How the MPS will deliver a representative workforce through equality and diversity - concurrent report

Report: 08
Date: 3 April 2008
By: the Chief Executive

Summary

The purpose of this report is to outline some of the key challenges and concerns in relation to delivering a representative workforce within the Metropolitan Police Service (MPS) through a range of equality and diversity measures.

A. Recommendations

That

1. members agree to note the progress made by MPS Human Resources Directorate (HRD) in delivering a range of programmes across the MPS;

2. acknowledge and congratulate MPS HRD and its key partners on the progress made to date in its recruitment of BME and female police officers, Police Community Support Officers (PCSOs) and police staff since 2000; and

3. receive at September 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. At December 2007’s EODB, members received a report from MPS Training as to how equality and diversity was incorporated within its various functions and programmes. MPS Training is an integral part of MPS HRD; however, the report for April 2008’s EODB focuses on how equality and diversity will assist in delivering a representative workforce – with a specific focus on other activities outside of the training-specific remit (whilst acknowledging the overlap between the two reports).

2. Against this backdrop, the purpose of this concurrent report is to highlight some of the key equality and diversity issues and challenges emerging in relation to delivering a representative workforce as they relate to employment, service delivery and community engagement. There are four areas this concurrent report seeks to address. These are:

1. Recruitment
2. Relationship with Diversity and Citizen Focus Directorate (DCFD)
3. Positive Action initiatives (including retention and progression)
4. Police staff and discipline

Recruitment

3. 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.

4. In recent years, there have been significant improvements in the numbers of applications to join the police family within the MPS, especially from women and Black, Asian and minority ethnic (BAME) communities. As stated in the MPS report, BAME police officers have increased from 3.9% in 2000 to over 8.2%; in addition, the proportion of female police officers has increased from 16% to 21.2% in 2008. With regards to PCSOs, there has been even more success with BAME personnel accounting for over 30% of those active in this role.

5. In the wake of the Lawrence Inquiry in 2000, the efforts of recruitment activities led and coordinated by MPS HR, together with other key stakeholders such as (but not limited to) S.A.M.U.R.A.I. (Staff Associations Meeting up Regularly and Interacting) , the Greater London Authority (GLA) and MPS Diversity and Citizen Focus Directorate (DCFD) are to be congratulated. This coupled with retention activities has helped maintain the progress towards ensuring a representative workforce.

6. Three equality and diversity challenges, however, are emerging on this front and all relate, directly and indirectly to the recording and measuring of success in terms of recruitment. One is the baseline by which successful applications are recorded: is it a percentage against the local population or it is a percentage against the economically active population? For example: whilst London has an overall ethnic diversity of some 34.5%, this figure includes children and students, many of whom are not economically active. However, the economically active population from BAME backgrounds is around 31% . It may be useful for MPS HR to inform members of both the overall and economically active diversity populations as this can provide a more accurate reflection of the ‘success’ or otherwise of various recruitment activities and initiatives.

7. The second challenge is in relation to MetHR self-service. In its report, MPS HR acknowledges that last year’s staff census ‘…was a limited success and highlighted the need for further sustained activity by the organisation to encourage staff to complete the questionnaire.’ If both the MPS and MPA are to accurately measure the strides taken by the MPS to develop a genuinely representative workforce across all six equality strands, including religion, disability and sexual orientation, then greater completion of the diversity fields within the MetHR self-service facility will be imperative.

8. The final issue is in relation to the calculation of BAME staff within (Borough) Occupational Command Units [(B)OCUs]. Given that (B)OCUs are often seeking to attract members of under-represented groups to meet their own recruitment targets, consideration should be given towards developing a rotational policy, set against OCU, directorate-wide and corporate targets.

Relationship with Diversity and Citizen Focus Directorate (DCFD)
9. DCFD has recently undergone several changes in an attempt to mainstream equality and diversity within the MPS. One of these changes is the movement of the Training element of DCFD to MPS HR. This element of DCFD is responsible enabling the delivery of the Race and Diversity Learning and Development Programme (RDLDP), progress of which is reported regularly on a six-monthly basis to EODB.

10. It should be noted that a number of positive action initiatives currently co-ordinated by MPS HR originated within what was formerly known as Diversity Directorate in the aftermath of the Lawrence Inquiry. The MPS report describes MPS HR’s relationship with DCFD as ‘developing’; members will be interested to note over the next few months as to how this element of the relationship progresses.

Positive Action Initiatives

11. Whilst the MPS has made significant strides in recruiting to the MPS police family, there are still concerns about where members of under-represented groups are located within the organisation in terms of promotion, retention and progression. If the issue for the MPS is delivering a representative workforce, then efforts and energies should be concentrated on ensuring that representativeness is reflected at every level and in all the divisions and directorates within the MPS.

12. The MPA conducted a Succession Planning and Talent Management scrutiny that reported to Coordination and Policing (CoP) Committee in February 2008. The scrutiny report highlighted there are still business areas and/or ranks where there are no or disproportionally low levels of BME officers and staff.

