this report.

B. Supporting information

The work undertaken by SCD

1. The Specialist Crime Directorate (SCD) was launched in November 2002. SCD is responsible for reducing the impact of serious and organised crime and to counteract the human cost in the damage and harm caused to individuals, neighbourhoods and communities. SCD provides support to specialist operations, Borough OCUs and also works with a wide range of partners in both public and private sectors.

2. The Directorate recently restructured to rationalise business, afford greater flexibility, responsiveness, increased resilience and value for money. The restructuring created six command areas:

• Organised Crime & Criminal Networks
• Homicide & other Serious Crime
• Child Abuse, Economic and Specialist Crime
• Covert Policing & Intelligence
• Forensic Services
• Strategic Development and Business Support

3. These command areas focus on delivering SCD’s strategic objectives of:

• Disrupting criminal networks, seizing their assets and reducing the harm they cause
• Delivering the highest standards for homicide investigation and preventing homicide and other serious crimes by using disruption tactics
• Safeguarding children and young persons from physical, sexual and emotional abuse
• Developing capability to combating specialist crimes
• Coordination and deployment of covert assets
• Increasing the number of offences brought to justice as a result of forensic intervention
• Being a well managed, effective, efficient and professional Directorate

4. The command areas comprise a number of operational units. These are described below.

• Homicide and other Serious Crime, which is responsible for all murder across London; manslaughter and attempted murder offences; high-risk missing persons where there is a substantive reason to suspect life has been taken or is under threat; linked series of two or more stranger rapes, which are beyond the capability of one Borough's resources to manage; other critical incidents which, due to their serious nature, complexity, or organisational risk, require support.
• Child Abuse Investigation Command (CAIC) deals with child protection and paedophile issues, working closely with colleagues in Territorial Policing and in other child agencies. Its core objective is to identify and investigate allegations of child abuse and has the capability to deal with large-scale allegations of systemic or organised abuse and intra-familial homicide.
• Economic and Specialist Crime comprises specialised teams that offer investigative, proactive and intelligence development approaches to a wide range of serious crime affecting individuals, private and public sector organisations. The teams include fraud; dedicated cheque and plastic crime; money laundering investigation; stolen vehicles; arts and antiques; computer crime; extradition and international assistance, regional asset recovery and human trafficking.
• Criminal Networks Command investigate commercial robberies by firearms (Flying Squad); kidnaps; extortion; blackmail; contract killings; class A drugs suppliers; firearms users and traffickers.
• Trident/Trafalgar is responsible for the investigation of all shootings and discharges of firearms in London, except in those cases where the offences fall within the terms of reference of the Flying Squad. Trident teams investigate shootings where the victim and suspect are from the black community; Trafalgar teams investigate non-fatal shootings where the victim and suspect are from other distinct communities. The Community and Crime section meet regularly with groups and agencies to divert young children and youth away from the gun crime culture.
• The Intelligence function provides a number of essential capabilities in relation to the management and development of intelligence including the Service Intelligence Bureau (MPS 24 hour intelligence support), Special Intelligence Section (tasked with dealing with serious organised crime related to human and drug trafficking), Police National Computer Bureau, Coordinating and Tasking Office (SCD’s 24/7 operations room) and the Overseas Visitors Records Office.
• Covert Policing comprises a number of units that provide covert operations and policing, including surveillance teams; technical support unit; special intelligence section; authorities office; telephone intelligence; prison intelligence; witness albums; covert source management; covert operations group and Crimestoppers.
• Forensic Services offer corporate services including specialist evidence recovery imaging services, fingerprint bureau, forensic development and services for Territorial Policing, Specialist Operations, Central Operations and Specialist Crime.
• The Crime Academy provides all detective training in the MPS and a co-ordinated approach to investigative, forensic and intelligence training from the initial investigation at a scene of a crime through to presenting evidence at a court. The Crime Academy is developing links with academic institutions, for example, partnerships with the University of Westminster to provide a foundation degree for detectives and with the University of Middlesex to provide a masters degree for senior investigating officers. The Crime Academy as a whole is seeking recognition through Skills for Justice who has already endorsed the courses delivered by the forensic Faculty.

