Agenda item

The PCC and Chairman of the Panel To provide updates.

The PCC has been asked a question by a Member of the Panel on any reviews which the commissioner has undertaken to ensure that the issues raised by the Black Lives Matter movement are being addressed by TVP.

Has the PCC sought information on:

·       The current make-up of Thames Valley Police Force with regard to protected characteristics compared to the community at large

·       What training is given to officers in order to overcome any inherent prejudice

·       Any statistics that are available regarding the number of people issued with penalties for breaches of lockdown and whether these have been disproportionately issued to people from the BAME communities.

To note and ask questions on the topical issues report.

The following written question was submitted:

(1)       The Police and Crime Commissioner was asked whether any reviews had been undertaken to ensure that the issues raised by the Black Lives Matter movement were being addressed by TVP.

Has the commissioner sought information on:

·         The current make-up of the force regarding protected characteristics compared to the community at large

·         What training is given to officers in order to overcome any inherent prejudice

·         Any statistics that are available regarding the number of people issued with penalties for breaches of lockdown and whether these have been disproportionately issued to people from the BAME communities.

[The Police and Crime Commissioner replied that TVP had become more representative of the communities it served in the Thames Valley during his term as PCC. The Chief Constable was making a huge effort in terms of recruitment; however, this could not be sorted out overnight. It would be a long process as existing Police Officers tended to have long careers. A huge effort was being made to recruit people from the Black and Minority Ethnic groups and there had been an increase. Reference was made for the need to recruit fairly and not to discriminate against any other ethnic group just to increase another ethnic group’s proportionality. The Chief Constable reported that protected characteristics included being a representative police service of the community, in terms of the legitimacy of the service, reflecting and looking like the community it served.

The Panel was informed that there were 7,500 staff, of which 56% were female. Asian and Black staff accounted for 7% of the workforce. That was 535 staff who self-identified as BAME, although there were a number, as a matter of personal choice who did not self-identify. It was acknowledged that representation was too low, and it was assessed that it should be around 14% of the force being from BAME. There were around 5.5% of Police Officers in TVP who were from BAME.

The Chief Constable acknowledged that this was too low. A positive action team had been created, comprising of BAME staff, who had been using their experience and knowledge in recruitment to increase applications from the BAME community. During recruitment in June, there were 330 applications, with 24% applications from the BAME community, which was encouraging.  This needed to be translated into a reflective and transparent service as it was important that TVP had a diversity of background, in terms of visibility and of thought.             

All training given to Police Officers included equality training. The Chief Constable reported that regarding inherent prejudice there were checks and balances put in place. There was a developed selection process where applicants were given on-line testing with scenarios given and these can tease out any prejudices. In addition, there was a 2-3-year course before an officer could be accepted into the Police Force where a lot of the training was to do with diversity and understanding communities. There was an embedded code of ethics which new recruits signed up to ensure that standards were always maintained by officers. There was a reporting mechanism to report any individuals who may have acted inappropriately.

The Black Lives Matter protests were bringing forward issues that everyone empathised with and TVP took on board the sentiments of the campaign as they sensitively policed the peaceful demonstrations which have taken place.             

The Police and Crime Commissioner said that statistics would be provided on the number of people issued with penalties for breaches of lockdown with a breakdown of which ethnic groups. The Professional and Ethical Standards Panel (formerly the Complaints, Integrity and Ethics Panel) would be looking at that.]

(2)       What engagements were taking place with BAME groups regarding increasing the number of BAME applications to join the Police. Additionally, what strategies were in place to enable the advancement of BAME staff within the Police service?

[The Police and Crime Commissioner replied that there were BAME officers who had got to the top as would any individual with talent. It was important that this talent was recognised, and they were given the opportunity to reach the top. There were people from ethnic groups throughout the country who were represented at senior levels in the Police. Reference was made to the United States of America where there were many Chiefs of Police in major cities from ethnic backgrounds, and yet there were race issues amongst Police Forces.]

The Chief Constable commented that to change the profile of the Police, there needed to be the throughput of officers from ethnic backgrounds at junior levels to push themselves forward. There was a development programme which had been put in place to support BAME officers who were showing potential which should prepare them to be given the best opportunity to progress and gain promotions. There was a fine line between positive discrimination and negative discrimination, but the Police had support from all the staff associations within the Police on the approach taken. Therefore, progress had been made in terms of greater ethnic representation in the higher ranks of the Police but more needed to be done.]

A Member of the Panel made the point that the assertion made by the Police and Crime Commissioner that all individuals with talent would get promotions, could only be made if the proportion of BAME representation at senior levels, reflected the proportion of BAME officers coming into the Police Force at recruitment level. Also, the onus was on the Police Force to make itself more attractive to certain ethnic groups to enable the Police Force to be representative of the communities it served.

RESOLVED – That the topical issues report be noted and the PCC and Chief Constable be thanked for their responses to the submitted questions.