How the MPS will deliver equality through training

Report: 7
Date: 6 December 2007
By: the Chief Executive

Summary

The purpose of this report is to outline some of the key challenges and concerns in relation to training within the Metropolitan Police Service (MPS) from a range of equality and diversity perspectives.

A. Recommendations

That members agree:

1. To note the progress made by MPS Training Management Board (TMB) in delivering a range of training initiatives across the MPS.

2. To receive within six months a brief report as to whether there is a business need to increase the representation of Black and Minority Ethnic (BME) and disabled police officers and staff within MPS Training and, if so, what steps will be taken to tackle this issue.

3. To receive at the June 2008 EODB a report on progression either laterally or through promotion made by under-represented groups as a result of specific positive action programmes.

B. Supporting information

1. One of the most challenging aspects of current policing is how the MPS will use its training resources to support police officers and staff. Members acknowledge the budget and staff resources currently used to support training, which is itemised within the MPS Annual Learning and Development Plan.

2. Against this backdrop, the purpose of this concurrent report is to highlight some of the key equality and diversity issues emerging in relation to training as they relate to employment, service delivery and community engagement. The four areas are:

1. Mainstreaming Equality and Diversity
2. Developing A Representative Workforce
3. Engaging with Deaf and disabled communities
4. Ongoing and Future Challenges

Mainstreaming Equality and Diversity

3. The MPS report details some of the steps taken to integrate equality and diversity within existing and emerging training initiatives. This is a welcomed step in supporting, promoting and delivering equality, ensuring that it is a business imperative.

4. It is also welcomed that the six diversity strands are being integrated within a range of current training initiatives. Another area of success has been the cultural shift MPS Training has facilitated from training and development being perceived as merely ‘classroom based’ to a function that is delivered in a range of ways in a variety of venues. For example, organising the Leadership Academy Local (LA Local) at a borough level, will not only have significant positive benefits for police officers and staff in terms of the Programme’s content, but also almost certainly ensure that those police officers and staff, who work part-time, are on flexible hours and/or have childcare/dependents responsibilities will also benefit.

5. That said the delay in the rollout of the Race and Diversity Learning and Development Programme (RDLDP) has been a consistent source of concern for members over the past 18 months. Update reports have been received by Equal Opportunities and Diversity Board (EODB) every six months and members have also been kept informed of developments by briefings and bilaterals with relevant MPS officers between regular written updates. Although discussed elsewhere on this EODB agenda (see item 8, it will be at least two to three years post the original target date of 2008 that this programme will be fully rolled out across the MPS.

Developing A Representative Workforce

6. One of the major challenges facing the MPS is not only in developing the skills, knowledge and experience to support the needs of a world-class police service, but also to have a workforce that is representative of a world city such as London.

7. In recent years, there have been considerable improvements in the numbers of applications to join the MPS as potential police officers from women and BME communities; and some of this improvement has been translated into increased staffing numbers.

8. It is noted that Training has less than 2.5% BME staff. In addition, the MPS report was not able to provide the number of Deaf and disabled staff it has within its command. Whilst acknowledging the legacy issues of recruitment to the MPS within the 1990s, members have requested a report within the next six months for EODB as to whether there is a business need to increase staffing levels of BME and disabled officers (including police staff) within Training and, if so, to outline the steps it would take to meet this challenge. One of the first steps that could be taken is conducting an Equality Impact Assessment (EqIA).

9. The other major challenge in relation to developing a representative workforce is in relation to promotion and succession planning. One of the steps used to by public bodies, including the MPS, is positive action. Positive action is a legislative provision in employment where public bodies can target training and support to members of under-represented groups. It assists members of under-represented groups up until the point of applying for posts; however, employers can only select for employment prospective employees on the basis of their skills, knowledge and experience – not on the basis of their identity.

10. Initiatives such as Springboard Development Programme for Women and Positive Action Leadership Programme (PALP) are examples of positive action at work. However, one of the tensions that can be created by positive action are perceptions that members of under-represented groups require ‘help’ to progress – which often can then be used as the basis for stereotypical representation for all members of such groups. This dynamic then leads to erroneous perceptions of lowering standards, preferential treatment and debates as to what constitutes ‘merit’.

11. One of the problems that can be generated by such issues is that it focuses the debates on the under-represented groups, rather than on the barriers (‘glass ceilings’/’sticky floors’) that organisations may produce which can prevent promotion and development. Members have requested at the April 2008 EODB a report on progression either laterally or through promotion made by under-represented groups as a result of specific positive action programmes. This will form a part of the wider debate of the themed focus item on ‘Developing A Representative Workforce’.

Engaging With Deaf and Disabled Communities

12. Another issue that consistently emerges within the training context is the perceived and, at times, actual prioritisation of race against other equality strands. This is understandable given the MPS’ history and relationships with BME communities.

13. However, there is a need for the MPS to increase its understanding of deaf and disability issues, not only in terms of its external delivery of services, but also internally in relation to successfully managing a diverse workforce.