SCD’s relationship with the MPS Diversity & Citizen Focus Directorate

5. SCD has appointed a Commander to lead on diversity issues, supported by an SCD Diversity Coordinator, whose role is to develop a diversity strategy for SCD in support of the MPS Diversity Strategy. SCD has also asked each of its OCUs to nominate a colleague to lead on diversity within the OCU. The Assistant Commissioner Specialist Crime represents SCD on the MPS Diversity Strategy Board.

6. The SCD Diversity Forum monitors and progresses the SCD Diversity Action Plan and the OCU level action plans. The Forum works closely with the DCFD with themed meetings to look at each of the diversity strands, to consider best practice, corporate requirements and to explore legislative changes. This enables SCD to drive forward a programme of activities, which reflect the values of the organisation and the strategy set out in the MPS Equality Scheme.

7. SCD has been selected by the DCFD to pilot the e-Sat diversity monitoring process. This will enable the mainstreaming of diversity and the identification of areas where we can improve.

8. SCD uses the National Intelligence Model intelligence based approach to ensure that resources are targeted towards criminality in identified communities, boroughs and neighbourhoods.

Equality & diversity monitoring in SCD

9. The initial work of the SCD Diversity Forum developed around an internal focus and many of the actions related to internal staffing issues including representation of staff in relation to the six core strands of diversity – race, age, faith, disability, sexual orientation and gender. Fairness at work issues are considered as are Staff Associations, promotion and selection, flexible working and the ‘extended police family’. The remit of the forum has now been extended to include outward facing diversity issues such as community engagement.

10. There has been a similar focus within SCD’s OCUs with initial work following publication of the Macpherson Report tending to focus on race, then using this learning to embrace wider aspects of diversity and now moving on to tackle the challenges of delivering an effective service to London’s diverse communities.

11. In November 2005 the SCD Diversity Forum sponsored SCD’s Diversity Excellence Model self-assessment exercise in each OCU. Areas for improvement were identified and prioritised into action plans, which are currently being worked on locally. The action plans covered relevant issues from the Commission for Racial Equality’s formal investigation of the police service, the Morris Inquiry and staff surveys, as well as the internal Diversity Excellence Model.

12. The twenty-one actions highlighted in the SCD Diversity Action Plan (a copy is at Appendix 1) are monitored monthly and there are quarterly reports on the OCU level action plans. There was a formal review in October 2006, which provided the opportunity to ensure the action plans are actually being delivered and having the desired impact. While it is early to judge the outcomes of the Diversity Action Plan, SCD has raised the profile of diversity in its work, for example, ensuring that SCD has full and active representation on the MPS Race and Diversity Learning and Development Programme Board, preparing the ground for all SCD staff to demonstrate competence against MPS diversity standards, scoping the use of specials within SCD and developing a management structure, and reviewing SCD roles to identify options for using volunteers.

13. One recent example of good practice with regard to ensuring that services are not disproportionate is in Covert Policing, which has established a racial incident panel and dip samples intelligence reports to ensure that communities are not being discriminated against. For example, researching the reasons for a reduction in the number of decoy operations for hate crime, Covert Policing established that the likely causes included lack of awareness, knowledge and operational capacity in terms of the diversity of decoy officers. A group of more diverse decoy officers, in terms of gender, ethnicity and sexual orientation, were trained to provide operational capacity in communities vulnerable to hate crime.

