Diversity is all about ‘difference’ and recognising that different people have equally valuable skills, experience and knowledge.
Lincolnshire Police has a duty to eliminate discrimination within the Police Service, and to promote good relationships between officers, staff and the community. This is both a moral responsibility and a practical necessity, as understanding diversity has a direct impact on the quality of service Lincolnshire Police provides.
Lincolnshire Police's Diversity Officer actively promotes diversity to the entire Service. We also have a Strategic Diversity Board which monitors progress in this area and drive action on diversity issues.
Our Equality Scheme sets out a vision of a policing service for Lincolnshire which values and respects the diversity of our staff and of the communities that we serve. This Strategy also incorporates our Race, Disability and Gender Equality Schemes.
Lincolnshire Police's Equality and Diversity Officer
The Equality and Diversity Officer works under the general direction of Inspector Baker in Community Safety to ensure that Lincolnshire Police delivers services that are underpinned by policies, procedures and working practices that meet legislative requirements and improve outcomes for ALL Citizens in Lincolnshire.
This is to be done by raising awareness of equality and diversity issues, disseminating good practice and providing support to individual service areas, divisions and units so that they can take ownership of, their own equality issues.
The Equality and Diversity Officer also co-ordinates and leads on the achievement of Lincolnshire Polices commitment to the Equality Standard for the Police Service.
Other work includes:
- Ensuring that the equality and diversity agenda is in all policy development
- Updating Lincolnshire Police on developments around Diversity Policy and legislative requirements around equality and diversity
- Supporting the Strategic Diversity Group
- Developing, nurturing links and supporting diversity groups in the community and voluntary sector.
- The development of this equality scheme which will include any gaps we have from our self assessment on the Equality Standard and actions to address issues and improve satisfaction and confidence identified by staff and members of the public.
- Develoopment of Hate Crime Policy and Practice
- Community Engagement
If you have any comments about what you think Lincolnshire Polices priorities around equality and diversity should be or have any comments or suggestions to make about our services please do not hesitate to contact Melanie Cowell the Equality and Diversity Officer at:
Equality and Diversity Officer
Community Safety
Lincolnshire Police Headquarters
PO Box 999
Lincoln
LN5 7PH
Email: melanie.cowell@lincs.pnn.police.uk
Telephone: 01522 558050
Text / Mobile: 07799751338
Minicom: 01522 558523
Strategic Diversity Board
This group is chaired by the Assistant Chief Constable Keith Smy. Members include the representatives from all key areas of Lincolnshire Police, staff association, the police federation and Lincolnshire Police Authority.
The revised Corporate Equality Action Plan, is a standing item on the agenda and combines the commitments and actions contained within Lincolnshire Police’s Single Equality Scheme. The purpose of the Board is to enable Lincolnshire police and partners to monitor progress around equality and diversity, identify strategic objectives and priorities and bringing about positive change in police services and promote good practice within our own organisation.
Lincolnshire Police Indenpendent Advisory Group (IAG)
It is a group of members from the local community who provide independent advice to the police concerning a wide range of activity, with the aim of
improving the quality of policing services that builds trust and confidence and provides reassurance to the communities of Lincolnshire.
The aims of the IAGs and their members are to:
- Provide advice to and monitor strategies, policies and practice within Lincolnshire Police. Provide relevant advice to Lincolnshire Police on the way in which it delivers policing services and its affects upon communities through Equality Impact Assessments.
- Identifying common trends and sharing best practice and provide two way communication with stakeholders.
- Review, constructively challenge and provide independent advice on the systems and processes developed to progress the Equality Standard for the Police Service (ESPS) in Lincolnshire. This is not a scrutiny role as undertaken by the Police Authority but offers development of the ESPS using community insight.
- IAGs may be called upon to provide advice in “major or critical incidents”.
Anyone interested in being part of Lincolnshire Police's IAG should contact the Equality and Diversity Officer.
IAG Leaflet
Equality Objectives
As part of the Equality Act 2010 specific duties, the Authority is required to publish its equalities objectives.
The Authority and Force has worked together on developing the equality objectives.
Equalities objectives consultation commenced based on the suggestions made by community representatives at a peer assessment workshop held in December 2011. Further online consultation took place in February 2012 (via Twitter).
The Equalities objectives for the Authority are set as follows:
- Increase in reporting of hate crime to the police and third party reporting sites
- Raise awareness of hate crime both in the community with partners and internally, through presentations, leaflets, press and publicity
- Review policies and practices around hate crime in line with EHRC enquiry
- Promote the use of accessible information – easy read etc through guidance and road-shows
- Improved victim satisfaction across all diversity groups.
The objectives will be measured and monitored by the Force’s Strategic Diversity Board.
