Equality and diversity
We want our organisation to be more like the communities we serve. We aim to demonstrate our objectives and priorities for diversity and equality within the Force.
The diversity of our workforce has a direct impact on the quality of service we provide to the public. Each one of our officers and staff members brings valuable skills, experience, and knowledge to the organisation. These are enriched and enhanced by the differences in:
- Race
- Gender
- Disability
- Sexual orientation
- Faith
- Age
Our inclusive workforce helps to improve the service we provide:
- Employing people from different backgrounds gives us a better understanding of the lifestyles, beliefs, and cultures of people living in our communities
- Employing people who can speak different languages means we can communicate more effectively with people living in our communities
- Employing people from different communities increases the level of trust and understanding between the police service and those communities
We are proud to be…
A member of the National Equality Standard (NES)
We are delighted to have been evaluated as fully certified for the National Equality Standard and to have achieved the NES compliant accreditation for best practice in Equality, Diversity, and Inclusion in the workplace.
A Disability Confident leader
Challenging and changing attitudes towards disability, providing support, and removing barriers in our workplaces.
Plans and reports
Equality Annual Reports
As a public body, we are required to publish Equality Information which demonstrates our compliance with the General Equality Duty. This report contains information about:
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- The protected characteristics of our workforce
- The protected characteristics of our communities
- An overview of our equality-related activities
- Information about how protected groups are affected by our policies and practices
- Equality Report 2020 – 2021 (PDF)
- Equality Report 2019 – 2020 (PDF)
- Equality Report 2018 – 2019 (PDF)
- Equality Report 2017 (PDF)
- Equality Report 2016 (PDF)
- Equality Report 2015 (PDF)
- Equality Report 2014 (PDF)
- Equality Report 2013 (PDF)
- Equality Objectives 2014 – 2015 (PDF)
- Equality Objectives 2013 – 2014 (PDF)
- Equality Objectives and Action Plan 2013 (PDF)
Inclusion, Diversity and Equality Action Plan
This strategy sets out our legal obligations, what we want to achieve, and how we will monitor our performance. The objectives reflect our work with diverse communities inside and outside the Police, and demonstrate our commitment to ensuring that equality and diversity is at the heart of our work:
Ethnicity Pay Gap Report
One of Avon and Somerset Police core values is ‘Inclusion’, so we consider it vital that we take steps to report on, discuss and address our ethnicity pay gap.
At present, there is no legal requirement for ethnicity pay gap reporting.
As part of our commitment to tackling inequalities and to improve inclusion in the workplace, we will be compiling and reporting annually on our ethnicity pay gap report.