Initiatives to promote equality and diversity in SCD’s work

14. Some recent and ongoing examples include:

• Trident was created six years ago as an intelligence cell, which would gather information and intelligence about specific gun crime issues within the black community. It has now evolved into one of the most significant and important commands, dealing with a range of gun crime issues. Trafalgar deals with other communities across London.
• The Serious and Organised Crime OCU identified a high number of Asian storekeeper victims of commercial robberies and worked with the relevant boroughs on prevention initiatives, such as Raid Control.
• The Cultural & Communities Resource Unit manages a confidential database of the life skills of MPS staff, to assist operationally with critical incidents. London is one of the most diverse cities in the world, which adds extra dimensions to a complex and challenging policing environment. It makes sound operational sense to utilise the life skills of MPS staff thus enabling the MPS to resolve critical incidents and solve major crime more quickly and to the satisfaction of our communities. The life skills are captured on a voluntary basis. Life skills include details of lifestyle, knowledge of a community, language or hobby, the details of which are stored on a confidential database. The database enables incident commanders or senior investigating officers to access staff skills when they need them.
• Colleagues in the criminal networks command area (Serious & Organised Crime and Trident/Trafalgar OCUs) have introduced positive action to support female and black and minority ethnic officers and staff in the application process. Trident also arranged a joint training session with the MPA to raise awareness around kidnap and emerging community issues.
• Covert Policing represents a particular challenge, as it has historically been perceived as elitist. It is, arguably, even more important for covert policing teams to reflect London’s communities to help specialist units stay ahead of criminals involved in serious organised crime and terrorism.
• The Covert Policing OCU is reviewing its recruitment strategy and advertisements and challenging assumptions about pre-requisite core skills. At the pre-selection stage the OCU has introduced mentors and positive action to support applicants for whom English is not their first language. On the monitoring side, there is now a system for ensuring that the equality forms are used and actively monitored; inhibitors (of people who expressed interest in joining but did not proceed) are being identified and acted upon; and that the results of exit interviews are analysed to identify barriers to retention. A recent success of the strategy was in selecting three highly skilled external applicants, including one female colleague, for the Prison Intelligence Unit and this is now being used for other roles, including in the Technical Support Unit.
• The Covert Policing & Intelligence command area identified opportunities to support secondments from under-represented groups, including introducing a system to follow up at the end of attachments. The command also developed a partnership with MPS special interest groups to seek guidance and consultation on the development of policies that may impact on diversity.
• Homicide & Other Serious Crime has introduced a Diversity intranet page. This will have information on diversity issues within the command, policies and relevant links to other websites, which will provide information and advice on diversity issues.
• The Crime Academy has reviewed its syllabus and ensured that lessons are diversity proof. It has provided modular training at diverse locations to accommodate the needs of police officers and police staff across London. It has also made sure that notice boards contain up to date advice, support, contact information and details of staff support associations.
• A previous report to the MPA EODB has highlighted more examples of such initiatives in the CAIC including:
  • Project Violet (faith communities)
  • Project Umbra (domestic violence/children)
  • Female Genital Mutilation (FGM)

How age, disability, ethnicity, faith or non-belief, gender and sexual orientation are taken into consideration

15. The SCD Diversity Board has examined the six diversity strands over the past year. Examples of good practice include:

Age

16. SCD recruits retired officers into the Specialist Crime Review Group to ensure that their experience is not lost to the MPS. SCD also encourages officers to consider the 30+ retention scheme. 42 retired officers have rejoined as police staff and one has remained on the 30+ scheme.

Disability

17. A number of SCD units have reviewed their working environments and identified the need to provide reasonable adjustments for disabled staff. For example, Economic and Specialist Crime have made provision for any new staff and have also identified the need to capture the needs of existing staff regarding emergency evacuation. The Crime Academy has made reasonable adjustments for students with dyslexia.

18. Covert Policing has also involved disabled people in developing an action plan, identifying how to gather and analyse evidence to inform actions and track progress, setting out how to assess the impact of existing and proposed activities on disabled people, producing an action plan and monitoring progress.

Ethnicity

19. The Drugs Directorate is currently scrutinising the ethnicity of people taking drug tests under the Drugs Interventions Programme (DIP). This is likely to be published early in 2007 in a London wide report by GLADA called “Highs and lows 2”. At this stage, there is no indication that of any disproportionality in the MPS’s submission to the report.

20. At present the CAIC has 4% black and minority ethnic (BME) police officers and 25% BME police staff. In an effort to increase the BME representation various initiatives are taking place. A recruitment day specifically aimed at BME officers was held where the MPS staff associations were invited and received presentations on the various types of work carried out by the CAIC and CAIC colleagues also attend the Freshers Fair at Hendon to promote the work of CAIC to new recruits.

Faith or non-belief

21. Homicide and other Serious Crime’s strategy includes providing, where appropriate, a prayer room or place for meditation for all staff on a 24-hour basis at each location.

22. Both the Crime Academy and Covert Policing have examined provision of an environment that meets cultural and faith needs of the local workforce.

Gender

23. Equality and Diversity in the CAIC was the subject of a report to a previous EODB meeting. The CAIC is unique within the MPS in that 50% of its police officers are female, as is 87% of its police staff. This gender profile led to PricewaterhouseCoopers being commissioned to conduct a report of CAIC to identify and understand the operational impact of such factors. The findings and recommendations have been published in a report which is being taken forward by the DCFD and CAIC.

24. CAIC is aiming to improve the visibility of its Senior Management Team and address its balance to reflect its diverse workforce. The command has set up a networking group for all senior female staff to assist in career development, asked female Federation representatives to attend staff association meetings with the OCU commander and plans to increase managerial representation at its quarterly leadership days. The outcome measurements include the number of female detective inspectors applying for promotion.

25. CAIC also has an objective to recruit high calibre male detectives to work on Child Abuse Investigation Teams (CAITs). To date work has included holding focus groups; identifying the barriers to recruitment, the benefits of working on CAITs and role models; developing recruitment material and running a national recruitment drive.

26. Covert Policing held a recruitment event on 23 October 2006, aimed at recruiting female officers to undercover work and to explore the reasons for under representation. The command is working on options to improve the current training courses by breaking the work down into modules and providing support, for example, it was suggested that a female instructor would be a significant step in supporting female trainees and a female instructor has been appointed with immediate effect and will instruct on the February course.

27. Crime Reduction & Policy has sponsored work experience placements with a high achieving girls school. High achieving women are still under-represented in the MPS and this is an attempt to start to redress this with a group who will go on to achieve.

Sexual orientation

28. SCD held an event to raise awareness of Lesbian Gay Bisexual and Transgender (LGBT) issues in the workplace, which was attended by staff across the Directorate and other areas of the MPS, including staff associations. The event, which included a short film on MPS staff “coming out” experiences, demonstrated how people have been struggling against being vulnerable victims for many years and the challenges of making others aware that it is their identity, not sexuality, that is important. SCD was also represented at the market place hosted by the DCFD to support LGBT history month. SCD volunteers from various commands staffed a stand throughout the day and answered queries from visitors, including questions about the work of SCD, current vacancies and serious crime within the LGBT community.

29. Serious & Organised Crime and Covert Policing commands have created the role of LGBT Liaison Officer.

Profile of SCD officers and staff

30. At present, SCD can only gather information on the age, ethnicity and gender of its people. Information on the other three diversity strands is not available for analysis on the MetHR. While faith and disability can be recorded, it is not currently a mandatory field and many people do not give this information. Sexual orientation is not currently recorded.

31. SCD does not currently monitor the age of its officers and staff. However, an initial analysis indicates that over 90% of its officers are between 31 and 50 with around 4% aged between 21 and 30 and just over 6% aged between 51 and 60. The youngest officer is 23 and there are four officers who are 59. There is a wider range of ages amongst police staff with 23% aged between 21 and 30, 60% between 31 and 50 and 16% between 51 and 60. The youngest member of police staff is aged 17 and the oldest is 69.

32. In SCD, 4% of police officers (136 officers) and 15% of police staff (374 staff) are from a BME background. This compares with 11% and 29% respectively in the MPS as a whole. SCD has yet to reflect the increased number of BME recruits into the Service over the past few years as these officers have not yet had the time to build up the experience needed to become detectives; in October 2001, there were 4.3% BME officers and 8.3% BME recruits in the MPS. An increasing number of BME officers are becoming eligible to apply for specialised roles and SCD now has the opportunity significantly to improve its ethnic mix.

