Equality, diversity and human rights
The world around us is changing and policing has to respond and adapt to those changes in order to continue to protect society and provide quality services that meet the different needs of all our communities. Policing has undergone a transformation over recent years. It has responded to changes in society, rising public expectations, the needs of new and emerging communities as well as the impact of globalisation, technology and international terrorism. Effective policing is vitally important to all our lives and it is central to protecting the rights and freedoms that underpin our society.
The modern police service places great emphasis on local responsibility and accountability, reducing bureaucracy and providing greater freedom and flexibility for the police service. Real commitment to openness and transparency is the only way that the freedom and flexibility to exercise discretion can balance the requirement to demonstrate fairness and accountability.
Equality and human rights are central to the delivery of excellence in Devon and Cornwall Police, which is charged with the responsibility of preserving life and protecting our communities from harm. A fairer society benefits everyone, and the police service has a key role to play in promoting equality and human rights and tackling discrimination. Promoting equality and human rights and respecting diversity are the foundations to creating greater community confidence in the police. This aim of creating greater confidence in the police is the primary vision of our Equality Diversity and Human Rights strategy. The strategy will be monitored by using the Equality Standard for the Police Service as a self-assessment of our progress that will be verified by the Police Authority and open to public scrutiny.
We aim to build a police service that has the trust and confidence of all communities and a service that reflects the communities it serves.
In working to achieve our aim we want to establish a culture in which all staff believe that fairness is the basis of everything that we do. It is one of the main reasons why the public will have confidence in the police service. This belief is based in law and good practice and is simply the right thing to do.
We will be addressing three priority areas:
- Operational Delivery - delivering services that are accessible, responsive and meet the needs of all communities
- People and Culture - building an inclusive and supportive working environment that encourages development and progression for all staff
- Organisational Processes - embedding equality into organisational processes and the management of performance
More detail on these priority areas can be found in our Equality Diversity and Human Rights strategy. The pdf document ”Published EDHR strategy” can be found in the documents section on the right hand column.
The position of the Association of Chief Police Officers can be read in the National Equality, Diversity and Human Rights Strategy on their website.
Equality and Diversity Department Management Team
Who are the management team?
The Equality and Diversity Department sits within the Human Resources Directorate and has three core units. The management team are;
- Juliet Simmons, Head of Equality and Diversity.
- Inspector John Jackson, Diversity Inspector.
- Teresa Berridge, Force Diversity and Equal Opportunities Officer.
- Niema Burns, Equality and Diversity Training Manager
What do each of the units do?
Juliet Simmons is the head of the department
“The Equality and Diversity Department exists to help all 7000 people who work for Devon and Cornwall Police to provide fair and effective services to every member of the public. The sole aim in trying to do this is to generate public confidence in the police service as a whole.”
Niema Burns leads our equality and Diversity Training Team.
"The E and D training team exist to help every member of staff to achieve the national occupational standard for knowledge of equality and diversity issues. To help them demonstrate behaviour that demonstrates this knowledge and so increase public confidence in the police service"
John Jackson leads our Diverse Communities Team
"The Diverse Communities Team exists to identify people from minority communities within the wider community, form positive relationships with them to gain their trust and confidence so that we can better understand their problems and concerns and thereby provide a better service to the public as a whole."
Teresa Berridge leads the Corporate Support Team
"The force diversity team exists to provide expert advice and support to make Devon and Cornwall police a fairer place to work though all of our functions and policies. It also helps the police understand that the way we deal with some members of the public is perceived as unfair and we provide advice on how to behave in ways that give the public more confidence in our ability to deliver services fairly."