14. The MPS has access to expertise in this area internally to the MPS Disablement Staff Association (MPS DSA) and externally via the MPS Disability Independent Advisory Group (MPS DIAG). This expertise can also assist in ‘diversity-within-diversity’ issues (e.g. communication with BME Deaf and disabled groups) as well as assist in addressing issues of compound discrimination.

15. The Greater London Authority’s (GLA) ‘Delivering More Together’ project aims at sharing expertise and best practice around disability across the GLA Family Group. This project may provide additional opportunities for both the MPA and MPS to learn and develop expertise in this area.

Ongoing and Future Challenges

16. There remain on-going and future challenges for MPS Training. One of the key ongoing challenges relate to performance – and ensuring that training and development programmes continue to link directly to individual, BOCU(s)/OCU(s) and corporate objectives.

17. In relation to employment, service delivery and community engagement, EODB has developed a series of critical success factors, key outcomes and effective and efficient stakeholder engagement from an equality and diversity perspective. These were shared with the MPS at EODB in December 2005 in response to the themed discussion on the Met Modernisation Programme (MMP). These critical success factors are:

Employment

1. Critical Success Factor: No significant disparity between the experiences of people based on their identity e.g. ethnicity, gender, disability, sexual orientation, religion and belief, or age.
2. Key Outcomes: Managers being trained and able to demonstrate that they manage all their staff fairly and proportionately; equity of treatment between police officers and police staff; police officers and staff clear about objectives, roles, responsibilities and accountabilities which are supported by regular reviews; increased confidence and effectiveness in managing poor performance; increase in levels of complaints; local resolution of disputes; more effective ways in handling and resolving complaints; evidence-led internal investigations; greater transparency in the resolution of disputes; increased levels of timeliness in resolutions of disputes; use of internal data to identify, review, monitor & evaluate areas of improvement; evidence-led internal investigations; evidence that the organisation is learning from its past and actively uses its ‘corporate memory’; timeliness in resolutions of disputes.
3. Effective & Efficient Stakeholder Engagement: Evidence of appropriate and timely consultation with S.A.M.U.R.A.I; increased evidence of learning from outside bodies and agencies, including IAGs; developing a range of engagement models with individuals and staff associations.

18. Service Delivery

1. Critical Success Factors: No significant disparity in the MPS’ response to the experiences of people based on their identity in relation to a) the incident(s)/crime(s) they have experienced or b) alleged to have committed.
2. Key Outcomes: Clear levels of accountability; increased performance at local Safer Neighbourhood (SN) level; reduction in communities’ fear of crime; increased levels of public when encountering the police; clear evidence of personal diversity objectives linked to performance; use of equality impact assessments to structure the delivery of service.
3. Effective & Efficient Stakeholder Engagement: Evidence of provision of accurate and intelligible information; of providing information in formats relevant to community groups; evidence of using the experiences of victims and witnesses to inform future service provision.

19. Community Engagement

1. Critical Success Factor: No significant disparity between communities and intra-communities satisfaction of police communication, consultation and participation in the delivery of service.
2. Key Outcomes: Engagement with communities, especially new and emerging communities whose voices may have been overlooked or ignored; increased levels of reporting across a range of crimes; evidence of communities actively contributing to problem-solving; use of the ‘police family’ in addressing key issues of policing.
3. Effective & Efficient Stakeholder Engagement: Evidence of using information from link members, SNs, Community Police Consultative Groups (CPCGs), Crime & Disorder Reduction Partnerships (CDRPs) and Independent Advisory Groups (IAGs) to inform service delivery; evidence that engagement is sustainable and uses internal and external specialists as and where appropriate; evidence that equality impact assessments are reviewed regularly; evidence of using the experiences of victims and witnesses to inform future service provision.

18. MPS Training’s role in relation to these critical success factors should be in supporting, enabling, challenging and facilitating at an individual, BOCU(s)/OCU(s) and corporate level(s) learning and development which enhances performance improvements in relation to these outcomes.

C. Race and equality impact

1. How the MPS plans, organises and delivers training is one of the most significant areas of police activity. Training managers in how to successfully manage and motivate a diverse workforce, as well as deliver performance improvements in service delivery and community engagement is pivotal to the MPS’ reputational and operational success.

2. Training is one of the general duties under the Race Relations (Amendment) Act 2000, together with consultation, access and monitoring. It also figures highly in the specific duties in relation to employment, as well as plays a significant role in other equalities legislation in relation to age, gender and disabilities.

3. Key to Training’s success will be communication: how it communicates in terms of equality the importance and relevance of other equality strands as well as race; the business need for why police officers’ training may be prioritised to police staff training, when it appears, to all intents, that both groups are effectively doing the same job and performing the same role; and developing, monitoring and evaluating the competencies for being able to manage and deliver performance improvements in employment, service delivery and community engagement.

D. Financial implications

There are no financial implications directly arising out of this report. However, in producing responses to members to the issues raised within this report by June 2008, there may be opportunity costs generated.

E. Background papers

• MPS Annual Learning and Development Plan 2007-8
• MPS Training Report (EODB – December 2007)

F. Contact details

Report author: Laurence Gouldbourne, MPA Equality and Diversity Unit

For more information contact:

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

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