33. BME officers are fairly equally spread through SCD’s operational command areas with the highest percentage (5%) in Organised Crime & Criminal Networks and the lowest (3%) in Intelligence & Covert Policing. In contrast, Intelligence and Covert Policing has the highest percentage of BME police staff (28%), while the lowest is in Homicide & Other Serious Crime (10%). Forensic Services has the highest number of BME police staff with 126 BME members of staff, 12% of the total Forensic Services staff.

34. SCD has 23% female police officers and 60% female police staff. This compares with 20% and 59% in the MPS as a whole. As with BME recruits, the increases in female recruits are starting to feed through into the more specialised roles.

35. While SCD overall is in excess of the target of 20% female officers, there is an imbalance between the command areas. Only 15% of officers in the Intelligence & Covert Policing command area are female, compared with 35% in the Child Abuse & Economic Crime command area; and within this command area, 50% of police officers in the CAIC are female. This issue is reflected in the SCD Diversity Action Plan and is being actively considered through the SCD Diversity Forum, and the CAIC Diversity Forum.

36. The CAIC have attended a ‘freshers fair’ at Hendon to promote their command to new recruits, they have held a recruitments day specifically aimed at BME recruits, they have re-examined local policies and they have conduced training events for staff.

37. The highest percentage of female police staff (78%) is in the Homicide & Other Serious Crime command area with the lowest in Intelligence & Covert Policing (55%). Just over half of Forensic Services staff (53%) are female. SCD sponsored the launch of the Association of Senior Female Police Staff, which aims to improve female representation in the higher pay bands (second line manager and above).

Equality Impact Assessment, Community Impact Assessment and independent advice

38. The SCD Policy Unit ensures that Equality Impact Assessments (EIA) are carried out as part of all policy development. In addition, SCD colleagues have contributed to the design of the new MPS EIA and Community Impact Assessment standards (CIA) and attended briefing sessions prior to the introduction of these schemes. SCD departments use bespoke community impact assessments to assure the professional delivery of services.

39. Covert Policing uses the Independent Advisory Group (IAG) protocol and partnership to provide objective guidance and advice on diversity matters. Covert Policing also ensures it complies with the minimum standards for hate crime investigation when developing intelligence on this.

40. The Crime Academy plans to carry out an equality impact assessment on all its infrastructure and buildings to identify any needs related to disability, religious observance or cultural needs, for example, considering whether the current ‘evac chairs’ are appropriate.

41. The Trident IAG provides appropriate challenge, advice, expertise, community knowledge, awareness and guidance to Trident in its work. It has regular meetings with borough and SCD senior officers, receives monthly statistical update and briefing on gun related incidents and monitors policing operations and deployments.

42. The CAIC also has an active IAG and though some other units will not have their own advisory groups they do have access to corporate IAG members through the Diversity and Citizen Focus Directorate. The Columbian Gold Group, the Kidnap Focus Group and the Tamil Group all have IAG representation.

How SCD measures its progress and tracks its achievements in respect of equality and diversity, particular in relation to disability

43. SCD’s Monthly Delivery Report (MMR) has monitored the ethnicity and gender of police officer and police staff strengths since its inception. The report will be revised to monitor the other strands when the information is available corporately. While disability can be recorded on the HR system, it is not currently mandatory and colleagues have been reluctant to provide the information. The recent introduction of MetHR Self Service will introduce a facility to allow officers and staff to self-declare disabilities in complete confidence, with the information only being used for monitoring purposes.

44. SCD introduced a Quarterly Diversity report earlier this year. This report monitors complaints investigated, disciplinary action, fairness at work, mandatory training allocations and refusals of flexible working requests against BME, female and disabled staff. With only two reports available to date, it is too early to draw any conclusions and this information will be fed into SCD’s ongoing performance regime, as well as informing SCD’s Diversity Forum, which monitors equality and diversity in SCD.

