Police Race Action Plan – Have your say
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We’re supporting the launch of the draft Police Race Action Plan which has been developed by the National Police Chiefs’ Council (NPCC) and the College of Policing and are encouraging members of our communities to complete a survey to help shape the finalised plan and how it’s delivered.
The draft plan outlines a series of proposals for all forces to become anti-racist organisations and better understand black communities.
The aim of the plan is to give police officers the tools they need to build trust and confidence with black communities, so that they are better equipped to challenge racism and to identify and address any engrained cultural biases that may be fuelling racial disparities across policing.
It seeks to create an anti-racist culture, mindset, values, and behaviours within policing, which will inform all operational policing practice, improving the experience and outcomes for black people.
It will also enable the lived experience of black communities, officers, and staff to have a direct influence on police policies and practices going forward.
Chief Constable Jeremy Vaughan said:
“The action plan aims to address the race disparities affecting black people within policing which come in many forms and to transform a legacy of distrust in policing.
“The legitimacy and effectiveness of policing the communities of South Wales is built on relationships between the police and the public and I accept that there are challenges in our relationship with black people. We should be trusted to the ends of the earth by all our communities but the data tells us that levels of trust and confidence are significantly lower among some black people and racial disparities exist that we cannot fully explain but are working hard to understand and improve.
“The prevalence of racism in society is irrefutable and the abhorrent racist attitudes of some people in our communities must be stamped out.
“In South Wales we have made a real effort to addressing some of these long-standing issues. For example, our commitment to creating a representative workforce has been in place for eight years in the form of a dedicated team conducting positive action recruitment work and facilitating a leadership development programme open to all minority ethnic staff. It’s been a challenge but are working hard to increase the number of black and minority ethnic people we welcome through our doors.
“With regard to the use of police powers, the work we have undertaken is already having a positive impact on our disproportionality rates but it is a fact that the use of stop and search does affect members of black communities disproportionately. However, we will continue to work hard to understand this and to find further meaningful and effective ways of addressing it. Our disproportionality rates are lower than the UK average and have continued to decreased over the past year.
“As Chief Constable I have made it clear that I will not tolerate any form of harassment or inappropriate behaviour within the workplace which includes racism. There is no place for anyone in the service who cannot secure the confidence of their colleagues or undermines the public’s trust in policing. We employ over 5,000 people and deal with over 400,000 incidents a year and I know that the vast majority work tirelessly and strive to serve their communities with honesty and integrity demonstrating the very highest levels of professional conduct at all times.”