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Lincolnshire Police are proud to have been ranked in the Top 50 Inclusive UK Employers list 2023/24.
This is the second year running the force has featured in the Top 50, a list that acknowledges and ranks businesses which are most consistent throughout the whole tenure of their organisations and encompass all types of diversity.
Now in its seventh year, it has become the definitive cross-industry index harnessing both best practice and innovation with the goal of driving inclusion for all. This award (Lincolnshire Police finished 38th in the list) recognises the work undertaken by our officers, staff and volunteers over the last 12 months to make the service as accessible and as inclusive as possible.
Zara McArdle, Head of Equality, Diversity and Inclusion, said: “I am delighted that the Force has been recognised again in the Top 50 Inclusive UK Employers list. The commitment and support shown by everyone to achieve this has been fantastic.
“We have spent the last 12 months working on accessibility of our services to ensure that when someone needs our help they can reach us and that we can respond effectively. This has included promotion of our Pegasus Scheme (for those who may experience communication difficulties), introducing British Sign Language on our emergency lines and promoting access to 999 for those who may not speak English at all or very well.
“We want to ensure that we make a difference to our communities with initiatives and work undertaken, and have been building community relationships to ensure we have diverse input in all we do.
“I am particularly honoured to be surrounded by such positive role models, both internally and with our communities and partners, all of whom have supported us to achieve this recognition.
“We still have much work to do and that will continue, but I want to say a huge thank you to everyone who has worked with us over the last 12 months and to those who will do so in the future.”
Here at Lincolnshire Police, we value people from all backgrounds and we are working hard to build our workforce so that it reflects the rich diversity of our vast communities by attracting experience and talent from the widest pool of people. To help achieve a representative workforce we have expanded our eligibility criteria to enable us to recruit more people who speak English as their second language. Our current police officers with second language skills are integral to community engagement in towns and villages across Lincolnshire.
We are also proud that expanding our eligibility criteria has enabled us to focus recruitment activity in additional areas such as British Sign Language and Makaton. A more diverse workforce helps us to understand our mix of different communities and supports our efforts to communicate, listen and work with them so that we can understand their needs and respond more effectively when they need our help.
Internally, we have multiple staff networks in force including Neurodiversity, Family Support, Carers and Supporting Minorities in Lincolnshire through Engagement. We are also a Disability Confident employer, supporting individuals with disabilities and diverse conditions and as a result, introduced in-house dyslexia screening for our staff and officers, which has enabled supportive adjustments to be put in place.
To ensure our governance, decision-making and activities are informed, we work closely with our Independent Advisory Group, partners and stakeholders to listen and understand the needs of our community. They all play a key role in supporting us with constructive challenge, scrutiny and engagement. Supporting National Police Frameworks including the Police Race Action Plan and Violence Against Women and Girls.
Our Equality, Diversity and Inclusion strategy is to enable a representative, inclusive and supportive force that recognises, respects and understands the differences and needs of individuals and communities under five key themes.
Our work will continue to ensure Lincolnshire is the safest place to live, work and visit for all and we can only do that together.
Chief Constable Chris Haward said: “I’m passionate about diversity and making sure our workforce is made up of as many people from as many different backgrounds as possible because our people are our strength – the more people we work with who can understand and represent our communities, the better a police force we will be.
“Gone are the days when policing was seemingly only open to certain groups, or we’re doing all we can to break that perception anyway, and we welcome people from all backgrounds into Lincolnshire Police.
“I’ve made no secret of the fact that I don’t consider equality, or diversity, or inclusion to be projects, they are simply the fabric of who we are and the foundations of what we do. We keep working hard to make sure we are breaking down barriers, listening to and understanding our own people and our communities. It is through this that we can deliver the best possible standard of policing to the people we serve.”