Public Sector Equality Duty Report 2023 - 2024

Policing is about putting people first; our values and approach commit us to a service of consistently high quality. Key components of that service are that it is accessible, responsive, and visible and treats people with fairness, respect and dignity.

The delivery of a quality service is our first and foremost priority. We are in the process of transforming many of the services we provide, and we want to make sure that what we do meets the needs of our different customers.

The Public Sector Equality Duty (PSED)

The PSED came into force on 5 April 2011. It is fundamental to the Equality Act and ensures that all public bodies "play their part in making society fairer by tackling discrimination and providing equality of opportunity for all".

The PSED has three aims. It requires public bodies to have due regard to the need to:

• eliminate unlawful discrimination, harassment, victimisation and any other conduct prohibited by the Act
• advance equality of opportunity between people who share a protected characteristic and people who do not share it
• foster good relations between people who share a protected characteristic and people who do not share it

The PSED requires us to consider the needs of all individuals - in shaping policy, in designing and delivering services, and in relation to our workforce.

It supports good decision-making by encouraging us to understand how different people will be affected by our activities so that policies and services are appropriate and accessible to all and meet different people's needs. By understanding the effect of our activities on different people, and how inclusive services can support and open up people's opportunities, we are better placed to deliver policies and services that are efficient and effective. The PSED therefore helps us to deliver the Government's overall objectives for public services and our aim to have a police force fit for the future.

The PSED covers the following protected characteristics:

• Age
• Disability
• Gender reassignment
• Pregnancy and maternity
• Race (this includes ethnic or national origins, colour or nationality)
• Religion or belief (this includes lack of belief)
• Sex (gender)
• Sexual orientation

It also applies to marriage and civil partnership, but only in respect of the requirement to have due regard to the need to eliminate discrimination.

What does 'due regard' mean?

It means consciously thinking about the three aims of the Equality Duty as part of the decision-making process. Consideration of equality issues must influence our decisions - such as in how we act as employers; how we develop, evaluate and review policy; how we design, deliver and evaluate services, and how we commission and procure from others.

Having due regard to the need to advance equality of opportunity involves considering the need to:

• remove or minimise disadvantages suffered by people due to their protected characteristics
• meet the needs of people who protected characteristics
• encourage people with protected characteristics to participate in public life or in other activities where their participation is low

Having due regard to fostering good relations involves tackling prejudice and promoting understanding between people who share a protected characteristic and others.

Complying with the Equality Duty may involve treating some people better than others, as far as this is allowed by discrimination law. For example, it may involve making use of an exception or the positive action provisions in order to provide a service in a way which is appropriate for people who share a protected characteristic.

PSED and decision making

We need to consciously (but proportionately) think about the three aims of the PSED as part of the process of decision-making. The PSED will be one of a number of factors that need to be considered. Its weight, compared to the other factors, will depend on how much that function affects discrimination, equality of opportunity and good relations and the extent of any disadvantage that needs to be addressed.

Understanding our workforce and community is a part of the duty and we commit to providing this data annually. We also share our goals and aims so that you, the public, are able to gauge our progress. We have also added data that we hold about our victims so we can better understand how we reflect the community we serve, and we will continue to build on this data in future years. We will also produce a mid year annual report showcasing the work the force has done towards building a more inclusive working environment and improving relations with our communities. This will be linked to this report when it becomes available.

The specific duties require public bodies to prepare and publish one or more specific and measurable equality objectives which will help them to further the three aims of the Equality Duty. The current Diversity, Equality & Inclusion Strategy 2020-2025 and measurable objectives are set out below;

Diversity, Equality, and Inclusion Strategy 2020-2025

Our Aim

Northamptonshire Police aim to be an organisation that is truly representative of the diverse communities we serve. We will be inclusive and outward-looking in our engagement, working with partner agencies and the public to build services that are accessible to all. We aim to be an organisation that inspires the confidence of every community in our ability to deliver fair and effective policing.

We will be an organisation that is free from discrimination, where our staff treat everyone with respect, dignity and according to their needs and in line with our shared values.

Our Strategy

We recognise that we are stronger together. By working with partners, our communities, our support networks, and our staff, we will accept nothing less than becoming an institutionally inclusive organisation. We will achieve our aim by using a strategy which focuses upon two elements.