45. SCD has carried out its own staff survey for the past three years and the overall results show very few significantly different responses between white and BME respondents. However, there was dissatisfaction with the corporate Fairness At Work Policy (FAWP) and police staff tended to have more mixed views in this area. Satisfaction levels are low for respondents who have taken out a FAWP in the last 12 months (around 50 members of staff) where a minority of respondents felt that the FAWP procedures were correctly observed (34%), that they were treated fairly throughout the procedure (32%) or that they have confidence in the FAWP process (26%). Concern with the corporate FAWP has been recognised and HR Directorate is improving the procedure. Reviewing the policy within SCD is a recommendation of the SCD Diversity Action Plan and workshops are planned to identify improvements to local implementation of the policy.

46. The SCD staff survey included a question on whether officers and staff felt valued in SCD. The additional analysis showed that there were no significant differences between males and females or between white and BME officers and staff. The only group who felt they were significantly less valued were police staff. This finding has been incorporated into the action plans and SCD is ensuring that police staff have equal opportunities for development, for example, attending personal leadership courses and Homicide diversity training.

47. The Crime Academy collates and publishes diversity related information (student nominations, attendance rates, pass/fail rates) in its MMR.

Diversity training

48. SCD Business Support monitors the diversity in the take up of mandatory training across SCD.

49. Covert Policing has developed a training programme, which ensures all staff complete the MPS diversity training programme. There is also mandatory attendance on other training interventions such as challenging, assertiveness, leadership and formally raising fairness issues. Covert Policing has also arranged presentations on Her Majesty’s Prison Service race and diversity strategy.

50. Homicide & Other Serious Crime OCU is planning a training session that will update staff on all aspects of current diversity issues that affect the MPS.

51. The Organised Crime & Criminal Networks command area monitors the use of the 16+1 monitoring system and provides ongoing training to ensure officers are aware.

Community engagement activities across London’s diverse communities

52. To support the very recently launched MPA/MPS Community Engagement Strategy, SCD has reviewed its community engagement activities. This work included a survey of community engagement across the SCD, which highlighted that SC could better co-ordinate its engagement activity around particular communities and crime types. Improving trust and confidence with our communities should lead to an increase in information, communication, participation and intelligence.

53. Highlights of the review included

• CAIC’s Project Violet concentrating on child abuse of a particular nature in certain African communities such as Congolese
• the CAIC IAG
• the Voluntary and Community Working Group of the Guns Gangs Knives Reduction Board
• the Homicide & Other Serious Crime Gold Group system involving key stakeholders in relation to high profile murders
• the Tamil IAG
• recent engagement with the Vietnamese community, e.g. the Vietnamese Crime & Safety Meeting
• Trident IAG, including media and ‘Safe & Sound’ sub groups
• SCD International Unit’s projects with Vietnam, Nigeria, Bulgaria and Tanzania
• IAG and Serious Organised Crime Agency membership of the MPS Criminal Networks Strategy Group

54. SCD has established an SCD challenge panel chaired by Assistant Commissioner Specialist Crime (ACSCD). The current proposition is for a group to be brought together, on a quarterly basis, to feedback on and challenge critical SCD decisions or issues. The group needs to be diverse in knowledge, skills, experience and appearance.

55. The SCD ‘Diamond’ Consultation Group exists to assist the ACSCD in determining strategic priorities and direction for the Directorate. It brings together a strategic partnership group with the knowledge and experience of external and internal stakeholders for the benefit of accessing, engaging and listening to what informed external views are on serious and organised crime affecting London’s communities. It is recognised that Serious and Organised Crime cannot be considered in isolation of the other policing priorities across London. Representation on the group will reflect the wider knowledge and understanding of these issues. As such, this group will have links to other consultation process in the MPS such as The Communities Together Strategy Group and other MPS/MPA Advisory Groups.

Abbreviations

BME

Black and Minority Ethnic

CIA

Community Impact Assessment

CIAC

Child Abuse Investigation Command

CIAT

Child Abuse Investigation Team

DCFD

Diversity and Citizen Focus Directorate

EODB

Equal Opportunities and Diversity Board

EIA

Equality Impact Assessment

FAWP

Fairness At Work Policy

GLADA

Greater London Alcohol and Drug Alliance

IAG

Independent Advisory Group

LGBT

Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender

MetHR

MPS Human Resources System

OCU

Operational Command Unit

SCD

Specialist Crime Directorate

C. Race and equality impact

Equality and diversity is the subject of this report and the report in itself has no equalities implications. The key race and equality issues for SCD’s diversity strategy are developing SCD’s external community focus to ensure that the SCD’s services are focused on delivering a service that meets the needs of communities across London and internally attracting officers and staff across the six diversity strands to consider a career in Specialist Crime Directorate.

