In Cleveland, the Office of the Police and Crime Commissioner (OPCC) works with Cleveland Police to deliver an equality, diversity and inclusion (EDI) programme.
The EDI team is made up of two managers and three officers. They work with the Police and Crime Commissioner (PCC,) officers, staff, volunteers and the wider community.
Shared Vision for Cleveland Police
The shared vision is as follows:
- A working environment, which is supportive and inclusive. We aim to be a place, where officers and staff can develop and be themselves;
- Policing, which is accessible and responsive. We aim to make sure that services meet the needs of Cleveland’s communities;
- Joint services built around equality and inclusion. We aim to improve opportunities for joint working. That is, to be a place where partners are confident they can work with the force
Equality, Diversity and Inclusion (EDI)
The EDI team was set up to make sure EDI practices and values are central to the OPCC, Cleveland Police and the services, which they provide.
The vision is to create an organisation, which encourages people to thrive by valuing difference.
In 2019, staff from Cleveland Police won the Public Sector Award at the Tees Valley BME Achievement Awards. The award was for encouraging people from diverse backgrounds to apply to become a police officer.
The team continues to drive cultural change by helping to recruit, develop and keep a diverse work force.
The team engages with and supports staff associations to promote cultural change. It also works with Cleveland’s diverse communities – and makes sure it is at the heart of them.
In addition, the team delivers training across the force to make sure diversity is embedded.
You can contact the team at the following address: edi@cleveland.pnn.police.uk
The Law
All public sector organisations have a legal duty for Equality, Diversity & Inclusion.
This is known as the Public Sector Equality Duty (PSED.) It came into force in 2011.
Under the law, authorities must consider the following:
- Getting rid of discrimination, harassment, victimisation and any other conduct banned under the Equality Act 2010;
- Promoting equality of opportunity between people, who share a protected characteristic, and people,who don’t;
- Developing good relations between people, who share a protected characteristic, and people, who don’t.
The Equality Act 2010 protects people from discrimination. It sets out the ways in which it’s unlawful to treat someone. It covers nine protected characteristics. They are the following:
- Age
- Disability
- Sex
- Gender Reassignment
- Race
- Marriage and Civil Partnership
- Pregnancy & Maternity
- Religion or Belief
- Sexual Orientation
Cleveland Police must publish information at least once a year to show how it is meeting PSED requirements. It also must set equality objectives at least every four years. These objectives are contained in the Equality, Diversity and Inclusion Strategy 2020-25
How we are meeting the Legal Requirements
Equality information helps us understand the issues across our organisation and its services. It also allows us to address differences between where we are and where we want to be.
Our equality information includes data on people who share protected characteristics, who are:
- Employees, and;
- Communities, affected by our policies and practices
To meet its PSED, Cleveland Police also publishes an Annual Equality Report.
This report shows how Cleveland Police meets PSED requirements. In addition, it shows how it is moving towards the objectives in its Equality, Diversity and Inclusion Strategy 2020-25.
We also publish the following: