Engaging with our communities of different ages

Our IAGs and EAGs each provide a forum in which we encourage members of the community of all ages to engage with the Force to influence policing.

We are committed to listening to both younger and older people so that they can influence policing priorities through the Neighbourhood Policing teams.

We are currently taking steps to encourage younger members of the community to complete the Public Feedback Survey (a survey for non-victims of crime) to obtain a better understanding of their policing priorities, as we have identified that there is a disproportionately low positive engagement between young people and the police.

We are in the process of revising our Youth Strategy which will be available on this page shortly.

Employment

We have reviewed all of our employment policies to ascertain whether age barriers exist within the Force, especially in relation to promotion and progression, with a view to changing any policies which pose unjustified age barriers and promoting age equality.

All employees from Equality Groups are able to attend the Positive Action Leadership Programme (PALP), a three day course designed to encourage staff from Equality Groups to maximise their potential at work and progress within the organisation.

One key way to develop trust and confidence with our diverse communities is to have a representative workforce. Details on the work done to achieve this are contained in Making Diversity Happen.

Training

Diversity training is the “golden thread” which is woven into all Force training courses. New police officer recruits are trained in diversity awareness. New police staff recruits receive training on equalities legislation and the minimum standards required by the Force on diversity related matters, as part of their induction. Specific Force-wide training has been given and information and disseminated on age equality.

Implementing and conducting non-discriminatory practices and policies

We assess the impact of our practices on age equality by using the monitoring described in Methods of Monitoring.

We assess the impact of our policies on age equality by conducting Equality Impact Assessments.

Procurement

As well as taking steps to promote equality for our staff and service users we are committed to promote equality in external organisations which provide us with goods or services (Contractors). See Procurement for more information.

To ensure that our goods and services can be used equitably and appropriately by our staff and service users we follow a process to assess whether they are fit for that purpose. See Procurement for more information.