These two elements are:

Our Communities and Partners

• Community Confidence - We will increase the confidence of all communities in Northamptonshire. We will be transparent and open, ensuring that our policing powers are used fairly and effectively, welcoming scrutiny in their use. We will identify any instance of disproportionality in our service delivery and address it. We will take ownership of our mistakes and learn from them, removing any institutional defensiveness.
• Working with Others - We will work with communities, partners, independent advisory groups, and critical friends to develop a service that is accessible and responsive. We will learn from others and share best practice to improve our reach as an organisation and the service. We will build lasting relationships which continuously improve and better our organisation.
• Understanding our Communities - We will learn to engage with all communities within the county in a manner that best suits them. We will strive to ensure that their voices are heard, and their concerns are listened to and understood. We will ensure that community engagement is a core part of our policing role. We will build stronger independent advisory groups and other scrutiny panels which will help us better understand the impact of our service.
• Tackling Prejudice and Hate - Working with our communities we will better understand the prejudice they face and how we can help eliminate it. We will work with partners to improve confidence in reporting hate crimes and incidents, providing better support to victims. We will improve the confidence of all our communities in Northamptonshire by delivering an effective and consistently high standard of investigation.

Our Organisation

• Representative Workforce - We will use positive action and engagement to attract, recruit and retain people from a wide range of backgrounds and communities, creating a truly representative workforce. We will create an environment where people feel confident to disclose their protected characteristics and feel safe and valued for who they are. Our communities will see themselves reflected in our workforce.
• Developing our Workforce - We will set our workforce up for success bu building an environment and structure that provides equality of opportunity for everyone. We will support the development and progression of our workforce to ensure representation at all levels, creating an environment where people can be the best versions of themselves.
• Our Culture - We will create a culture where people feel engaged, valued and a part of the organisation, enabling individuals to bring their whole self to work. We will develop a workforce that is motivated, ethical, engaged and takes ownership of issues to achieve success. We recognise that we are all leaders, who have a part to play in creating an institutionally inclusive organisation that will challenge and tackle prejudice and discrimination wherever it is found. Our leaders will be given the skills and knowledge to achieve our aims modelling the behaviours expected of a modern Police Force.

To meet the overall aim of our Diversity, Equality and Inclusion Strategy 2020 – 2025 outlined above, Northamptonshire Police has developed a set of four priorities to focus on in 2022 - 2023 based on our data, surveys, areas for improvement and DEI peer review.

Our Priorities 2023-2024

Training and education

• Managers to have DEI and Positive Action PDR objectives
• To utilise the knowledge gap analysis already undertaken to inform the roll out of a comprehensive training package delivered to the workforce, building in ongoing CPD
• To work with other partners and forces to improve our training awareness and sharing best practice to deliver Cultural competence.

Building a representative workforce

• Continue to build on our positive action process to increase the diversity of our staff and officers
• To undertake a "deep dive" examination of recruitment and retention of staff to understand if there are any barriers, processes or practices that dissuade people from diverse communities in joining the police or staying within the organisation
• To further build awareness and advice to managers ensuring they are aware of the needs and ways that they can support staff from diverse communities

Understanding & including our communities

• Ensure important policies for diversity and inclusion and use of police powers are available for public scrutiny and feedback. We will work closely with Independent Advisory Groups to provide dynamic feedback and support for critical incidents
• We commit to delivering the race action plan together with black communities, with the aim of building trust and confidence with Black people in policing
• Ensure all staff actively play a part in community engagement, and are clear about the role they have

Building an inclusive working environment

• Further increase confidence in staff to report behaviours that are not aligned to an inclusive working environment, using all available reporting tools such as Bad Apple and Flag It.
• To support Op Admiral's aims in regards to tackling misogyny and discriminatory behaviour and supporting victims
• To continue to engage with our workforce through informal and formal methods, including through the staff networks, to identify and remove barriers to equality of opportunity and ensure feedback informs change decisions and policy setting
• Ensure ownership of DEI and Positive Action by Managers at a local level
• To ensure our estate is as accessible as possible so that our staff are working in a supportive environment.

A Positive Action Strategy was developed in autumn 2020 to support the Diversity, Equality, and Inclusion Strategy in striving to be a fully inclusive organisation where individuals can excel whilst being a true version of themselves.

