The police
Police equality and diversity
Diversity means 'difference' – difference across race, gender, disability, sexual orientation, faith and age. It’s the recognition that not all people are the same and that people have varied and equally valuable skills, experience and knowledge to offer.
Diversity: a responsibility and a practical necessity
The police service has a responsibility to eliminate discrimination within the service and to promote good relations between police and the population in its local communities.
But this isn't just a moral duty. Understanding diversity has a direct impact on the quality of service police provide to the public. The more closely the police service reflects the people it represents the more effectively it can protect and support those people.
Providing a good service means:
- treating everyone with fairness and respect
- acknowledging that people have different backgrounds that affect what they need from the police
- ensuring the police workforce reflects the communities it serves
If the police service reflects the ethnic and religious makeup of the populations it serves, it will be more likely to:
- build better relationships with communities
- receive greater cooperation from communities
- achieve a reduction in crime
- eliminate tension between police and residents
How we're improving diversity in the police service
Here are some real-life examples of police forces using diversity in their work:
- the Metropolitan Police encourage staff to register their knowledge and/or membership of a community, languages spoken, life-skills obtained as a result of ethnic origin, sexual orientation, race, religion and hobbies.
- the Greater Manchester Police have introduced a childcare voucher scheme to help staff balance work and childcare responsibilities.
- South Wales Police use gay officers to break down barriers between police and attendees at Cardiff’s gay pride event.