D. Financial implications

All the equal opportunities and diversity activity described in this report is incorporated in SCD’s day-to-day operations and there are no additional financial implications from this report.

E. Background papers

• MPA EODB, 16 November 2006, Diversity issues within Child Protection Group.

F. Contact details

Report author: Ann Middleton, MPS

For more information contact:

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

Appendix 1

Summary of SCD Diversity Action Plan

1. Improve representation of Female Police Officers (Source: SCD Diversity Excellence Model) – March 2007
2. Improve representation of Black Minority Ethnic Officers (Source: SCD Diversity Excellence Model) – March 2007
3. Improve representation in terms of age and disability (Source: ACSC Thematic Review) – March 2007
4. Ensure Personal Leadership Course is open to all (Source: SCD Diversity Excellence Model) – December 2006 (complete)
5. Establish an effective communication strategy for SCD Diversity Forum (Source: SCD Diversity Excellence Model) – December 2006 (draft to next SCD Diversity Forum)
6. Review the Fairness at Work Policy and recommend ways to improve its satisfaction levels (Source: SCD Staff Survey) – January 2007
7. Undertake a review of management information to ensure that the Diversity Forum has the report can measure effective delivery of the action plan (Source: Morris Inquiry Recommendation) – November 2006 (draft to next SCD Diversity Forum)
8. Ensure that staff at all levels are engaged in the important steps required to avoid staff being discriminated against on grounds of Diversity and ensure managers are trained on equality grievance handling (Source: Morris Inquiry Recommendation/Commission for Racial Equality) – March 2007
9. To adopt and regularly review the Diversity Excellence Model to maintain its effectiveness (Source: Morris Inquiry Recommendation) – December 2006 (complete)
10. SCD commits itself to a Code of Practice setting out the basis on which it will consult its workforce (Source: Morris Inquiry Recommendation) – January 2007
11. Ensure support exists for all staff support associations by reviewing duty time and resources allocated to their representatives (Source: Morris Inquiry Recommendation) – October 2006 (statement of expectations complete)
12. Ensure fair and transparent procedures exist for promotion and appointments within SCD (Source: Morris Inquiry Recommendation) – March 2007
13. Ensure the flexible working policy is fully understood, implemented and monitored (Source: Morris Inquiry Recommendation) – March 2007
14. Develop a system that allows the timely matching of officers and staff with disabilities to suitable vacancies with reasonable adjustments (Source: Morris Inquiry Recommendation) – March 2007
15. Ensure that if there is evidence, anecdotal or otherwise, of disproportionality or complaints about unfair equality-related practices in any area of business, SCD will check for discriminatory practices and take any remedial action (Source: Commission for Racial Equality) – March 2006
16. Promote equality within SCD and ensure readiness to comply with the requirements of Equality Standards for Local Government related activity (Source: Commission for Racial Equality) – March 2007
17. Ensure that staff involved on SCD policy development are trained in and employ the equality impact assessment process (Source: Commission for Racial Equality) – March 2007
18. Ensure a race and diversity training strategy is ongoing (Source: Commission for Racial Equality) – March 2007
19. Ensure adequate management information is available on low-level and informal action taken within SCD to deal with misconduct and/or Diversity issues, and that its assessed for equality impact (Source: Commission for Racial Equality) – March 2007
20. Improve the engagement and deployment of Volunteers, PCSOs and Special Constables within SCD (Source: ACSC Thematic Review) – March 2007
21. Scope actions required to develop SCD's outward focus of Diversity issues, e.g. IAG, PCCG, MPA, Community Engagement, Critical Incident Responses and Special Interest Groups – January 2006

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