13. One of the key arguments made within the scrutiny report is the business case rationale for a diverse workforce. If the MPS is to retain its reputation as ‘an employer of choice’, it needs to be representative of the communities it serves at levels. One of the ways that this can achieved is through a clear and transparent process for selection and development.

14. The report made 23 recommendations for improving areas of business that could improve the diversity of officers from under-represented groups into senior positions within the MPS. To put this into context: up until 2008, there had been no BAME officers promoted to the rank of senior police officers (i.e. Association of Chief Police Officers [ACPO] levels) in the past six years; in addition, whilst women have been in the MPS for 90 years, no female police officer has ever been promoted to the rank of Assistant Commissioner.

15. In response to the scrutiny report, the MPS examined its Promotion Policy and made 33 recommendations for consideration by its Staff Associations (S.A.M.U.R.A.I) and the MPA. This response has identified some of the barriers to development and seeks to redress them; it is important that any such shift is seen as a key part within the wider cultural Transforming HR package and strategy.

16. At this point, it is important to state that not all officers from diverse backgrounds wish to advance via promotion. To this end, the MPS has made progress on trying to develop careers laterally for both police family and police support staff. However, if the MPS is to reflect London’s diversity, then there is need for the MPS to reflect its myriad of talents at all levels.

17. 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.

18. Over the last 20 years, the MPS has conducted several positive action activities aimed at either progression and/or retention. However, as with other public bodies, some of the key building blocks for these activities, such as a specified timeframe, quality measures and sound evaluation were either absent or not rigorously recorded, thus making assessment of the effectiveness of such programmes challenging.

19. More recent initiatives such as Springboard Development Programme for Women and Positive Action Leadership Programme (PALP) are examples of positive action at work. Yet 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’.

20. 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 would welcome MPS HRD’s view on this potential negative dynamic and how it can best be managed.

Police Staff and Discipline

18. An area of concern for the MPS in recent years has been the disproportionate level of BAME staff in relation to police staff discipline. Indeed, this was one of the drivers for the commissioning of the Morris Report.

19. The MPS report states that it has ‘…commissioned a study to better understand the reasons why disproportionality in relation to race and ethnicity is a feature within some aspects of police staff discipline.’ Limited expertise on this matter already exists with Directorate of Professional Standards (DPS) and this can be drawn down upon as part of this study. It may also be useful to examine the relatively high levels of complaints from Deaf and disabled police officers and staff as part of this study to see if there is any ‘read across’ between equality groups.

Ongoing and Future Challenges

20. There remain on-going and future challenges for MPS HR. One of the key ongoing challenges relate to performance – and ensuring that its range of programmes, activities and initiatives continue to link directly to individual, BOCU(s)/OCU(s) and corporate objectives.

21. 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 originally shared with the MPS in December 2005 in response to the themed discussion on the Met Modernisation Programme (MMP) are:

Employment

a) 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.

b) 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 and 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.

c) 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.

Service Delivery

a) 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.

c) 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.

d) 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.

Community Engagement

a) Critical Success Factor: No significant disparity between communities and intra-communities satisfaction of police communication, consultation and participation in the delivery of service.

b) 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.

c) 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.

22. MPS HRD’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) resources, learning and development which enhances performance improvements and outcomes in relation to the above critical success factors.

C. Race and equality impact

1. How the MPS plans, enables and organises its human resources is pivotal in police activity to the MPS’ reputational and operational success. To successfully manage and motivate a diverse workforce, using its plethora of talents in order to deliver performance improvements in employment, service delivery and community engagement is critical to London’s safety.

2. MPS HRD is gatekeeper to a number of the general duties under the Race Relations (Amendment) Act 2000, including consultation, access and monitoring. It also plays a prominent role 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 MPS HRD’s success will be communication: how it communicates in terms of equality, the importance, relevance and benefits of positive action, as well as repeating the business imperative for a diverse and representative workforce. It is also about community reassurance: communities encouraged by the fact that they will be served by officers and staff knowledgeable about the locale they serve. To this end, the completion of relevant Equality Impact Assessments (EIAs) will be critical and there are opportunities for these to be developed in relation to major initiatives and activities.

4. MPS HR’s developing relationship with DCFD will be significant in this regard as part of the mainstreaming and citizen focus agenda. There will be opportunities to ensure greater consistency in the completion of EIAs and for this to be used as a creative tool in the formulation and delivery of key functions and policies. To this end, this issue may be raised at the next EODB in June 20098, where the focus item is on Citizen Focus.

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, there may be opportunity costs generated by the MPS.

E. Background papers

MPS Training Report (EODB – December 2007)
MPS papers to HR Oversight meetings
Minutes of Director of HR-S.A.M.U.R.A.I. meetings (held by author)
Human resources concurrent report.doc

F. Contact details

Report author: Laurence Gouldbourne, Head of Equality and Diversity Unit, MPA

For more information contact:

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

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