Positive Action Strategy 2023 - 2025

The end of the Police Uplift Programme represented an opportunity to re-visit Northamptonshire Police’s Positive Action strategy to ensure that it aligned with the broad themes outlined in the People and Culture Strategy 2023 – 2027 and in particular the following ambitions:

• Become an institutionally inclusive organisation
• Become a truly representative workforce
• Creating a culture where people feel engaged and valued
• Building an environment that provides equality of opportunity for everyone
• Developing a workforce that is motivated, ethical and engaged
• Challenge and tackle prejudice and discrimination

To this end the Positive Action Strategy will now deliver on six themes, with an increased emphasis on internal positive action to help create a more diverse, inclusive and engaged workforce.

The six themes:

• Understanding our Communities
• Working with Partners
• Attraction
• Recruitment
• Retention 
• Progression

Understanding our Communities

We will undertake scoping work to understand the diverse communities within the county. This will be achieved by:

• Utilising mass engagement opportunities
• Targeted outreach
• Use of social media
• Effective communication
• Identifying new and emerging communities
• Utilising Force led customer surveys and consultations

Working with Partners

We will identify and work with key stakeholders and partners to engage with diverse communities. This will be achieved by:

• Identifying and building relationships with community leaders
• Engaging with cultural and religious events
• Utilising culturally specific media
• Engaging with IAGs and existing community forums
• Utilising existing strategies and boards e.g. Community Engagement

Attraction

We will undertake work to ensure Northamptonshire Police is seen as an employer of choice by diverse communities.

This will be achieved by:

• Targeted outreach
• Engaging with appropriate educational establishments
• Utilising appropriate social media channels
• Delivering targeted 'Discover Policing' events both physically and online
• Recruitment/career presence at cultural events
• Identifying and supporting in-Force 'role models'
• Production of culturally appropriate recruitment materials
• Partnering with community organisations to cascade information
• Support for recruiting managers wishing to increase diversity within their departments

Recruitment

We will ensure our recruitment process is supportive of those applicants from diverse communities.

This will be achieved by:

• Providing opportunities for candidates to fully understand the recruitment process
• Provide preparation masterclasses and workshops for each stage of the recruitment process
• Ensure regular contact is maintained with candidates throughout the recruitment process

Retention

We will create a welcoming and supportive working environment for members of diverse communities to encourage their retention.

This will be achieved by:

• Understanding motivational factors for officers and staff and taking action to support these
• Understanding and mitigating any barriers faced by officers and staff
• Identifying and implementing support packages for new officers and staff
• Equipping student officers with the tools to support each other – such as Coaching skills
• Ensuring an open and welcoming culture
• Early identification of those at risk of leaving and creating a ‘stay’ pathway
• Effective learning from exit interviews and questionnaires
• Use of training packages such as the ‘Inspire’ Programme

Progression

Northamptonshire Police will ensure there are internal career opportunities for officers and staff from diverse communities.

This will be achieved by:

• Ensuring officers and staff have an awareness of Force structure and departments, and potential career opportunities
• Talent identification via supervisors and PDR system.
• Validating and supporting lateral development opportunities
• ‘Career Academy’ support for officers; including creating a development PDR, maximising study techniques, peer study groups, specialist inputs, preparation masterclasses and portfolio tutorials.
• Identification of ‘role models’ via staff networks and targeted comms and their support by creating a role model network.

Our Workforce Data

4.1 All Employees by Directorate

4.2 All Employees by Pay Band

4.3 All Employees by Gender Split

4.4 Senior Employees by Gender Split

4.5 Senior Staff By Gender Split

4.6 Senior Staff by Gender Split

4.7 All Employees by Ethnicity

4.8 All Senior Employees by Ethnicity

4.9 All Employees by Disability

4.10 Senior Employees by Disability

4.11 All Employees by Sexuality

4.12 Senior Employees by Sexuality

4.13 Victim Data by Gender

Count of Person Gender: 35769

4.14 Victim data by Ethnicity

We do not have a sufficient break down of disability data of the victim demographic across the county to share.

• Senior Officers = Inspector and above
• Senior Staff = People manager grade 1 and above

Data taken from 31st December 2022 - 31st December 2023